The Staffordshire Women's cricket team is the women's representative cricket team for the English historic county of Staffordshire. They play their home games at various grounds across the county, including Tunstall Road, Knypersley and are captained by Stephanie Butler.[1] In 2019, they played in Division Three of the final season of the Women's County Championship, and have since competed in the Women's Twenty20 Cup.[2] They are partnered with the West Midlands regional side Central Sparks.[3]
History
Staffordshire Women joined the Women's County Championship in 2000, replacing West Midlands Women, and won Division 2 in their first season, going unbeaten and gaining promotion.[4] Staffordshire were relegated two seasons later, and reached as low as Division Four in 2008.[5][6] They also joined the Women's Twenty20 Cup in 2009, winning two promotions when the tournament was regionalised, and since playing in Division Two and Three.[7] In 2021, they competed in the West Midlands Group of the Twenty20 Cup, finishing 5th.[8] They finished second in their group of the 2022 Women's Twenty20 Cup, before losing in the group final to Worcestershire.[9] Staffordshire batter Davina Perrin was the fourth-highest run-scorer in the competition, with 242 runs.[10] They again reached the group final of the 2023 Women's Twenty20 Cup, but lost to Warwickshire.[11]
Meanwhile, in the Championship, Staffordshire began their progression back up through the Divisions, winning promotion from Division Three in 2011, and from Division Two in 2015, with batter Evelyn Jones ending the 2015 season as leading run-scorer in the division.[12][13] Their stay in Division 1 was short-lived, however, as they were relegated in 2016, and suffered a second consecutive relegation the following season.[14][15] In the final two years of the Championship, Staffordshire played in Division 3, but did win their group in 2019.[16]
They have also competed in the West Midlands Regional Cup since 2022, finishing fourth out of four teams in the first season of the competition.[17] They reached the final of the 2023 edition after topping the group stage, but lost in the final to Worcestershire.[18]
England batter Danni Wyatt made her international debut whilst playing for Staffordshire, and the county is also the original team of England all-rounder Georgia Elwiss.[19][20]
Players
Current squad
Based on appearances in the 2023 season. ‡ denotes players with international caps.[21]
Notable players
Players who have played for Staffordshire and played internationally are listed below, in order of first international appearance (given in brackets):[22]
