GLOUCESTERSHIRE Women are aiming to take the momentum gained from finishing top of the ECB’s County T20 South West Group into a series of friendly 50-over matches.
Rain prevented any play in Sunday’s scheduled double header against Dorset at Cheltenham College, and that meant Gloucestershire finished top of their group with an unbeaten record.
The county opened their campaign with a double triumph over Cornwall, and then had one match abandoned at the halfway stage against Oxford with the rain preventing any play at all in the second clash.
When the weather eased, Gloucestershire continued their fine form with two excellent successes over Devon.
And there was disappointment that yet more heavy rain prevented any play in the final double header of the series, against Dorset.
Head coach Jamie Diamond said: “It’s the first time we’ve won our league in four years so everyone is very pleased and proud of what we’ve achieved.
“The uncertainty over the season because of covid meant that these leagues are the end of the T20 competition, but we now have a series of 50-over friendlies to look forward to.
“We will be selecting pretty much the same squad for these matches, and it’s a fantastic chance to keep working and improving in a different cricketing environment.
“The squad worked very hard in the pre-season sessions at Cheltenham College, and that paid off when the matches started.
“I really believe that this is the strongest bowling attack we’ve ever had and we’re also very strong in the field in terms of intensity, ground fielding and catching.
“There’s work to be done on the batting, but I think the longer format will better suit some of our team as we bid to push on.”