ECB announce Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy
Trailblazer Rachael Heyhoe Flint will be remembered and honoured by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) by having her name emblazoned on this summer’s women’s domestic 50-over competition.
The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy will be played for by eight domestic teams, beginning on the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Baroness Heyhoe Flint – who died in 2017, and was affectionately known as ‘Our Rachael’ in her home city of Wolverhampton – captained England to the first-ever Cricket World Cup title in 1973 while off the field her tireless determination for equality laid the foundations for the opportunities presented to modern-day players.
ECB managing director of women’s cricket Clare Connor said: “I’m delighted that, despite the obvious challenges of Covid-19, we have been able to continue to build the new women’s elite domestic structure to the point that we’ll see the eight regions playing 50-over cricket this summer.
“Off the back of appointing the eight regional directors of women’s Cricket and awarding regional retainers, we have worked closely with colleagues across the men’s domestic game to ensure we are able to stage domestic women’s cricket safely and at high-quality venues.
“Rachael Heyhoe Flint would have been proud to witness the professionalisation of the domestic women’s game. She did so much for our sport and without her work, passion and dedication, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
“It’s therefore fitting that this special edition of the competition will be played in her honour. I’d personally like to extend my thanks to Rachael’s son, Ben, with whom we collaborated on the logo for the competition.”
Heyhoe Flint – who was also vice-president at Wolves – played 22 Tests and 23 one-day internationals during a 19-year England career and is a member of the ICC Hall of Fame.
The Women’s Cricketer of the Year award was created and named after Heyhoe Flint in 2017 as a tribute to her following her death, aged 77, that year.
Rachael Heyhoe Flint’s son, Ben Flint, said: “Mum has provided our family with so many reasons to be proud and we are grateful that her determination to give women’s cricket the platform it deserves continues to be recognised.
“We are honoured that this competition has been named after her, but I know mum would only have cared that female cricketers had yet another opportunity to play the game they love in difficult times, which is something she was very used to.”
