The Southern Vipers were a women's cricket team that represented the South of England. The Vipers wore an orange and black kit and primarily played their home matches at the Rose Bowl and the County Ground, Hove.[1][2]
The Vipers were originally formed in 2016 to compete in the Women's Cricket Super League, and won the inaugural competition, winning all but one of their group games, and then defeating Western Storm at the finals day held at Chelmsford by 7 wickets.[5] In 2020, women's cricket in England was reformed, but the Southern Vipers brand was retained, and they won the first two editions of the 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, beating Northern Diamonds in the final both times.[6][7][8] They won their first Charlotte Edwards Cup in 2022, beating Central Sparks in the final, before retaining their title the following year, beating The Blaze in the final.[9][10] After losing in the final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy in 2022, they won the tournament for the third time in 2023.[11][12]
At the end of the 2024 season, following reforms to the structure of women's domestic cricket, the team was effectively replaced by a professionalised Hampshire team.[13]
History
2016–2019: Women's Cricket Super League
Southern Vipers were formed in 2016 to compete in the new Women's Cricket Super League, partnering with Hampshire CCC, Sussex CCC and various cricket boards across South England.[14] In their inaugural season, they topped the group stage, winning four of their five games, progressing straight to the final.[15] In the final, the Vipers faced Western Storm, who they beat by 7 wickets to claim the inaugural WCSL title.[16]
2017 saw continued success for Southern Vipers, as they again topped the group stage, with four wins.[17] In the final, they faced Western Storm in a rematch of the previous year, but this time the result was reversed, as Storm were victorious by 7 wickets.[18] The Vipers were unable to replicate their form in 2018, finishing bottom of the group, with just two wins from ten games.[19]
In 2019, however, Southern Vipers competed in their third Finals Day after qualifying third in the group, with four wins and a tie.[20] After beating Loughborough Lightning in the semi-final, the Vipers again faced Western Storm in the final.[21]Danni Wyatt's 73 helped Southern Vipers to 172/7 batting first, but Storm chased down the target with one over to spare.[22] Wyatt ended the tournament as the leading run-scorer and Player of the Tournament.[23]
2020–2024: Domestic Regional Hub
In 2020, women's cricket in England was restructured, creating eight new 'regional hub' teams, with the intention of playing both 50-over and 20-over cricket.[24] The Southern Vipers brand was retained after this restructuring, with some differences to the squad and coaching staff. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was truncated, and only 50-over cricket was played, in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[25] Southern Vipers won all 6 of their group stage games, finishing top of the South Group and progressing to the Final, where they faced the Northern Diamonds.[26] The Vipers, batting first, reached 150-1 before collapsing to 231 all out, with captain Georgia Adams top scoring with 80. Vipers spinner Charlotte Taylor then took 6/34 as Northern Diamonds were bowled out for 193, meaning that the Vipers won the inaugural Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[27] Adams and Taylor were the leading run-scorer and wicket-taker in the tournament, respectively.[28][29] At the end of the season, five Vipers players were given full-time domestic contracts, the first of their kind in England: Georgia Adams, Tara Norris, Paige Scholfield, Lauren Bell and Maia Bouchier.[30]
The following season, 2021, Southern Vipers competed in both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the newly-formed Twenty20 competition, the Charlotte Edwards Cup. In the Charlotte Edwards Cup the side progressed to Finals Day as the best second-placed team, winning four of their six matches in Group A.[31] However, they lost to Northern Diamonds in the semi-final, being bowled out for 117 in response to the Diamonds' 135/6.[32] In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, Southern Vipers progressed directly to the final after topping the group, winning six of their seven matches.[33] In the final they again faced Northern Diamonds, in a repeat of the previous year's match. Bowling first, the Vipers restricted their opponents to 183, but were in turn reduced to 109/7 in reply. However, an unbeaten stand of 78 for the 8th wicket between Emily Windsor (47*) and Tara Norris (40*) saw Southern Vipers home with 2 balls to spare.[34]
Ahead of the 2022 season, Southern Vipers launched the South Central Counties Cup, a 50-over tournament for the counties that make up the Vipers region.[35] That season, they won their first Charlotte Edwards Cup, going unbeaten in the group stage before beating Central Sparks in the final.[36][9] They again qualified for the final of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, this time via the play-off, beating South East Stars by 6 wickets after qualifying third in the initial group stage.[37][38] They again played Northern Diamonds in the final, the third consecutive encounter between the two sides, but this time Vipers lost by two runs.[39]
In 2023, Southern Vipers won the domestic double.[40] In the Charlotte Edwards Cup, they finished second in the group stage before defeating North West Thunder in the semi-final and The Blaze in the final.[41] In the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, they topped the group stage with seven victories in fourteen matches, before defeating The Blaze in the final.[40]
In 2024, the side reached the semi-finals of both competitions, finishing third in both group stages and losing to South East Stars in both semi-finals.[42][43] 2024 was the side's final season, with reforms to the structure of domestic cricket in England meaning that the side was effectively replaced by a professionalised Hampshire team.[13]
The Southern Vipers Academy team played against other regional academies in friendly and festival matches across various formats. The Academy selected players from across the Southern Vipers regional hub, and included some players who are also in the first team squad. Players in the 2023/24 Academy are listed below:[45]
