Sunrisers bow out on top as sun sets on the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy

Kate Coppack, Sunrisers’ matchwinner in the last-ever staging of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, paid tribute to the resilience within the squad, as they capped the competition’s short history with victory over South East Stars in a rain-affected final at Grace Road.

Coppack chose the perfect moment to produce career-best figures of 4 for 27, as South East Stars stumbled early in the powerplay then lost wickets at regular intervals thereafter, with only Alice Davidson-Richards’ superb 93 from 105 balls providing any lasting resistance.

In pursuit of a sub-par 213, Sunrisers got themselves ahead of the rate early thanks to Cordelia Griffiths’ boundary-studded 57, and though they shipped three wickets in the first half of their innings, Grace Scrivens had the chase firmly under control with her unbeaten 39 from 47 balls, before a thunderstorm forced an early end to the contest.

The victory, albeit via DLS, completed one of the more remarkable turnarounds in the short history of women’s professional cricket, given that Sunrisers did not win a single contest in each of the first three stagings of the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.

“There have been a lot of highs and lows as the Sunrisers so to end like that is really special,” Coppack, 30, told the ECB Reporters Network, having been a regular in their squad since 2021.

“I wasn’t involved in the first year but Danni [Warren] and people have been building a team over the years. It was always going to take a while.

“I think you have to give credit to Scrivens coming in as captain. She is still really young but has learned quickly and is good at balancing people and when to bowl them. Having the same group around for the last few years, and people having trust in us has really helped as we could have tried to start again when things weren’t going well.”

Away from cricket, Coppack is a lawyer, while her family also run an alpaca farm. “I’ve always been a pay-to-play player and try to balance work as well,” she said. “There have been a couple of us who have been doing that, but it is nice to see the game go more professional.”

For Warren, Sunrisers’ director of cricket, the victory was vindication for the team’s perseverance, even when the going was particularly tough in the early years of the competition. It also provides the squad with a fillip ahead of next year’s switch to a county format, with Essex taking over the management of the Tier 1 team that will represent the region.

“It is the culmination of a lot of hard work for a lot of people, for players and backroom staff,” Warren said. “We started this era with a group of players who were untested and untried at this level and we have identified some gems.

“They have done it as an exciting group of young players who are probably come together slightly more than the sum of their part. We are the underdogs – and we like that term.

“There have been a lot of tears and a lot of soul-searching from a lot of people. The lowest point was the four overthrows off the final ball against Storm in 2022. The story of that time was that we found a way to lose, now we have found a way to win – and that’s a brilliant thing.

“With this group of girls you don’t know who the hero is going to be, any of them can put in a performance. There will be a happy person sat in the corner later looking around the room and seeing how far we have come. But I don’t see this as the end of an era, I just see it as momentum into the next one.”

Emma Calvert, South East Stars’ director of cricket, was understandably disconsolate as her team finished on the losing side in two finals this summer, following their defeat to The Blaze in the Charlotte Edwards Cup in June.

“It is gutting,” she said. “It is the end of an era and a sad way to end that era. We wanted to go out there, put on a performance and win the trophy but we have no control over the weather.

“DLS is a funny thing. I backed us to take those wickets and see it through to the end. But what happened, happened and congratulations to Sunrisers. I have seen how much effort has gone in to building that program and it is an incredible end to that journey.

“Alice Davidson-Richards is an incredible player, we all know that. She is disappointed more than anyone because although she put on that performance her team didn’t win and that is what means the most to her.”

South East Stars are set to be absorbed into Surrey’s all-conquering set-up from 2025 onwards, but Warren admitted it was a bittersweet moment as this initial domestic era comes to an end.

“We are incredibly excited to become Surrey but in this moment it feels quite hard,” she added. “The girls are so excited to start the journey with the three feathers on our chest.

“We have been on a journey and to get to two finals this year is an incredible end. November 1 is the official day we go live as Surrey, but before then we’ll have words tonight and have our awards and really celebrate what we have achieved.

“Although we haven’t lifted a trophy today, we have achieved a lot and I think it is worth celebrating that.”