Today, Sunrisers can confirm their Academy intake for the upcoming winter programme, ahead of the 2023 season. After an extensive selection process over the past weeks, we are delighted to welcome a group of players from across the Sunrisers region.
Over fifty players from around the London and East region were observed and assessed over the summer, with a large number being invited to the end of season Sunrisers Smash festivals days at Colchester & East Essex Cricket Club where they were able to showcase their talent.
The result of that process sees a group of fifteen players selected as the Academy intake for the next twelve months, who will all benefit from an extensive winter training programme leading into pre-season, ahead of a busy summer of matches and festivals in 2023.
This includes four new faces to the set-up, who have graduated from the Emerging Player Programme (EPP) and join the Academy group after impressing throughout last summer. These are Molly Barbour-Smith, Evie Booker, May Drinkell, and Maddy Reynolds.
Flo Miller and Scarlett Hughes have made the step up and go into the Senior set-up, having both impressed in the First Team matches that they have played in. They are the latest in a long line of talent to have made that move into the Senior squad and looked comfortable in doing so.
Jess Olorenshaw and Jodi Grewcock remain on the Academy programme for another year, despite both players making their First Team debuts this summer. Both have shown huge promise throughout their time at the club, and their games are going from strength to strength with every match they play.
Seven of our eight partnering County Boards are represented in the new cohort, which shows the strength of women’s cricket around the region, with also Hannah Davis remaining with us whilst playing her cricket for Buckinghamshire.
Speaking of the new Academy intake, Sunrisers Senior Regional Talent Manager, Luke Pomfret, commented:
“It’s amazing to be able to share our 2022-23 Academy squad.
Having to narrow our shortlist down to 15 Academy players was extremely difficult as there is such a broad pool of young, talented players across the region, so the future of Sunrisers looks really healthy.
Progression throughout the programmes is something that is very important, as it shows the strength of the pathway and the developments of the cricketers coming through. It is pleasing that four of the players selected in the Academy were on the EPP last year. They are filling spots that have been widely vacated by two players graduating into the Senior set-up, which is a huge credit to the work that Scarlett Hughes and Flo Miller have put into their own game. To have these two having a huge impact in the Charlotte Edwards Cup side, alongside Jess Olorenshaw and Jodi Grewcock also making their debuts in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, is exciting for everyone involved.
The environment has been really successful so far, and we are really proud with the strength of our Academy since its inception a couple of years ago. I’m very confident that these players will mirror the success of those before them, and showcase their ability at a really good level.”
The squad of fifteen, selected for the Academy is as follows:
Molly Barbour-Smith – Middlesex (all-rounder, graduated from EPP)
Elsa Barnfather – Hertfordshire (all-rounder)
Evie Booker – Suffolk (bowler, graduated from EPP)
Hannah Davis – Buckinghamshire (bowler)
May Drinkell – Norfolk (batter, graduated from EPP)
Jodi Grewcock – Northamptonshire (batter, made her First Team debut last summer)
Isabella James – Cambridgeshire (bowler)
Layla Judge – Middlesex (bowler)
Esmae MacGregor – Essex (bowler)
Jess Olorenshaw – Essex (wicketkeeper, made her First Team debut last summer)
Charley Phillips – Hertfordshire (bowler)
Riva Pindoria – Middlesex (bowler)
Maddy Reynolds – Norfolk (all-rounder, graduated from EPP)
Amuruthaa Surenkumar – Middlesex (all-rounder)
Jasmine Westley – Essex (batter)
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