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Orla Prendergast to Western Storm

Prendergast to play in both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup

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DUBLIN – Cricket Ireland has confirmed it has agreed to a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for Orla Prendergast to allow her to play for English side Western Storm in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup competitions.

The 20-year-old will be available for the whole of the Charlotte Edwards Cup and for rounds three, four and five of the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy.

The allrounder is in line to make her debut against Thunder in Cardiff on Saturday.

Following the Charlotte Edwards Cup, she will return to Ireland in preparation for Ireland Women’s tour of the Caribbean later in June.

Prendergast has featured in 34 T20Is, claiming 20 wickets at an average of 21.5 with a best of three for 10. She has also scored 589 runs at a strike rate of 123.22 with a top score of 75 not out.

After joining Storm, Orla said:

“I was delighted to receive the call and jumped at the opportunity to play with the Western Storm. The Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup are two of the most competitively fought domestic women’s cricket competitions in the world, and to be part of the Storm’s campaign will be an experience I’m greatly looking forward to.
“My thanks to Trevor Griffin and the management team at the Storm for offering me this opportunity.”

Western Storm Head Coach, Trevor Griffin is delighted to have secured the services of such an exciting talent.

“Orla is an international bowler who showed her worth in the World Cup with the ball, the bat and in the field. She’s a natural ball striker who bowls with great pace and she will be a massive asset to our squad.
“One thing that stood out last year was that we wanted to build more pressure at the top end of an innings. She will be that strike bowler at the top of an innings that we are looking for.”

The Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy is an annual 50-over competition, while the Charlotte Edwards Cup is an annual T20 competition. Both competitions feature eight teams that represent regional hubs (see the 2023 Team Guide).

The Western Storm plays their home matches in Bristol, Cheltenham and Taunton, and its county partners include: Cornwall, Devon, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Cricket Wales. The squad includes captain Sophie Luff, Heather Knight and Fran Wilson amongst other notable English cricketers.