Kent Women have become the second county side in the history of women’s cricket to secure a tenth domestic league title after the Horses lifted the Women’s London Championship (WLC) at the end of their season.

Kent secured the second contested WLC, winning the league by 12 points, with Essex, Sussex and Surrey unable to complete their final round of matches and catch the Horses.

In recognition of their tenth league title, Kent Women’s playing shirts will proudly feature a star above the Kent crest, signifying their ten league wins.

Following Kent’s first league title, the Women’s Area Championship in 1986, the Horses won the Women’s County Championship in 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, the last Championship of 2019 and now the WLC of 2021.

The Horses have won all but one of their completed matches in this calendar year, using a squad of 19 players – 17 of which are homegrown talents.

16-year-old Megan Sturge and 14-year-old Jemima Spence recorded an opening stand of 70 runs in the Horses’ eight-wicket win over Middlesex, with Spence also scoring 66 on debut against Sussex.

Also against Sussex, Megan Belt took 3-21, with good bowling performances from young stars Sydney Gorham (2-10) and Alexa Stonehouse (2-13) to help second a 110-run victory.

Maxine Blythin hit 94 from 106 in that match, after Susie Rowe hit 63 from 65 deliveries on matchday one against Essex before Kirstie Gordon helped seal victory with 4-23.

On securing the Women’s London Championship for the first time, Kent Women Head Coach, Dave Hathrill, said: “I’m so proud of this team and what they’ve achieved this season.

“To win two trophies is outstanding, the squad has completely surpassed all expectations put on them at the start of this season. I can see this squad becoming a real force in the county game in the next seasons to come, and I hope that a lot of Regional Centres have taken notice of the young talent that we have here at Kent.”

Helen Fagg, Women’s and Girls’ Programme Manager, said: “We have such a high proportion of homegrown players in this successful side and that is no least down to the hard work of all the County Age Group and Talent Pathway coaches and staff that are extremely dedicated and talented in what they do.

“I’d also like to extend special thanks to Lin Martin, our Matchday Manager, for not only being our Women’s Scorer, but also in making sure our matchdays run as smoothly as possible.”

Kent’s Director of Cricket, Paul Downton, said: “Everyone at the Club, including the Men’s squad, our coaches, support staff and administrative staff is extremely proud of the achievements of Kent Women this year.

“I’d like to congratulate all of the players, Dave, Helen and all the support staff on behalf of everyone else in the Kent Cricket family.”

Picture supplied by Kent Cricket.