Northern Diamonds v Lancashire Thunder: Rachel Slater finding her sparkle again after tough time

Slater, 22, has taken two wickets in each of her last two matches and currently has nine wickets from as many outings in the Charlotte Edwards Cup.

Given she missed pretty much the whole of last season through injury and time away from the game, it is heartening to hear her speak so enthusiastically about the start of 2024, which began with her helping Scotland qualify for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.

“I feel like I’m having a really good year,” said Slater, ahead of Wednesday’s Charlotte Edwards clash with Lancashire Thunder at Durham (11.30am). “It obviously started in Abu Dhabi, but I also feel like it’s probably the best I’ve had for the Diamonds so far as well.

“Hopefully I can continue with that and take it forwards into the back end of the year with Scotland when we go to the World Cup.

“But I’m not thinking too far ahead. My focus is solely with the Diamonds.

“I love playing for the Diamonds, and we’re still chasing a trophy in the Rachael Heyhoe (Flint) stuff. Then I’ll start thinking about the World Cup after that.”

The clash with Thunder on Wednesday (11.30am) is the final group game of the CE Cup. Neither side can qualify for Saturday’s T20 Finals Day at Derby.

But there are never any Roses friendlies - even if points and prizes mean little.

“It’s going to be a good one,” said Slater. “It will be a great day, it always is against them. Hopefully we can get another win.

“It’s been said a lot, but it’s so important for us going back into that 50-over block.

“Losing game after game can make it difficult, but we’ve got a couple of wins on the board in the last week or two and another will help with that momentum.

“It’s obviously been a tough T20 tournament. But, to be fair, we’ve not been far off in a lot of games.

“It was nice to get one over the line at home, and we felt in control for pretty much the whole game. It was a great performance.”