Derbyshire Women’s cricketer Sarah Glenn goes into Loughborough Lightning’s final match in the Kia Super League on Saturday having already established herself as the team’s breakthrough player.
The 18-year-old leg-spinning all-rounder from Loscoe, who had previously excelled within the Derbyshire Cricket Board’s Women’s setup, has scored 58 runs in three innings and took 2-8 in her only spell so far with the ball in the women’s Twenty20 tournament, making an impact in a star-studded squad that has been beyond her own expectations.
One of five newcomers to the Lightning squad this year, apart from Australian World Cup stars Elyse Villani and Kristen Beams, Sarah came into the team in the second of their five round-robin matches and looks nailed on to keep her place when Lightning take on unbeaten Surrey Stars at the Oval on Saturday.
Playing alongside Villani, Beams and Australia’s top all-rounder Ellyse Perry, not to mention England’s Georgia Elwiss, Beth Langston and Amy Jones, has been an experience to savour in an extraordinary year for Sarah, who is also an England international hockey player at Under-18 level.
Not only has she been taking her A-levels at Trent College in Long Eaton – she had to call in at school before training last week to pick up her results – she has also had to contend with suffering concussion not once but twice on the hockey field.
“The first one came when I was playing for my school against Lea Valley in March when I collided with a teammate and hit my head on the ground when I landed,” she said.
“That put me out of action for a month and a bit and only about a week after I had recovered it happened again playing for England against Wales when I fell forward making a tackle and my head hit the other player’s body.
Happily, Sarah – who plays club cricket for Denby and hockey for Belper – recovered in time to take her place in the Lightning squad and she is in no doubt about what has been her personal highlight so far.
“That has to be making my debut against Southern Vipers at the County Ground in Derby, my home county’s ground,” she said.
“I’d never played there before and lots of my friends and family were there, plus it was on Sky. We lost the game but it was an amazing experience for me and it was great to share it with so many people. Loads of people told me they were proud of me, which was really special.”
Even though Lightning were well beaten after New Zealand captain Suzie Bates scored an unbeaten 119, Sarah made a strong impression as Loughborough’s second highest scorer after skipper Georgia Elwiss with 25 off 21 balls, hitting two sixes, and has kept her place in the team since.
She followed up with 11 not out against Yorkshire Diamonds and 22 in Lightning’s maiden victory against Lancashire Thunder last Sunday, when she was asked to open the innings and shared a stand of 39 with Perry, who went on to make 78 not out, and then took two for eight in two overs as Thunder were bowled out for 90.
“It has been really great to play and train with top players,” she said. “They have all been really friendly and welcoming to the younger players.
“It’s so interesting to hear their experiences, not just about cricket but how to deal with other things, and that’s been really useful.”
Lightning’s slow start, losing their first three matches, has left them next to bottom in the KSL table, although they could still qualify for finals day as one of the top three teams if results go in their favour.
“You never know – if it did happen, it would be fantastic,” Sarah said. “But we will go for it and if I’m selected it will be really exciting to play at The Oval.”
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