The identity of the team representing the East Midlands in the women鈥檚 regional structure of cricket has been revealed as 鈥楾he Blaze鈥�.
Formerly known as 鈥楲ightning鈥�,聽聽are primarily based at Trent Bridge and recently commenced their professional and Academy training programmes at the historic Nottingham venue.
鈥淭here is definitely an extra bit of excitement that comes with training, and being based at, Trent Bridge,鈥� said fast bowler Sophie Munro.
鈥淭here is a sense of a fresh start, being somewhere new, wearing new kit and having a new name, but we鈥檝e got a good bond as a group having been together for a while, and that has made the transition pretty straightforward.
鈥淲hilst we have some hard work still to do over the winter, we鈥檙e intent on starting positively when the season does arrive.
鈥淭he Blaze name itself was a popular choice among the squad, right from when we first found out that the move to Nottingham was on the cards.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great that we, as players, were consulted on it, and that we can represent a brand which, from the start of the process, we helped to establish.鈥�
The newly branded team will contest the 20-over Charlotte Edwards Cup and 50-over Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, with matches set to take place in neighbouring East Midlands counties as well as in Nottinghamshire.
The team鈥檚 training wear - revealed as part of today鈥檚 launch - and playing kit will be manufactured by adidas.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really aware of the iconic nature of this stadium and we are inspired by everything it offers,鈥� said The Blaze鈥檚 Director of Cricket, James Cutt.
鈥淲e see it as our new home, and it鈥檚 really beneficial for us being able to interact with the Nottinghamshire players, coaches and support staff 鈥� and hopefully the way we do things can have an impact on the men鈥檚 game as well.
鈥淓verybody at the venue has been really welcoming towards us and really inclusive, the training spaces are of a high quality and the pure cricket nature of the venue is something that our squads are absolutely buying into.
鈥淲e want to produce cricketers locally from across the East Midlands region and we want to attract players to come and represent The Blaze from elsewhere in the country as well. We believe that being at Trent Bridge can only help both of those facets to develop.鈥�
The latest news, photography and information regarding The Blaze can be found by visiting the聽聽webpage, with the senior and academy squads set to be named in the coming weeks.