Grace Scrivens: Essex captain hopes ‘family feel’ will help team this summer

One of the new faces in the Essex squad is Sophia Smale, who played for Western Storm last season and Scrivens expects her to make a big impact.

She added: “We are lucky to keep a lot of the (Sunrisers) team together which is nice but we’ve added Soph Smale, she’s a left-arm spinner and a great batter as well, so I think she’ll really add to the team.”

Following their trip to the North East, Essex will play their first home game against Warwickshire on Sunday.

And chief executive Dan Feist wants to establish a strong connection to the team across the county and wider region.

“Chelmsford – we’ve seen it with women’s international games – can create a really vibrant atmosphere. If we can get good numbers in here to watch, and that will grow over time as we’ve seen with the WSL [Women’s Super League football] teams, it’s going to be a great place to play, and great place to come and watch women’s sport,” he said.

“It’s not just about showcasing the women players on the field, but also the opportunities and roles off the field as well, psychologists, through to our physios and administrators.

“It’s not just about playing but also inspiring women’s and girls at community clubs to think if I don’t quite make it as a player, I can still be heavily involved in elite sport, and that’s really important to us as well.”

Women’s One-Day Cup opening fixtures (Wednesday 10:30 BST start)

Chester LS: Durham v Essex

Beckenham: Surrey v Somerset

Trent Bridge: The Blaze v Lancashire

Edgbaston: Warwickshire v Hampshire