SOUTHERN Vipers captain Georgia Adams is ready to lead the side in their remaining Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy fixtures, in the last season of the regional era.

The Vipers are all but qualified for the knockout rounds where they will have to navigate a semi-final and final to take home the trophy for a fourth time in five years.

Next season, women’s cricket will be moving towards counties with Hampshire selected as one of the Tier 1 teams for 2025, marking the end of the current iteration.

Ahead of the run-in, Adams said: “It’s certainly a format that I think we've dominated in, without being reliant on our England superstars, which is so pleasing for us as a group.

"The vibe around the group is great, everyone's excited to be back together, but we know it’s the business end of the competition.

“I think the legacy that we've left as the Southern Vipers is hugely impressive and, while the move next year is an exciting one, we want to go out with a bang.”

The Vipers were disappointed to lose out in the T20 semi-final in June, but Adams is confident their team-first ethos will help them get over the line.

She said: “I think we've tried reinforcing in everything that we do, how we measure success and what areas to develop, that it’s all team focused.

"When I walk out onto the pitch with this team, I look around and I know every single person around me is important.

“You don't want to take away from individual brilliance because you need each individual to step up and perform for themselves.

"But you need to ensure you have got a group of people who are determined to win a game of cricket and able to adapt to situations, to then play their best in the scenario that's in front of them.”

Amongst their final fixtures before the finals, Southern Vipers travel to face the Northern Diamonds.

Diamonds currently sit second in the table and are the only other team to win this competition, having won it in 2022.

The two sides have met in three out of the four finals of this competition and are odds-on to do so again.

“It's funny how the schedule always seems to work out like this. I know in previous years we've always had the Diamonds in the last or penultimate group game," Adams said.

"I guess it's become a little bit of a rivalry even though they are right off at the other end of the country.

“It is quite nice to get games in the back end of the season against the teams you're likely to come up against in finals, so I’m looking forward to the test.”

The club captain received the news that she made the England team for the first time, being called up for September’s T20 leg against Ireland, alongside Vipers teammate Freya Kemp.

The call-up delighted the club’s all-time run scorer: “I was absolutely over the moon. I think, if I'm honest, it's when I was expecting it the least.

"When that phone call came through from John Lewis, I was speechless. I felt like a school kid again where you just go, ‘Okay, great, yes!’

“The England journey has been such a roller coaster for me. When I was 17, you couldn't make it as a professional cricketer unless you played for England.

"It was very different to what it looks like now. So, I guess I never had expectations of becoming a professional cricketer unless I made it to the top.”