The 34-year-old Lauren Winfield-Hill has joined Essex on loan from Yorkshire for the upcoming Women’s Vitality Blast.
Winfield-Hill, who has captained Yorkshire, is currently competing in Tier 2 of the women’s domestic competitions and her move to Essex offers a chance to play in top tier for the T20 competition starting on May 29.
Winfield-Hill was part of the Northern Diamonds team, which was disbanded under the move to county-based teams from this season onwards.
Speaking ahead of her load to Essex, Lauren Winfield-Hill said that with Yorkshire set to move into the top flight from next season, this year presented unique challenges for the club, such as balancing player development with competing with a professional child.
“It does look a bit different for senior players in terms of the Tier 2 cricket,” said Winfield-Hill.
“I always use the analogy of revving a car. It’s not just like, ‘oh, you’re just cruisy, see what happens, it’s Tier 2’. It’s actually getting into that sweet spot of still really competing. That’s the key thing for a lot of the senior players in the group, is how we get our beans going and compete and almost play games within games sometimes.”
“I want to keep testing myself by playing at the highest level possible, and this move means that I can do that in what is set to be a groundbreaking year for women’s cricket in England,” she said. “I really feel like I can bring something to the group here at Essex, and I’m excited to play in a new environment at Chelmsford, too.”
⭐️ Incredible stats throughout her T20 career!
🦅 #FlyLikeAnEagle pic.twitter.com/hcO1GzNe79
— Essex Women’s Cricket 🏏 (@EssexWomen) April 30, 2025
Lauren Winfield-Hill has played England 104 times across all three formats, most recently for the T20 leg of England’s winter tour of West Indies in late 2022.
She has also featured in franchise leagues around the world, including The Hundred, WBBL and CPL.
“I’m obviously not retired and I’ve got a lot of cricket ahead of me. The last couple of years I’ve probably played better than I did when I was wearing an England shirt, which is ironic.
“I still think my best years are ahead of me, I just don’t necessarily realistically think that’s in an England shirt. My desire to play for England will never waver, but I think at times you feel like you’ve got more hope than other times.
“If that ship has sailed, that ship has sailed. If a couple of players went down and you’re sort of looking around and you’re performing well, then you’re not going to say no to playing for England ever. At the minute it’s probably not a realistic way in for me, and that’s fine, but I’m certainly not retiring, I’m not pulling curtains on my England career.”
Meanwhile, the team director of Essex Women, was delighted to secure a player of Lauren Winfield-Hill’s experience and proven run-scoring ability.
“When the chance to sign her became available, it was one that we worked really hard to complete, because we knew how much of a positive influence she is capable of bringing as a role model for our young and developing player group,” he said. “The opportunity to add Lauren’s experience and game sense is every bit as valuable as seeing her out in the middle scoring runs for Essex.”
Also Read: South Africa’s Dewald Brevis Joins Hampshire for T20 Blast
