Southern Vipers: Hat-trick was great but wins mean more, says Tash Farrant

Tash Farrant admits returning to winning ways with Southern Vipers in the Kia Super League on Tuesday will mean more than her first career hat-trick.

The 22-year-old left-armer removed Eve Jones, Sophie Ecclestone and Katie George in Sunday’s game against Lancashire Thunder but Vipers were beaten by four runs, their second successive defeat.

Now Farrant and the Vipers are looking for a response on Tuesday when they head to Arundel (2.30pm) to take on Western Storm in a repeat of last year’s final.

She said: “I don’t think I’ve ever got a hat-trick before. I certainly can’t remember it if I did! I’m just happy because I nailed my slower balls out the back of the hand, which I’ve been working on.

“I’m sure I will look back on it with a massive amount of pride once the dust settles but to be honest I only realised when we were in the huddle celebrating the last wicket and one of our girls said ‘Oh my gosh, that’s a hat-trick’. It’s a good achievement, but I’d rather have had the win.”

Farrant is desperate to be involved in England’s squad at the T20 World Cup in November and knows that good performances in the Super League can only help her cause.

The Kent player made her international debut at the age of 17 but her appearance against New Zealand at Taunton earlier this summer was her first at home for two years.

“If I perform well in the KSL, I’ll put myself in a strong position to be picked for the World Cup squad,” she said. “That’s my goal at the end of the season, to be on the plane.

“I’ve been working on my variations and they could work well on the slower pitches out in the West Indies. If I can nail four or five variations, I’ll be in a good place.”

The extended length of the Super League, with all six teams playing each other home and away, means there’s no need for Vipers to panic just yet, but they could do with a morale-boosting win in the first of their two group games in Sussex.

“It’s so much better because it gives you the breathing space to recover from situations like this,” added Farrant.

“Storm are one of our main rivals and we’ll have to be at our best to beat them.” It should be a good game at Arundel.”