Ella Claridge
Ella Caterina Claridge is an English-born cricketer who currently plays internationally for the United States women's national [cricket team|USA] and domestically for The Blaze. She plays as a right-handed batter and wicket-keeper. In 2021 and 2022 she was in the Trent Rockets squad for The Hundred, and was later drafted by Northern Superchargers for the 2024 season.
Domestic career
Claridge made her county debut in 2017, for Buckinghamshire against Huntingdonshire Women cricket team|Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire], in which she top-scored with 57 from 52 balls in a 79-run victory. The following season, 2018, she was Buckinghamshire's leading run-scorer in the 2018 [Women's Twenty20 Cup|Twenty20 Cup], with 196 runs including two half-centuries, both against Dorset. Claridge was again Buckinghamshire's leading run-scorer in the Twenty20 Cup">Women's Twenty20">Twenty20 Cup, with 100 runs, including 51 made against Lincolnshire. Claridge's 166 runs in the 2021 Women's Twenty20 Cup again made her Buckinghamshire's leading run-scorer for the competition, including two half-centuries, made against Norfolk and Huntingdonshire. She was again Buckinghamshire's leading run-scorer in the 2022 Women's Twenty20 Cup, with 199 runs at an average of 24.87. Against Huntingdonshire, Claridge made her Twenty20 high score, scoring 96 from 61 deliveries. Ahead of the 2023 season, she joined Leicestershire, for the 2023 Women's Twenty20 Cup, playing one match, whilst remaining with Buckinghamshire for the South Central Counties Cup.In 2021, Claridge was included in Lightning's Academy squad for the season. She was also included in the Trent Rockets squad for the 2021 season, but did not play a match. Claridge made her debut for the senior Lightning team on 28 August 2021, in a 2021 [Charlotte Edwards Cup|Charlotte Edwards Cup] match against Central Sparks. She appeared three times for the side in the 2021 [Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy|Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy] later that season, scoring 46 runs including 39* made against Western Storm. She played six matches for Lightning in 2022, across the Charlotte Edwards Cup and the 2022 [Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy|Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy], scoring 118 runs with a top score of 41. She was also once again part of the Trent Rockets squad for The Hundred, but did not play a match. She played four matches for The Blaze in 2023, scoring 58 runs at an average of 19.33.
In March 2024, Claridge was drafted by Northern Superchargers for The Hundred in 2024. Claridge made 12 appearances for The Blaze as they won the 2024 Charlotte Edwards Cup. She played in both the semi-final versus Central Sparks and the final against South East Stars on Finals Day. Claridge signed a new two-year contract with The Blaze in August 2024.