LAUREN WINFIELD-HILL has hailed the influence of coach Dani Hazell on the Northern Diamonds’ Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy triumph.

Winfield-Hill and her side contested a tight final against Southern Vipers, but succeeded in emerging as victors, winning by two runs.

The 32-year-old, who was born in York, hit 65 as part of an opening 83 with Linsey Smith, who notched 27.

Their tally formed the basis of Diamonds’ eventual total of 215-9, with Bess Heath going on to add 44.

Coach Hazell has, after a trio of near misses over the last three seasons, claimed her first piece of silverware as a coach on Sunday when the Diamonds beat the Southern Vipers by two runs at Lord’s.

A World Cup winner and an England captain as a player, she moved straight out of playing into coaching when the regional structure kicked off in 2020.

“A lot of credit to Dan, who has probably found it quite tough at times,” said Winfield-Hill, her former England team-mate.

“She had been thrown into a professional environment as a coach quite soon after being a player.

“I think she’s grown as a coach, and I think we’ve all grown as a collective. She’s done a great job.

“Even this year, we had a bit of a reflection after the T20s, where we didn’t play to our full potential.

“We had lots of honest conversations - a two-way thing between players and coaches.The way we’ve grown has been awesome.”

Winfield-Hill was speaking in front of the famous Lord’s pavilion on Sunday evening, shortly after lifting the trophy and receiving the player of the match award for scoring 65 and claiming three dismissals behind the stumps.

Playing a final at Lord’s was an extremely special day for all connected with the Diamonds, and Winfield-Hill would love to see it become a regular thing, an unsurprising fact given she has won three career finals there with England (World Cup, 2017) and the Hundred (Oval Invincibles, earlier this month).

“I think - and it’s no disrespect to the grounds the final’s been at previous to this - playing at Lord’s is iconic,” she added.

“No ground in the UK or the world is bigger in my opinion. That’s why it’s such a big day.

“Having these finals at such an iconic ground is fantastic for the women’s game.

“If we want to have a final up North, that would be great too.

“The pinnacle piece at the end of the season is nice that it’s at Lord’s. But if we can get some finals cricket up North, that’s something I’d love to see as well.”