THE South West consortium franchise to compete in the inaugural Women’s Cricket Super League will be called The Western Storm.

The Western Storm will be one of the six sides taking part in the round-robin Twenty20 competition this summer, which will see 90 of the most talented female players from England and across the world competing in this ground breaking tournament.

The competition will run from Saturday, July 30 to Sunday, August 14 and will feature 15 group matches in 16 days, all culminating with Finals Day on Sunday, August 21 at the Essex County Ground, Chelmsford.

The Western Storm will make their competitive debut on Sunday, July 31 when they welcome Lancashire Thunder to the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.

Following the announcement of the team name, Somerset CEO Guy Lavender said:

“It has been a big week for the team. Yesterday we announced the appointment of the general manager and the head coach and now we have revealed the name.

“This landmark tournament is tremendously important for the women’s game in this country and I am delighted that we are part of the consortium for the South West.

“I have no doubt that the Western Storm will be at the forefront of this new revolution in the women’s game.”

ECB Director of England Women’s Cricket, Clare Connor, said: “Today represents another huge step towards delivering our vision of creating a dynamic, inspirational and high quality domestic women’s game in England.

"The fixture list includes some exciting prospects, and it is excellent news that Western Storm will host three of their matches – against Lancashire Thunder, Surrey Stars and Southern Vipers – at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton and Bristol County Ground.

“This time last year the Women’s Cricket Super League was simply a concept, and now we have six exciting new teams, some innovative partnerships and a fixture list that includes at least 11 matches being played at seven different First Class grounds across the country.

“As each stage of the process unfolds, we keep striving to push new boundaries.

"We are now looking forward to working with Western Storm and the other five teams over the next few weeks to reveal their kits, colours and brands, as well as the central competition logo and branding.”

Yesterday, the franchise made two key appointments, with Lisa Pagett named as general manager and Caroline Foster named head coach.

Lisa Pagett has spent the last decade working extensively in performance cricket, most recently as head coach of the England Women’s Development Programme.

Her dedication to the Women’s game has also been recognised at a national level after she was voted runner up in the National ECB Sky Sports ‘Coach of the Year Award’ in 2013.

Following her appointment to the role, which will also include an assistant coach element, Lisa said: “The game has been a passion of mine from a very early age.

“I feel privileged to have played 12 seasons of County cricket for Somerset, 14 seasons of Premier League cricket for Bath CC, captained the ECB South West Under 19 team and spent three years as part of the England Development squad.

“Having made the transition to indoor cricket I was also lucky enough to play for England in two World Cups.

“The possibility of being part of such a significant development in the women and girl’s game is one that energises and excites me, especially in the region I have both worked and played cricket in and I can’t wait to get started.”

Former England International and World Cup winner Caroline Foster (née Atkins) won over 50 ODI caps for her country and led Somerset to two cup finals as head coach.

She said: “I am passionate about the women’s game and I am delighted to have been chosen for this really exciting opportunity.

“The women’s game continues to grow at pace and I believe my biggest impact on the sport is ahead of me.

“I am relishing the opportunity to shape the identity of the South West team and share in the responsibility of keeping the women’s game moving forward across the West Country.”

Somerset CEO Guy Lavender said: “The quality of applications we received for both positions was extremely high and we thank all those who expressed an interest in becoming involved with the team.

“Both Lisa and Caroline are ECB Level Four coaches and have a tremendous amount of experience as both participants and administrators of the game.

“The passion and enthusiasm that they have both shown in the last few weeks shone through and I am sure that their appointment will give the South West Women’s Cricket Super League side the best chance of success.”

The key aims of the Women’s Cricket Super League include the development of ever higher standards for the England women’s team with greater competition for places, alongside inspiring more women and girls to play cricket at all levels.

It will offer new opportunities, a new narrative for the game and new role models, as well as a network of six new teams linked to their communities.

The six selected hosts provide a strong geographical spread and encompass diverse partnership working from across the cricket and educational landscapes.

In total, seven First Class counties, five Non-First Class counties and three universities are involved, creating a collaborative, imaginative and wide-ranging project.

The Women’s Cricket Super League will expand from only including Twenty20 cricket in 2016 to incorporating both T20 and 50-over formats in future seasons. All six teams have been awarded hosting rights for a four-year period from 2016-2019 inclusive.

The Western Storm's full list of fixtures is as follows:

Sunday, July 31 – Western Storm v Lancashire Thunder at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.

Friday, August 5 - Loughborough Lightning v Western Storm at Haselgrave.

Sunday, August 7 - Western Storm v Surrey Stars at the County Ground, Gloucestershire.

Friday, August 12 – Western Storm v Southern Vipers at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.

Sunday, August 14 – Yorkshire Diamonds v Western Storm at Headingley.