The Blaze possess a quiet confidence amid the admirable fight they have shown to remain in contention for a semi-final place in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, says bowling all-rounder Josie Groves.

Groves, who recently put pen-to-paper on a new deal which will see the leg-break spinner remain at Trent Bridge until 2028, took two wickets in The Blaze’s six-wicket victory over Sunrisers at the weekend, and features once more in Chris Guest’s 14-player squad to face Thunder on Wednesday - a 10.30am start at Sale Cricket Club.

Having won two on the spin after the return of regional cricket following The Hundred, Groves admitted her delight to have the group together again.

“It’s been really nice to be back,” Groves said, “It’s always weird coming back from The Hundred and not being sure how long it’ll be for, as we don’t know whether we’ll make the knockouts, but it’s always great coming back into the camp and seeing everyone again.”

A challenging start to the 50-over campaign has been long forgotten; Kirstie Gordon has led her side to four wins from their last six Rachael Heyhoe Flint contests - with just one loss in that time, to Southern Vipers in early July, which was avenged just over a week ago.

After such a strong run, the gap to fourth place is getting ever smaller.

“The fight we’ve shown has been second to none," said Groves.

"We all know we didn’t start very well, but the form we’ve had at the back-end of the competition shows we are capable of beating sides who are above us in the table. On current form, we can beat anyone.

“We don’t know what’s coming because we could win both games and still not make it - the stats don’t necessarily say we’re favourites to make top-four, but we’ve got some quiet confidence that we can make it happen.”

As the end of the season moves into sight with silverware still up for grabs, Groves touched on how now more than ever is a critically important time to manage workloads between match days.

“It’s about making sure you get what you need out of training, and that looks different for everyone,” she said.

“At this stage of the season, there’s no point coming in to training just for training’s sake, you have to focus on what you think you need to get out of it as you’re heading into some really important games.”

Now looking ahead to four more years at Trent Bridge, the 19-year-old - who celebrates turning 20 this Thursday - is full of excitement for her own future.

“It feels like everything changed when we moved to becoming The Blaze had a bit of a reset, being really well-led by Guesty and Kirstie meant we have been brave and clear about how we want to go about our cricket," she said.

“It’s funny because you start to win, and you kind of learn how to keep winning. It’s an environment that we’ve not had in past years.

“It’s really cool that I know where I’m going to be for the next four years,” Groves continued, “I’m focused on making sure I don’t let my progress drift, and on working out how I want to spend these next four years in this environment. It’s a great feeling having that assurance.”