Round 9 - The Halfway Mark

Round 9 done, which means that all the teams have now played half their games (8) and the table looks like this.

The Blaze have clearly won the first half of the season with seven wins out of their eight games. They have not always looked convincing, particularly with the bat, but they have consistently managed to get over the line. Hampshire are a comfortable second, despite losing to The Blaze this week. They have managed to pick up five wins, as have Surrey in third. Warwickshire sneaked into fourth, having won half the games they have played. But from there on down all the teams have lost more games than they have won.

The big surprise is defending champions Lancashire are propping up the table. They have won just two games and are bottom of the table. They are going to struggle to reach the top three and even qualify for the final, which they won last year.

The next block of three rounds are in June, during the T20 World Cup. The Blaze, fortunately only play two games in this block. The last block of games are in August and September.

Here is what happened this week.............

The Blaze v Hampshire
Hampshire 209 lost to The Blaze 211/7 by 3 wickets
The top of the table clash went the way of The Blaze as Hampshire contrived to lose their last five wickets for just 26 runs to be bowled out for 209 in their last over. In truth their innings never really got going after Charley Phillips (4/31) removed Southby and Norgrove in the second over. McCaughan (48) and Adams (89) rebuilt, but slowly. When McCaughan was out in the 31st over Hampshire only had 118 on the board. Frances Sweet added a useful 35*, but, under pressure to find some runs, the lower order crumbled.
The Blaze seemed to have the run chase completely under control with Beaumont (57) hitting her second half century in as many innings, but when she gave her wicket away Hampshire had a glimmer of hope. When Bryce, Prendergast and Gordon all fell in quick succession that glimmer had become a bright glow. But Emma Jones (37*) rode her luck in her swashbuckling style accompanied by Lucy Higham (15*) and they brought the Blaze home.

Durham v Somerset
Durham 292/8 beat Somerset 172ao by 120 runs
Durham posted an imposing 292 thanks to half centuries from Hollie Armitage (58), Mia Rogers (56), and Bess Heath (51), which was always going to be a challenge for the young Somerset batting line up. When they have to face the experience and guile of 34 year old leg spinner Katie Levick there really is only one outcome. Theye were thoroughly bamboozled as Levick helped herself to 6/37 with three balls left in her spell and Somerset were bowled out in the 39th over. 

Surrey v Lancashire
Lancashire 246/9 lost to Surrey 250/7 by 3 wickets
Eve Jones battled hard for her 69 off 105 balls, but her strike rate, always something of an issue, seems even more circumspect given that Lancashire's batting, without Lewis and Lamb, looks so fragile. There were some late middle order runs from Johnson, Lister and Cross, but 246 at The Oval looked light.
Surrey raced after the required runs as they seem want to do, but lost wickets in the process. They were 92/4 after 16 overs, but Kira Chatli (88*) and Maitlan Brown (62*), who returns to Australia now, calmed things down and took Surrey to within touching distance of victory with a stand of 134. Surrey got over the line with four overs to spare. 
It was Lancashire's sixth defeat in eight games.

Yorkshire v Warwickshire
Yorkshire 238ao lost to Warwickshire 239/7 by 3 wickets
Yorkshire are Jess Jonassen. They might as well rename the team. 
In this game she did as much as she could again - 110 runs and 3/32 off her 10 overs, but she can only bat at one end and she can only bowl 20% of their overs. That leaves quite a lot for the others to pick up, and once again no-one quite stepped up. 
Warwickshire, without Davina Perrin and Katie George, tried to make a game of it, with key batters Redmayne and Pavely out cheaply to a comedy run out (first ball of the reply) and stumped off JJ respectively, but their middle order buckled down and got the job done with 56 for Chloe Brewer the top score, alongside 45 from opener Amu Surenkumar, being the major contributions. 
Yorkshire will be wrapping JJ in cotton wool until their next game on 17th June

Martin Davies
18/V/2026

A blustery Round 8 round-up

As England managed to scrape past New Zealand in the 1st T20, and Alexa Stonehouse became the 21st member of the ODI squad as Issy Wong went down with a hamstring injury, Round 8 of the One Day Cup duly played out. Round 9 at the weekend will be the halfway mark, and the last before a month long break for The Blast.

Surrey v Essex
Essex 227 ao lost to Surrey 229/7 by three wickets
In a low key game Essex batted badly, but then got themselves into a winning position, only to throw it away as they allowed Surrey's ninth wicket pair of Priyanaz Chatterji (37) and Aylish Cranstone (31) to add 79 unbroken runs. 
Essex had Flo Miller (74*) to thank for getting past 200. She batted with style and confidence, which no other Essex bat could manage. In response Surrey found ways to get out and looked dead and buried at 150/7, but with the aid of some wayward bowling by Essex (33 extras including 21 wides - simply not good enough for a professional cricket team), and Scrivens and Gardner struggling to combine as the fifth bowler, Surrey strolled home with with 43 balls to spare. 
As an advert for women's professional cricket this should really have been banned by the ASA.

Lancashire v Warwickshire
Lancashire 226/9 lost to Warwickshire 230/6 by 4 wickets
In a game reduced to 42 overs both teams struggled to take control with the bat. Seven of Lancashire's top eight got into double figures, but the highest individual score was just 39. Warwickshire looked to be suffering the same fate, until Charis Pavely, released by England from the ODI squad, again took control with a typically belligerent 63 off 58 balls. But when she holed out off Tara Norris Warwickshire were 155/6 with 10 overs to go. Nat Wraith (34*) and Mary Taylor (42*) were Warwickshire's last hope, and as the * testify they were more than up for the task. As it was they finished the job at a canter with 9 balls to spare as Lancashire crumbled to their fifth defeat of the season.

Somerset v The Blaze
Somerset 222/9 lost tp The Blaze 224/4 by 6 wickets
Somerset battled to 222 on the back of a fine 97 from Aussie Anika Learoyd. She got some middle order support from Jess Hazell (32) and Alex Griffiths (43), but 222 never looked like being enough. And when Tammy Beaumont (99*) and Georgia Elwiss (72) combined to add 131 for the third wicket it was just a question of whether the table-toppers could get a bonus point, and whether Tammy could make a hundred. In making sure they did the former, Sarah Bryce deprived Beaumont of a chance to reach three figures, but it seemed to matter little to Beaumont, who was just pleased to be back in the runs.

Yorkshire v Hampshire
Hampshire 205/7 beat Yorkshire 196/7 by 16 runs (DLS)
This was another game that suffered in the rain with the Hampshire innings frequently interrupted and the game reduced in overs after each delay. Eventually Hampshire's innings came to an end after 38 overs with 50s from Ella McCaughan, newby Francesca Sweet and 41* from Amanda Jade Wellington being the main contributions. Having removed Lauren Winfield-Hill and Jess Jonassen within the space of 15 runs all Yorkshire's hopes were pinned on Sterre Kalis, but when she fell to an ugly heave at Dattani the bell was tolling for Yorkshire. They did manage some late hitting, but still fell 16 runs short as Hampshire pulled clear in second place ahead of Surrey.

Martin Davies
13/V/2026

Round 7 - The one where all teams batting second won by 5 wickets

I can't help feeling that this week has seen the real beginning of the One Day Cup. The England players have checked out, with the exception of a few fringe players. Suddenly the county stalwarts and depth in squads is coming to the fore, and the playing field has even upped a bit for the likes of Essex and Durham.  

The Blaze v Surrey
Surrey 164 ao lost to The Blaze 166/5 by 5 wickets
Table toppers The Blaze, playing their fourth game in ten days, made it four wins on the bounce as they bowled out a lacklustre Surrey side for just 164 and then romped home within 35 overs, despite their out of form top order yet again making little or no contribution.
Initially Surrey could not go more than 20 runs without losing a wicket and at 57/5 looked in danger of not reaching three figures, but Kira Chatli (28) and Priyanaz Chatterji (45) at least saw them past this ignominy.
The Blaze batted almost the same way and were 61/5 themselves at one point, but seasoned pro Georgia Elwiss (76*) accompanied by Surrey reject Emma Jones (36) showed the pitch held no demons as they kept The Blaze top of the league.

Essex v Lancashire
Lancashire 251/7 lost to Essex 252/5 by 5 wickets
If you were looking for any insight from the comms at Essex, then you were sadly deluded. On mute I watched Eve Jones plug away to 98, before hitting a legside half tracker from Grace Scrivens straight into square leg's hands. She was the mainstay of a Lancs' innings that never really had any oomph. Not getting out seemed to be more important than scoring runs. In response Essex openers Scrivens (74) and Griffith (61) laid the platform for first 25 overs going at the required rate. Jodi Grewcock then added the oomph. She hit 58 off 57 before she was out with only two runs needed. It was Essex's third win and Lancashire's fourth loss.

Hampshire v Somerset
Somerset 281/6 lost to Hampshire 282/5 by 5 wickets
Hampshire will have been pleased to get over the line, and even more pleased that Maia Bouchier, allowed to play despite being added to the England ODI squad as cover for Nat Sciver-Brunt, kept her focus long enough to score a sumptuous 143 runs. When you see her bat like this you cannot understand why she is not a shoo-in for England. The problem is that it is a rare occurrence. Hampshire will hope that with the need to perform to get into the now-selected World Cup squad out of the way, it may become a more regular one.
And given Hampshire's bowling they are going to need it. All credit to a young Somerset team on posting 281/6 and to Bex Odgers for a standout 133, but Hampshire allowed Somerset, through Odgers and Chloe Skelton (77*), to add an unbeaten 150 runs for the seventh wicket from the last 20 overs, including 69 off the last 5 overs. 
Somerset will continue to struggle from here-on in. Hampshire will hope their batters can continue to get them out of strife.

Warwickshire v Durham
Warwickshire 289/6 lost to Durham 290/5 by 5 wickets
Given Durham's recent batting woes Warwickshire probably thought that 289/6 with solid contributions from Davina Perrin (69), Charis Pavely (55) and Nat Wraith (54) was going to be plenty and at 66/3 in response with Marlow, Armitage and Wilson all gone, it looked like this game was following a similar path. But Mady Villiers (106) and Emily Windsor (85*) decided today was not going to be another groundhog day. Villiers dominated as the pair took the score to 157 before her quickfire century came to a rather ugly end. At the time Windsor was only 20 off 34 balls. It was time for her to step up, and step up she did. With solid support from Bess Heath and Grace Thompson she comfortably took Durham to their second win of the season. They remain bottom of the table on NRR due to the manor of earlier defeats, but you can't help feeling that they will add a few more wins in the weeks to come.

Martin Davies
07/V/2026

Round 6 of the One Day Cup

On a weekend that saw the England World Cup squad dressed in fatigues yomping around the countryside with the British Army, the rest of the professional cricketers simply got on with playing some cricket. 

Round 6 saw a first defeat for Hampshire; another 100 for Charis Pavely; a five wicket haul for Charley Phillips; and a Dutch vergissing. 

Durham v The Blaze
The Blaze 240/8 beat Durham 148 ao by 92 runs
Once again The Blaze's top order went AWOL and the fact they got to post a mediocre 240/8 was almost entirely down to captain Kirstie Gordon, who scored a resolute 60* coming in at 8. She is currently The Blaze's third top run scorer and tops their batting averages! Mention should also be made of 19 year old Prisha Thanawala, who scored a pleasing 47 on debut.
Durham had moved serenely on to 29 without loss in the 6th over when the wheels on their bus suddenly fell off, as they lost five wickets for 22 runs, four of them to pacer Charley Phillips (5/49). Emily Windsor and Grace Thompson dug in for 41 and 49 respectively, but they were merely delaying the inevitable, as Durham were bowled out in the 40th over for just 148

Lancashire v Hampshire
Hampshire 153 ao lost to Lancashire 157/4
Hampshire travelled to Old Trafford unbeaten, but came away having been handed a chastening defeat. Having been asked to bat first Hampshire made their usual ponderous start having lost Bouchier early. After 10 overs they had meandered to just 29/1. When both Norgrove (20 off 49) and McCaugahan (30 off 58) fell Hampshire's vulnerable middle order was exposed. They capitulated and Hampshire were bowled out for 153 in the 43rd over, despite 32 from Amanda Jade Wellington.
It was never enough, and Lancashire romped home following an opening partnership of 93 between, who else, but Emma Lamb (56) and Eve Jones (47). Brief import, Aussie Maddy Penna, helped herself to a belligerent 36* ending the game with a 6.

Warwickshire v Somerset
Warwickshire 336 ao beat Somerset 302 ao by 34 runs
Almost as many runs are being scored at Edgbaston this year as were scored at Beckenham last year. With a good wicket, and a consistently short boundary on one side, it is a matter of who can smash the most runs. It is a scenario which is suiting Charis Pavely at the moment, who likes to give the ball some serious welly. She followed up her 128 here four days ago with another 127 (off 103 balls) to allow Warwickshire to post 336, with skipper Davis stumped off the penultimate ball. Surrey loanee Alexa Stonehouse also enjoyed the short boundary with a quickfire 58* off 35 balls.
Without their England contingent, and their skipper Sophie Luff, who suffered a concussion in the field, Somerset looked up against it, but to their credit they battled well, although they never really threatened victory. Niamh Holland made a combative 65 and Chloe Skelton an encouraging late order 51. It took Somerset beyond 300, but still well short of victory.

Yorkshire v Essex
Essex 270/8 beat Yorkshire 257 ao by 13 runs
Essex looked set to post over 300 after Cordelia Griffith (69) and Grace Scrivens (36) laid the foundation with an opening stand of 97 in just under 19 overs, but, when in form Jodi Grewcock was needlessly run out, the last 10 overs produced only 70 more runs. 270 looked eminently gettable.
All the more so as Lauren Winfield-Hill put her two previous ducks behind her with an authoratative 83 off 73 balls. At 211/4 with 14 overs to go Yorkshire were in the driving seat, despite being without influential Aussie Jess Jonassen (who had returned to Australia for some R&R). They needed just 60 at just over four an over, with Sterre Kalis seemingly well in control. But Kalis ran out partners Maddie Ward and Rachel Slater, lost Langston and Cooper (to a stunning catch by Grewcock) and then proceeded to take an unnecessary single to leave number 11 Jess Woolston on strike with only 14 needed off 24 balls. Woolston was bowled by Grewcock. Yorkshire had lost and Kalis was 65*. 
This was a game Yorkshire will have targeted and they should have won. 

Martin Davies
03/V/2026

Remarkable Round Five Round-Up

What a magnificent day of women's county cricket the fifth round of the One Day Cup has just provided! If you weren't at a game then why not?

The headlines were :-

• No less than five individual hundreds
• Two great run chases
• One almost great run chase
• And a final ball thriller

Hampshire v Surrey
Hampshire 272/5 v Surrey 259 ao - Hampshire won by 13 runs
Inserted by Surrey Hampshire made serene, if rather languid, progress to 272/5 with the top four batters rarely troubled by the Surrey attack. Abi Norgrove helped herself to 81* off 81 balls and Maia Bouchier, who had just been told that she had not made either the England World Cup squad or the ODI squad, 78 off 91 balls. Despite a good platform Hampshire could not kick on to a big score in excess of 300. 272 looked eminently gettable.
However when Surrey succumbed to 81/6 it looked anything but, but Danni Wyatt had only just walked to the crease at number 7 for Surrey. When she left, with 119 runs to her name, Surrey were within 22 runs of victory and still had 14 balls to come. The trouble was they only had one wicket, having lost their previous three to run outs. Eight balls later Danni Gregory became the fourth run out victim in a row as Hampshire claimed the win and went to the top of the table.

Somerset v Essex
Somerset 268/9 v Essex 269/5 - Essex won by 5 wickets
Somerset, denuded of their England players - Knight, Dean and Gibson - without reason given, were perhaps the underdogs in this game, despite Essex's inability to win a game until now. As it was they posted a challenging 268/9 thanks to 56 from overseas Anika Learoyd, 79 from young keeper Katie Jones and 53* from all-rounder Alex Griffiths. The question was could Essex hold their nerve in the run chase?
At 21/3 the answer seemed to be No. All hope seemed to be pinned on 21 year old England hopeful Jodi Grewcock. She has been in sparkling form with the bat this season with previous scores of 80, 77 and 44. Essex needed her to go big....and she obliged! With assistance from Jo Gardner (50) and Flo Miller (54*) Grewcock hit a serene 120* to secure Essex's first victory of the 2026 season. She has rightly been named in England's ODI squad v New Zealand and it would be good to see her given the chance to shine on the international stage.

The Blaze v Warwickshire
Warwickshire 302/5 v The Blaze 303/7 - The Blaze won by 3 wickets
Warwickshire's imposing total of 302/5 was built around a One Day Cup record stand of 197 between Katie George (98) and Charis Pavely (128*) as The Blaze's bowlers toiled in vain at Trent Bridge. 
No doubt the Warwickshire camp were feeling pretty confident going into the second innings, and 40 overs in, with The Blaze on 198/4 and still needing 105 off the last 10 overs, they would have been gently shepherding their chickens towards the counting machine. But the heroine of lost causes, Orla Prendergast (56 off 31) and the canny Georgia Elwiss (31 off 17), scattered the chickens to all parts of the field. A series of double-digit overs took the equation to 48 off the last five overs, and then 17 off the last two, although Prendergast had perished to the last ball of the 48th. Wong got Elwiss with the second ball of the next over, but then proceeded to bowl a legside full toss to Higham which she gratefully swotted for 4. As Wong looked to get out of the over she bowled another waist-high full toss to Gordon who smashed it for 6. The Blaze claimed the two they needed from the first two balls of the last over for another Get Out of Jail win.

Yorkshire v Durham

Durham 290/8 v Yorkshire 290 ao - Match tied
In a game that resembled a festival match between Current Yorkies and Old Yorkies it seemed inevitable that this would be a game that would swing violently to and fro. 
Having lost their top four for just 53 Durham looked to be in a whole heap of trouble, but for once their middle order came to the party, albeit with some assistance from the Yorkshire fielding. Bess Heath made a belligerant 70 off 52 balls and Phoebe Turner ran a couple off the last ball of the Durham innings to take her to a maiden List A 100. After their batting performance on Saturday against Hampshire (bowled out for 118) 290/8 looked a reasonable return against the Tier One newbies.
Yorkshire were once again indebted to Jess Jonassen (104) for keeping them in the game as she struck her second consecutive ton. Ably assisted by Sterre Kalis (79) Yorkshire needed just 62 off the last 10 overs with 5 wickets in hand. It should have been a stroll in the park, but a tad too much strolling led to a string of careless run outs. Suddenly Yorkshire were 269/9. They still only needed a run a ball but the last pair were at the crease. By hook or by crook they took the game to the last over still needing 10 to win. When Rachel Slater pumped the second ball of the over careering over the square leg boundary for 6, just three were needed off four balls. A dot and two singles left the scores tied with a ball to come. Slater swung, missed, ran and keeper Wilson underarmed the ball at the stumps from ten metres and hit. Woolston was run out and the game was tied.

Martin Davies
30/IV/2026

One Day Cup - Round Four

Champions Lancashire committed the cardinal sin of losing to Yorkshire in the Roses match; Essex somehow got themselves into a winning position and still lost; Somerset handed Surrey a severe beating down in the sunny West Country; and Durham forgot to turn up against Hampshire.
Just another day in the One Day Cup!
It all means that :-

• Somerset are the only team with a 100% record
• Last year's champs have only won one out of four
• Essex have yet to win a game

We review the games below, but for now the table looks like this, with the next round of games on Wednesday, when England players should again be available.

Essex v The Blaze
Essex 213 ao lost to The Blaze 215/7 by 3 wickets

At one stage Essex looked like they could be bowled out for less than 170, with only Jodi Grewcock (44) and Sophia Smale (34) making runs in the top order, but Amara Carr (50) shepherded the tail to another 58 runs off the last 10 overs to take Essex to a below par 213 all out. 
But within 37 balls of The Blaze's reply they had lost England players Beaumont, Sciver-Brunt (for a golden duck) and Jones, and Scottish skipper Bryce, to be precariously poised at 22/4. Marie Kelly (37) and Georgia Elwiss (30) staged a mini comeback, but when that petered out the game seemed to be Essex's to take with The Blaze still needing 109 with only three wickets in hand. But Orla Prendergast (69*) and Kirstie Gordon (47*) had other ideas as they calmly restored order and took The Blaze home within 40 overs for the bonus point win.

Hampshire v Durham
Durham 118 ao lost to Hampshire 121/4 by 6 wickets
It will have been a long coach journey home for Durham who simply did not turn up at the Utilita Bowl. Having made a steady, if unspectacular, start Durham found themselves at 100/5 halfway through their innings, with early batters having found ways to get themselves out. They needed to dig in, but instead they shipped out. Lauren Bell returned to bowl having taken 0/18 off her first four unremarkable overs. She proceeded to wipe out the remains of the Durham innings taking 5/4 in 25 balls as Durham crumbled to 118 all out. 
It was always going to be a walk in the park, particularly with 30 runs off the first 3 overs, which saw opening bowlers Filer and Turner immediately relieved of their duties. Hampshire contrived to lose four wickets in the chase, but got home in less than half the stipulated overs

Lancashire v Yorkshire
Yorkshire 241 ao beat Lancashire 158 ao by 83 runs
The first pro Lancashire v Yorkshire game went the way of the White Roses, courtesy of an Australian, who probably has no idea where the Pennines are. Together with Dutch batter Sterre Kalis, Jess Jonassen added 109 for the third wicket, and then took her team to nearly 200, before she was out for 108 in the 41st over. Yorkshire could only muster 45 more after her departure leaving them with only 241 runs on the board. Kate Cross claimed her first wickets of the season with 4/38. But Lancashire's batting without Emma Lamb and Gaby Lewis, both injured, looked somewhat threadbare, and so it proved. 
Run-getter Jonassen turned wicket-taker, ripping out the Lancashire middle order, from which they never recovered. They eventually subsided to 158 all out in the 42nd over, with, you guessed it, Jonassen taking the last wicket to fall to end with 4/30.

Somerset v Surrey
Somerset 337/9 beat Surrey 201 ao by 136 runs
Somerset flayed Surrey's toothless bowling attack to all parts of the County Ground at Taunton, with Heather Knight helping herself to 103 and Dani Gibson 77 (off 37), as they notched up 337/9 in their 50 overs. Maitlan Brown took 4/57 and Dani Gregory 3/57. Surrey went out hard in reply and lost Smith and Scholfield early, but after Alice Capsey (59) and Alice Davidson-Richards (48) were out the writing was on the wall, and they were bowled out with nearly 17 overs to come for just 201. Live by the sword, die by the sword seems to be the new Surrey motto!

Martin Davies
27/IV/2026

Round Three of the Women's One Day Cup

Sunday's game between Lancashire and Somerset concluded the third round of games in the Metro Bank One Day Cup. It is early days, but Surrey are the big winners to date and Essex the big losers. Surrey have won all three of their games and Essex have yet to open their account. 

Here's what happened this weekend....

Essex v Warwickshire
Essex 157 ao v Warwickshire 160/5 (40.4 overs)
Essex's poor start to the season hit a new low as they were bowled out for just 157, 59 of which came off the blade of Grace Scrivens. Gardner and Smale were the only other Essex batters to get into double figures. Was it down to spectacular Warwickshire bowling? Well...No. Five Warwickshire bowlers helped themselves to a couple of wickets as the Essex innings subsided within 40 overs. Warwickshire could take their time in their reply and they did, with Davina Perrin hitting 43 off 59, and the non-bowling Katie George an undefeated 42 off 71. It was unspectacular, but effective. 

Yorkshire v The Blaze
Yorkshire 280/9 v The Blaze 210 ao
I doubt that The Blaze were one of Yorkshire's "targetted teams", according to skipper Lauren Winfield-Hill, that they thought they could be competitive against. However on a day when The Blaze bowling attack looked completely out of salts, bowling 20 wides, and LWH (90) and Jess Jonassen (67) stayed at the crease long enough to make meaningful contributions, compete they could. 
The fact that they got to 280/7 rather than 240 was almost entirely down to Sterre Kalis who was only out in the last over having scored 61 off 42 balls. She treated each of the eight Blaze bowlers with equal disdain. 
But still 281 was not an ungettable score until The Blaze's bowling woes turned into batting woes. While Marie Kelly (56) and Katherine Bryce (55) were at the crease they had hope, but from 126/1 they slithered to 162/8 with Jess Jonassen (4/18) leading the charge. Only a rearguard action by Kirstie Gordon (24) and Grace Ballinger (29) saved The Blaze further blushes, but they were still bowled out in the 42nd over for a chastening defeat for them and Yorkshire's first win at Tier One level.

Durham v Surrey
Durham 256/8 v Surrey 258/7 (36.4 overs)
With all the England players available (although Dunkley chose not to play) on paper this was a game that Surrey should have won with one hand tied behind their back. As it was Durham posted a reasonable score of 256/8, courtesy of a fine century partnership between skipper Hollie Armitage (106) and Mady Villiers (55). Both batted confidently against a fairly toothless Surrey attack, although the Oval is not a ground you want to be a bowler on. That is unless you are Durham's Lauren Filer who helped herself to 5/59 courtesy of some decent pace, but some careless batting from Surrey, who seemed to be after the bonus point from the moment they started their innings. They went Hell for leather from ball one and, although Filer was expensive, they disrespected her decent balls at their peril.
At 62/4 (three of them to Filer) Surrey looked vulnerable, but with Dani Wyatt-Hodge coming in at 6 Durham needed the rest of their bowlers to stand up and be counted. Unfortunately on the placid Oval pitch they could not exert any pressure as Surrey cruised along at 7 an over. Filer returned and got Chatli as she pinged a ball straight to deep square, but Jemima Spence (27) and Maitlan Brown (27*) proved more than useful foils to another inevitable DWH century if Surrey did not run out of runs required before she got there. She got to 96 and Surrey only needed three to win. She went to hit the ball over mid-off, but failed. Two balls later the game was done and the bonus point secured, but you can't help feeling that Surrey's gung-ho attitude might be their downfall on another day.

Lancashire v Somerset
Lancashire 259/8 v Somerset 260/6 (47.5 overs)
This looked like it might be the tightest game of the weekend, with Somerset, fielding their three England players, taking on the champions. The bookies made Lancs favourites, but when news filtered through that neither Emma Lamb nor Gaby Lewis were playing for Lancs the odds on Somerset winning were significantly shortened.
Invited to bat Lancs made a pedestrian start reaching just 28/1 after the powerplay overs and by halfway they were still only on 96/3, but Ellie Threlkeld (71) and Fi Morris (52) put together a partnership of 88 and laid the platform for Lancs to add 77 from the last 10 overs to take them to a respectable, if unspectacular on the Southport wicket, 259/8.
The first half of the Somerset reply almost mimicked the Lancs innings with them on 37/1 after 10 and 90/3 after 25. But after drinks Somerset, in the shape of Heather Knight (63) and Aussie Anika Learoyd (32) decided it was time to come out of their shells. They took 38 off the next four overs and the momentum had changed. Learoyd perished, but that just brought the blunt instrument that is Dani Gibson (60) to the crease. They quickly got the required run rate under a run a ball and despite Sophie Ecclestone accounting for both her England team mates, the damage was done and Somerset cruised to victory in the 48th over.

Martin Davies
20/IV/2026