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 shoe-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

Round Up of Round Two of the Women's One Day Cup

Hot on the heels of Round One came Round Two of the One Day Cup, but it was too much 50 over cricket for England contracted girls, who played yet another internal T20 game. But it was a chance for The Blaze to get their 2026 campaign underway amidst a blustery forecast. So let's start with their game against champions Lancashire.

The Blaze v Lancashire
Lancashire 223 ao v The Blaze 148/5 (28.3) (The Blaze won by 6 runs (DLS Method)
Once again Lancashire's top order flourished this time in the shape of Emma Lamb 77 (98). Before she got out Lancashire were 176/3 with nearly 14 overs to come. The fact that they only added another 47 runs for the loss of seven wickets, before they were bowled out for 223 in the 49th over, was symptomatic of their failure to address the same problem they had last year.
The Blaze's response got off to an awful start when Sarah Bryce was run out in the first over going for a second run Marie Kelly did not even contemplate. But after 20 overs The Blaze had taken their score to 91/3 and the game was evenly balanced when the weather intervened. When the teams got back on the pitch nearly two hours later The Blaze were required to score another 80 runs in the remaining 11.4 overs. Kelly (44) and Prendergast (40) managed to keep the required run rate in check with The Blaze having one eye on the ongoing DLS requirement as the weather closed in again. Having just taken 11 runs from the 28th over The Blaze were ahead of the DLS requirement when the heavens opened two balls later. 

Durham v Essex
Durham 311/3 v Essex 288/5
It took Essex more than half their overs to get their first wicket against Durham with Emma Marlow getting out for 53, her maiden half-century. It would be another 22 overs before they got their second, by which time Hollie Armitage (81) and Aussie import Tahlia Wilson (152) had taken Durham to 300 with a 163 run partnership. Wilson succumbed to the last ball of the innings, but 311 looked to be a tall order for Essex. Cordelia Griffith (50) and Grace Scrivens (47) set about trying to lay a platform for the chase and had added 113 before Scrivens fell, but they had used up 25 overs in doing so. Griffith was out shortly after and it was not until Flo Miller (49*) joined Jodie Grewcock (77) after 36 overs that the run rate picked up, but by then it was too late. Both enjoyed themselves adding 89 in 13 overs, but Essex still found themselves 23 runs short at the end of their allotment of overs.

Yorkshire v Surrey 
Yorkshire 185 ao v Surrey 193/7  
Things were going pretty well for Yorkshire on 131/2 with Lauren Winfield-Hill 60* and Sterre Kalis 38* when Aussie pacer Maitlan Brown bowled a bouncer at LWH. She got herself into a mess trying to pull it and it kissed her helmet and went through to the keeper. Cue the obligatory appeal from the keeper and then the erroneous raised finger. LWH was not happy and she made her feelings known to the two standing umpires as she wandered slowly off the field. It would ultimately result in 5 penalty runs being awarded to Surrey. Two balls later Brown removed Kalis and 131/2 turned into 132/4. The Yorkshire middle order managed another 53 runs, but having been 185/6 Yorkshire contrived to lose their last four wickets without adding another run. 
By contrast Surrey (or rather Paige Scholfield) made light of the conditions - damp and dark. In a stand of 92 for the second wicket Alice Monaghan scored just 22. Scholfield went to her 50 off 25 balls and hit 17 4s and two 6s in her final score of 89 off 42 balls. But when she was out with the score on 139/3 Surrey's middle order got a serious attack of the collywobbles. Chatli went first ball, Spence two overs later and then brown also went for a duck. Fortunately Surrey have the stoic Alice Davidson-Richards (35*), who watched on in disbelief from the non-strikers end before bringing her team home with back to back 4s off Beth Langston with overs to spare.

Warwickshire v Hampshire
Warks 354/7 v Hampshire - did not bat
In a welcome change for Warwickshire  all of their top five hit half centuries as Edgbaston's short boundary again led to a run-fest. The only thing that could curtail the runs was the weather. After Warwickshire had helped themselves to the second highest score of the season so far - Perrin top scoring with 81 and Pavely 63* off 38 balls, Hampshire must have been delighted that the rain intervened as the players took lunch. No further play was possible and the sides took two points each.

Round Three is this weekend. On Saturday..
Essex v Warks at Chelmsford
Surrey v Durham at The Oval
Yorkshire v The Blaze at Headingley
And now on Sunday..
Lancs v Somerset at Southport

Martin Davies
16/IV/2026

Thoughts on Day One of the Women's One Day Cup

Today I started yet another women's cricket season. This time it was at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton. And for the first time in many years I was there as a completely impartial observer. What I am looking for in particular this year is the next generation of international players. Hopefully I will see some good games of cricket along the way, as well as some exciting individual performances.

First up at The Bowl were Hampshire and Essex. Hampshire finished top of the table last year. Essex finished bottom. Hampshire had England players Bouchier, Kemp and Smith to help them out. Essex didn't!

Invited to bat on a blustery day with an  ice-cold wind, Essex lost England hopeful Grace Scrivens for a duck, and then Cordelia Griffith was run out with only 21 on the board. It looked like little had changed from last year. But then former Berkshire stalwart Lissy MacLeod and young gun Jodi Grewcock added 94 for the third wicket before Lissy ran herself out. Grewcock carried on in the face of some fairly toothless bowling it has to be said. She looked to be heading for a well-deserved hundred, but a rather ugly swipe and a miss at a Dattani straight ball was her undoing. She is already on the England radar, perhaps more for her leg spin bowling potential, but she showed she has a good temperament. Predominantly a back foot player, happy to pull, hook and cut, she is sometimes tentative coming forward. But she is lefthanded and has the added plus of her bowling. Essex will need her to maintain this fine start with the bat. Hopefully a finger injury sustained while bowling later in the day was not too serious, although she left the field mid-over and never returned, which are not good signs.

Once she had gone for a fine 80 you felt the Essex innings would inevitably peter out to not many over 200, but some measured batting from Amara Carr (33) and some rather more lusty batting from Sophia Smale (33), plus some dire catching from Hampshire allowed Essex to post a competitive 265/8. Hampshire's bowling and fielding let them down badly.

When batting Hampshire suffered their own early loss as Bouchier lofted McGregor tamely to mid-off early on, but that brought Abi Norgrove to the crease to join Ella McCaughan. These are two of the quietest and most unassuming youngsters, but they batted together with a maturity that belied their age. Circumspect at first, Hampshire only had 78 on the board after 20 overs, but unflustered they ran well and put away the bad balls. It was a surprise to the hardy spectators and to McCaughan herself when she chipped a return catch to Smale on 90. Hampshire were still 99 runs shy of their target. Freya Kemp, who didn't bowl, loped to the wicket. Frenetic at first, she should have been caught early on by MacLeod, but she worked through it and the pair added 40 before Norgrove holed out at long on for a splendid 85. She hid her head behind her bat for most of the walk back to the pavilion. But this was her highest score and her disappointment shows she has the right attitude to score more.

The Kemp drop was costly. She went on to score 46 at better than a run a ball, and despite being out in the penultimate over she and stand-in skipper Naomi Dattani (25*) saw Hampshire home with just two balls to spare. 

This was a game that Hampshire should have dominated, but their bowling let them down. Essex will have taken heart from both their batting and bowling performance, but they may continue to struggle in this early part of the season. 

As for prospects Grewcock and Norgrove impressed, but McCaughan stood out. Quite how the new Head Selector left her out of the recent South Africa internal games beats me. England's current loss is Hampshire's gain. Hampshire need to make the most of her while they have her. 

➣➣➣➣

Elsewhere newcomers Yorkshire were bowled out for just 178 in under 34 overs by Somerset at Taunton. Alex Griffiths and Chloe Skelton helped themselves to four wickets each as Yorkshire found ways to get themselves out. It looked like Somerset were in charge of the reply, despite lowly contributions from England pair Heather Knight (5) and Dani Gibson, with Sophie Luff and keeper Jess Hazell looking comfortable at the crease, but Hazell was unfortunately run out at the bowler's end for 18 and Somerset slipped from 99/3 to 115/8 in the space of 6 overs. The game seemed to be Yorkshire's for the taking, but Sophie Luff found a willing and determined ally in debutant leg-spinner Lola Harris. The couple took the score to within 9 of the Yorkshire total before Harris (18 off 55) looped a catch back to Claudie Cooper. It was left to Maddie Ward, endeavouring to make amends for a bad drop of Sophie Luff when she was on 52, to try and winkle out the last wicket, but Luff hit two 4s to level the scores and then struck the next ball straight back to Ward who could not cling on to claim the tie. Skipper Luff (76*) scuttled through for the single and jumped in delight as she completed the winning run. Somerset had won by one wicket.

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At Chester-le-Street Lancashire handed Durham a thumping opening defeat. They put 303/8 on the board thanks to another century from Gabby Lewis (131), who put on 176 with Eve Jones (82) for the second wicket. The Durham bowlers, including Lauren Filer in their ranks, had no answer. Sophie Turner and Katherine Fraser picked up three wickets apiece as the Lancashire batters went gung-ho in the last few overs, losing five wickets and adding just 13 runs. 
As feared Durham's batting crumbled. They were all out for 154 in 40 overs with Emily Windsor (46) the only batter to score over 30. Emma Lamb, after failing with the bat, took four wickets with her off-spin. This could be a long season for Durham fans.

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And finally to Edgbaston where Warwickshire took on Surrey on a wicket cut almost on the edge of the enormous square. There is one thing you do not need when bowling at Surrey's power-packed line up and that is a short boundary. Warwickshire would have been content with their early work as they had Surrey 95/4 at the end of the 17th over with Scholfield, Dunkley, Capsey and Chatli all back in the pavilion supping on a mug of warm tea. But Danni Wyatt-Hodge, batting at 6, proceeded to pepper the Edgbaston boundary hitting eight 6s and ten 4s as she shot to 124 off just 80 balls. In tandem with a more circumspect Alice Davidson-Richards (57 off 75), the double-barrelled duo added 118 for the fifth wicket off 95 balls. And when ADR was out youngster Jemima Spence spanked a very good-looking 79 off 48 balls with eleven more 4s and two more 6s, as Surrey took their total to a mammoth 389/9. 
Warwickshire lost Davina Perrin early in their reply and at halfway through their innings they looked completely out of the game at 138/5, but some more late heaving to the short boundary from Em Arlott (90) and Issy Wong (45) took Warwickshire past 300 and denied Surrey a bonus point win. All seven of Arlott's 6s were carted onto the short side from the same end. It meant Warwickshire finished on 337/9, but still lost by 52 runs. 

Martin Davies
12/IV/2026