Durham Women return to Vitality Blast action with a trip to the West Country, taking on Somerset at the Cooper Associates County Ground tomorrow [2:30pm].
Dani Hazell has named a squad of 13 as Durham look for their fifth win in the T20 competition, after recording four victories from six games in the opening block.
Bess Heath returns from international duty after the completion of England A’s T20 series against India A and is set for a return to the Durham side.
Phoebe Turner remains sidelined with a knee injury.
Durham sit fifth in the women’s Vitality Blast on 18 points and are in contention to qualify for Finals Day as they push for a top-four finish, sitting just one point behind third-placed opponents Somerset on 19 points.
Words from Hollie Armitage
It was really important, when we walked off at half time having bowled Surrey out for 179, we were thrilled with that, but we also knew that the pitch was going to turn and that it would be a tough chase for us.
We would’ve had a bat first too. We spoke about the pitch prior to the game starting, we knew it was going to be used, but we also knew the lads knocked off the runs yesterday when they played on it. It was still a decent wicket, but we knew it was going to turn late on.
We value being able to hit the pockets and run twos as a playing group because it frustrates the hell out of bowlers. That was what we needed to do throughout that period, our bowlers did a brilliant job and that allowed us to do that.
Squad v Somerset (26 June)
Hollie Armitage*, Abi Glen, Heather Graham, Bess Heath, Trudy Johnson, Katie Levick, Emma Marlow, Harriet Robson, Mia Rogers+, Grace Thompson, Sophia Turner, Mady Villiers, Emily Windsor.
Opposition Corner
Captain: Sophie Luff
Overseas player: Anika Learoyd (Australia, all)
2025 finish: 8th
2025 leading run-scorer: Amanda-Jade Wellington (254)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Molly Robbins (15)
Key winter moves: Australia A international Anika Learoyd will fill the overseas vacancy created by Amanda-Jade Wellington’s switch to Hampshire, while England’s Dani Gibson and Charlie Dean have signed one and two-year contract extensions respectively. England Under-19 seamer Bea Willis, batter Ruby Davis and leg spinner Lola Harris have agreed their first professional deals. Opener Amelie Munday and seamer Laura Jackson were released in the winter, while batter Fran Wilson took up a coaching role at Gloucestershire.
The big question: Can a relatively inexperienced squad find a way to win matches without their senior England players? In the anticipated absence of Heather Knight, Dani Gibson and Charlie Dean, it will be incumbent upon those with less experience to prove they can muster the consistency needed to translate last year’s near misses into victories in 2026.
Wildcard watch: Lola Harris – playing her first season at this level and still something of an unknown quantity on the county circuit, the highly-rated teenage leg spinner has already made an impact in the Metro Bank One Day Cup. She has a great repeatable action and, providing she can maintain her composure under pressure, the England Under-19 international possesses the variation required to cause problems for batters.
Final thought: Although weakened by the loss of new ball bowler Mollie Robbins and batter Emma Corney, Somerset should still have sufficient resource to better last season’s disappointing return of one win from 14 games. If Anika Learoyd, Bex Odgers, Sophie Luff and Niamh Holland can score runs consistently, Chloe Skelton and Alex Griffiths possess the bowling knowhow to restrict the opposition.
Match Centre
The Club’s match centre will be in operation for the fixture with live scorecards, statistics & video highlights as they happen. You can watch the game live via Durham’s match centre and the Somerset YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.