Durham Women are looking to continue their T20 Finals Day push when the Blaze visit Banks Homes Riverside tomorrow [11:30am].
Dani Hazell has named an unchanged squad of 14 as Durham look for their seventh win in the Vitality Blast.
Hazell’s side sit third in the league table on 27 points after nine matches and will attempt to strengthen a two point lead on The Blaze in fourth who have six wins from their eight games.
Durham head into their second successive home game after easing to a seven-wicket victory over Lancashire Thunder on Friday night, bowling the Red Rose out for 79 in Chester-le-Street.
It will be a third T20 meeting against the Nottinghamshire-based side of the season for Durham, having taken away the points from Trent Bridge earlier in the Blast before Craig Cumming’s side hit back with a win in the T20 County Cup.
Words from Trudy Johnson
You’re under pressure from the start when you’ve got a player like Meg Lanning at the other end and so it was good to get her out. Everything felt good from the start against Lancashire and I was just happy to get some wickets.
We had a bonus point at the back of our minds when we bowled them out for 79 and I think we felt pretty confident.
It was a nice bowling track and I’m glad we bowled first. Heather and Hollie batted well and I’m just pleased they got us over the line.
Squad v The Blaze (5 July)
Hollie Armitage*, Katherine Fraser, Abi Glen, Heather Graham, Bess Heath, Trudy Johnson, Katie Levick, Emma Marlow, Mia Rogers+, Charlotte Stubbs, Grace Thompson, Sophia Turner, Mady Villiers, Emily Windsor.
Opposition Corner
Captain: Kirstie Gordon
Overseas players: Charli Knott (Australia, all)
2025 finish: Semi-finalists
2025 leading run-scorer: Georgia Elwiss (412)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Kathryn Bryce (17)
Key winter moves: The Blaze have signed talented Australia A all-rounder Charli Knott, who brings experience of the Women’s Premier League in India, the Women’s Big Bash and The Hundred, and hit five white-ball half-centuries for Hampshire Women last summer. Meanwhile, Emma Jones, formerly with Surrey, can provide useful runs in the middle order.
The big question: The Blaze, like others, will be depleted because of the clash with the Women’s T20 World Cup. They lose England’s Amy Jones and Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ireland’s Orla Prendergast, although it may be the unavailability of their three Scots, Kathryn and Sarah Bryce and Blaze skipper Kirstie Gordon, that is the most keenly felt. Can those left step up a level?
Wildcard watch: United States international Ella Claridge, whose country missed out on qualification for the T20 World Cup, has a chance to make her presence felt in the Vitality Blast. The 24-year-old wicketkeeper batter will carry some responsibility in the absence of Scotland’s Sarah Bryce and England’s Amy Jones but has proved before that she can rise to the challenge under pressure.
Final thought: Even stripped of six internationals, The Blaze still have the capacity to mount a challenge for silverware. Marie Kelly, a very capable top-order batter and excellent fielder, will captain the side, with experienced England batter Tammy Beaumont as a sounding board as well as a key source of runs. Charley Phillips, Grace Ballinger and Cassidy McCarthy are three top-notch seamers, while former England all-rounder Georgia Elwiss has enjoyed a couple of outstanding seasons with bat and ball.
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 Durham Cricket YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.