Durham Women will be looking to bounce back from last week’s defeat to The Blaze when they head to Taunton to take on Somerset tomorrow at 10:30am.
Dani Hazell has named a squad of 13 as Durham look to secure their sixth win of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup going up against a Somerset side who beat Essex by eight wickets last time out.
Lauren Filer returns to the fold and is in line to make her fifth appearance for Durham in List A cricket – having made her Durham debut in the 50 over format earlier this summer against Lancashire.
Danielle Collins is in contention to make her Durham debut after joining on loan from Lancashire for the rest of the 2026 campaign.
Durham are fourth in the league table with 24 points while Somerset are one place behind in fifth spot with 23 points having won five and lost six, with a game in hand on Durham.
Durham are without Phoebe Turner, Emily Windsor and Trudy Johnson due to injury.
Hollie Armitage is Durham’s top One Day Cup run-scorer with 445 runs – eighth in the competition, whilst Katie Levick’s 20 wickets are only bettered by Charley Phillips, Jess Jonassen and Amanda-Jade Wellington.
Words from Hollie Armitage
It was a good batting pitch against The Blaze with one extremely short boundary. I think a par total probably would have been just over 300 and we’d have been probably happy chasing that, so we’ve probably let them get a few too many. Obviously we gave Brycey a chance pretty early on and that ended up costing us, but I think she and Georgia Elwiss batted superbly.
If we’d had the full allocation, we’d have still had the belief that we could chase 350 but when rain hits and you need to go at nearly 11 and over for 25 overs, it can become a bit of a challenge. Ultimately it was a good game of cricket, even though the scores might not reflect that.
There’s lots of things you can tweak to improve. There were quite a few extras today and I think we missed our lengths a little bit. But there are plenty of positives too in the way we kept them to four and a half an over for the first 20 and in how Mady and Bess batted at the end, both getting half centuries. We’ve not played 50 overs in a while and hopefully it was just brushing off the cobwebs and we’ll get back to it in Taunton.
Squad v Somerset (26 August)
Hollie Armitage*, Danielle Collins, Lauren Filer, Katherine Fraser, Abi Glen, Bess Heath, Eleanor Larosa, Katie Levick, Emma Marlow, Mia Rogers+, Grace Thompson, Sophia Turner, Mady Villiers.
Opposition Corner
Captain: Sophie Luff
Head coach: Erin Osborne
2025 Finish: 5th
2025 Highest run-scorer: Sophie Luff (362)
2025 Highest wicket-taker: Amanda-Jade Wellington (19)
Winter moves: Australia A international Anika Learoyd will fill the overseas vacancy created by Amanda-Jade Wellington’s switch to Hampshire, while England Under-19 seamer Bea Willis and batter Ruby Davis have signed their first professional deals. Dani Gibson, Charlie Dean, Niamh Holland, Chloe Skelton and Jess Hazel have all penned contract extensions. Opener Amelie Munday and seamer Laura Jackson have been released, while batter Fran Wilson has left to join Gloucestershire’s coaching staff.
The big question: Can new head coach Erin Osborne mastermind a transition from wannabe status to genuine contenders in her first season? Somerset will fancy their chances of beating anyone when England stars Heather Knight, Charlie Dean and Dani Gibson are available, but it remains to be seen if promising youngsters can step up and help fill the gaps created by the departure of experienced campaigners Amanda-Jade Wellington and Fran Wilson.
Player to watch: Overseas signing Anika Learoyd is a fast-rising star Down Under and boasts exciting potential. The 23-year-old broke into Australia’s A team last year following a series of stand-out performances for Sydney Thunder and New South Wales, scoring 362 runs in 13 matches across all formats for her country. Her forthright style with the bat will bolster the top order, while her leg spin will offer variety.
Final thought: The return to fitness of talented opener Emma Corney and England all-rounder Dani Gibson following long-term injury should effect improvement with both bat and ball and serve to render Somerset more competitive. Providing they can find the consistency needed to build on last season’s progress and overcome an apparent lack of depth, there is no reason why they cannot achieve a top-four finish.
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 Somerset YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.