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14th June 2025 Women

13 heading to Taunton as Durham look for second Vitality Blast win

Durham Women will be looking to bounce back from Friday’s loss to The Blaze when they travel to Taunton on Sunday to take on Somerset in the Vitality Blast.

Dani Hazell has named a 13 player squad with Phoebe Turner, Trudy Johnson and Lizzie Scott dropping out of the 16 which were in contention to face The Blaze on Friday night.

Durham go into the game on Sunday in seventh place in the Vitality Blast while Somerset are bottom of the table having not picked up a win in the competition up to now. The Taunton outfit have played five compared to Durham’s six with Durham still only having one win to their name.

Lauren Filer remains with Durham having been released from England duty after taking three wickets in their ODI series against West Indies.

Durham last took on Somerset in the Vitality County Cup at Exmouth winning in dramatic fashion – as Hollie Armitage and Bess Heath helped Durham pip Somerset in a superover to progress into the quarter finals of the knockout competition.

Words from Suzie Bates

Two games in a row we thought we’ve been in with a good chance with the way we’ve batted but they’re a class side and their batters kept on coming. I thought our bowlers would often pull it back then they would have a big over, it felt like that throughout the innings.
It’s a tough one to take, we’ve just got to make sure we keep learning fast and we’ve come up against some really good sides so far.
I thought it was good for us to have a bat first. I had some really good partnerships with Mady (Villiers) and Bess (Heath). The last few overs, we could have got to 200 from that position. I guess we’re going to have to talk about it and take the positives into Sunday against Somerset.
You’d like it to be match-winning when you get in and get those scores. As a top order batter when you get a score like that you want to win matches. I felt like they had a lot of sixes which made a difference.

Squad v Somerset (Sunday 15 June)

Hollie Armitage*, Suzie Bates, Leah Dobson, Lauren Filer, Katherine Fraser, Abi Glen, Bess Heath+, Katie Levick, Emma Marlow, Mia Rogers, Grace Thompson, Sophia Turner, Mady Villiers

Opposition Corner

Captain: Sophie Luff

Overseas players: Amanda-Jade Wellington (Australia, full competition)

Key winter moves: Seam bowlers Laura Jackson and Ellie Anderson have been recruited to provide a cutting edge with the new ball, while England international spinning all-rounder Charlie Dean was brought in to add star quality. Perhaps more significantly, the services of Australian leg spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington, a proven match-winner at this level, were secured for a second season.

The big question: Although competitive for the most part in their previous guise as Western Storm, a relatively inexperienced side tended to come up just short in close matches. Can this revamped Somerset squad improve on that record and demonstrate the knowhow needed to challenge for the latter stages?

Wildcard watch: Alex Griffiths. Thrust into the role vacated by the injured Dani Gibson, the talented Welsh all-rounder is ready to realise her full potential. Adept at bowling seam up under pressure during the death overs, she now possesses the range of shots and confidence required to be an effective finisher with the bat.

Final thought: A series of shrewd signings and the availability of their international players has transformed erstwhile strugglers into more consistent performers in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup this season. Confidence and momentum gained from a series of impressive victories in the 50-over competition can now be harnessed to render Somerset competitive in the short format. As ever, much will depend on the form of overseas star Amanda-Jade Wellington and the availability of England pair Heather Knight and Charlie Dean.

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 match will also be available on Somerset’s YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.

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