Durham Women get their 2026 season underway tomorrow when they host Lancashire at Banks Homes Riverside, starting at 10:30am.
Dani Hazell has named a 14-player squad for the season opener as Durham look to kick of the Metro Bank One Day Cup in winning style.
Australian overseas Tahlia Wilson is set to make her Durham List A debut, having arrived in Chester le Street earlier this week.
England international Lauren Filer is named in the 14 and could also make her Durham debut in the List A format – having featured just four time during the 2025 season in the Vitality Blast.
Harriett Robson could also make her Durham professional debut, having signed a rookie deal during the winter following an impressive season with Durham Academy.
Durham face a tough test to kick off the 2026 season, going up against last year’s Metro Bank One Day Cup winners, although Durham did beat the Red Rose in Chester le Street last summer in the List A format.
Squad v Lancashire (11 April)
Hollie Armitage, Lauren Filer, Katherine Fraser, Bess Heath, Katie Levick, Emma Marlow, Harriet Robson, Mia Rogers, Phoebe Turner, Sophia Turner, Grace Thompson, Mady Villiers, Tahlia Wilson, Emily Windsor
Words from Dani Hazell
It’s always a long winter indoors, so, we are all really looking forward now to getting going.
We have seen some good development throughout the winter. So, yeah, now is a chance to put it into play in the field.
The two warm up games in Spain and then last week against Warwickshire were great opportunities to get out and get some match practice in. I think in the warmup games you start to play around with options, and you start to look at how we can set things up throughout the season. You start to explore different things. So, from our point of view, we got out what we wanted.
I think all teams massively improved as the season went on and throughout the winter.
Lancashire are a good side, they had a very good season last year, then winning two trophies shows how strong of a side they are.
Tomorrow will be a good challenge for us against a good side, but there is no better way to get going against the 2026 winners and testing ourselves against them. We beat them here last year in a good game so we will be putting our best foot forward to do the same again.
Opposition Corner
Captain: Ellie Threlkeld
Head coach: Chris Read
2025 finish: Champions
2025 highest run-scorer: Emma Lamb (794)
2025 highest wicket-taker: Grace Potts (16)
Winter moves: September’s final hero Gaby Lewis returns as overseas, Ireland’s captain having hit a stunning unbeaten 141 in chasing 289 at Hampshire to complete the County T20 and One Day Cup double. Fellow opener Tilly Kesteven, star of May’s County Cup final against Surrey – has signed her maiden pro contract. Experienced seamer Phoebe Graham has retired into a pathway coaching role, joining new senior bowling coaches Mattie McKiernan and Scott Boswell.
The big question: Can Lancashire go one step further and complete the treble? It will be a huge ask, of course, despite the immense quality they have. But the Red Rose were frustrated at missing out on a Finals Day place in the Vitality Blast last year and want to rectify that in 2026. Largely speaking, though, the hunters are now the hunted. It’s a challenge they are excited to tackle.
Player to watch: The obvious one would be Emma Lamb. Her form with the bat was sensational, sailing beyond 1,000 runs in all competitions. However, we know all about the England star. Instead, let’s look at dynamic Scotland batter Ailsa Lister. An emerging middle order prospect, the 21-year-old hit the winning runs in the final at Hampshire and has a huge summer ahead, including June’s Women’s T20 World Cup in England.
Final thought: Aside from the trophy hunt, there are a couple of really exciting things on the horizon for Lancashire. Firstly, Yorkshire’s elevation to Tier 1 introduces the Roses rivalry to the professional era of women’s domestic cricket in England. Also, Emirates Old Trafford will host the Vitality T20 County Cup Finals Day on Saturday 29 August. The defending champions would love to be there.
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 YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.