In an historic night for the Club, Durham take on The Blaze in its first women’s standalone T20 fixture, starting at 6:30pm on Friday.
Dani Hazell has named a squad of 16 including the return of Lauren Filer, as Durham look to hit back from a five-wicket defeat to The Bears on Wednesday.
Filer returns from England duty after taking three wickets in their ODI series against West Indies and is in line for her first Durham appearance at Banks Homes Riverside.
Durham face The Blaze who currently stand joint-top of the Women’s Vitality Blast table on 17 points with three wins, one tie and one abandonment from their opening five games.
Durham lie seventh in the ladder on four points, with victory over Hampshire last weekend providing one win in the opening five fixtures.
Words from Dani Hazell
(On Bears defeat) Second half, we only really have ourselves to blame. We created opportunities and we didn’t take them from a fielding point of view.
I don’t think we should go away from how well Mady (Villiers) played first half. There were a couple who started to support her but it was a great innings and if you’re doing things like that, you shouldn’t be losing games of cricket. It’s our job to look inside and it’s our job to put this right.
It’s a bit of time for some self-reflection and we’ve got to dust ourselves down and go again against The Blaze on Friday.
Squad v The Blaze (Friday 13 June)
Hollie Armitage*, Suzie Bates, Leah Dobson, Lauren Filer, Katherine Fraser, Abi Glen, Bess Heath+, Trudy Johnson, Katie Levick, Emma Marlow, Mia Rogers, Lizzie Scott, Grace Thompson, Phoebe Turner, Sophia Turner, Mady Villiers
Opposition Corner
Captain: Kirstie Gordon
Overseas players: Maddy Green (New Zealand, first four matches), Heather Graham (Australia, last 10 matches)
Key winter moves: The big change for The Blaze has been off the pitch, where former New Zealand Test batter Craig Cumming takes over as head coach in place of Chris Guest, who guided the Trent Bridge-based team to its first silverware in the Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 competition in 2024. Cumming arrives with a winning pedigree, though, having won two trophies in four years with Otago Sparks.
The big question: After last season’s impressive campaign established The Blaze at the top of the pile in the 20-over format, can anyone knock them off their perch? South East Stars, who ran them closest in 2024, have morphed into Surrey Women, with whom The Blaze shared 692 runs in an incredible 50-over tie at Beckenham earlier this month. There may be little between them over 20 overs too.
Wildcard watch: Charley Phillips – Such is the depth of The Blaze squad, some 15 of their number are already signed up for the 2025 edition of The Hundred. If they are to be joined by another team-mate, it may be Charley Phillips, who arrived from Sunrisers in the close season as a young bowler with pace and has already made a good impression.
Final thought: The Blaze squad contains four current England players but it is their Scottish triumvirate – skipper Kirstie Gordon and the Bryce sisters, Kathryn and Sarah – who are the heart of the team. Gordon was the leading 20-over wicket-taker in 2024, Kathryn Bryce the top runscorer and wicket-keeper Sarah had only one in front of her in the dismissals table. They may hold the keys to success again in 2025.
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 Durham’s YouTube channel. Durham Cricket will have full coverage on social media, with a full match report at the close.