Vitality Blast Double Header Preview: Somerset v Warwickshire Bears
THE MATCHES
Somerset Men and Somerset Women are both in action in the Vitality Blast when they take on their Warwickshire Bears counterparts at the Cooper Associates County Ground tomorrow (Sunday June 7th).
Somerset Women will get the action underway at 11:30am with Somerset Men taking to the field at 3:30pm.
Tickets for this match are still available.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Gates will open at 10:30pm.
Please note that double headers are not included in 202o6 Somerset Women Membership.
Please note that there will be no re-admittance after 2:30pm.
Information on everything that you will need for a matchday at SCCC, including how to download your e-tickets and how to use the SCCC Ticket App can all be found in our Visiting Guide.
Bag searches will be in operation which may increase the time it takes you to enter the venue.
Spectators are reminded that no glass or sharp implements will be permitted within the Cooper Associates County Ground.
For full Ground Regulations please visit the link below:
Ticket buyers can download their online tickets via their SCCC account. All ticket or Membership collections or queries will be managed at the Jack White Gates (St James Street).
The Club Reception Desk is now permanently based in the Reception of the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion.
Due to the busy nature of a matchday, our telephone lines will reopen at 10am on Monday June 8th.
Scorecards will be available from Reception in the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion. Completed scorecards can be downloaded after the match via the Membership section of this website.
SOMERSET LEISURE FAN VILLAGE
The Somerset Leisure Fan Village will be situated in the St James Street side of the Cooper Associates County Ground.
This will feature a wide range of food and drink plus live music from Voodoo Seven between fixtures and during the men’s interval.
Matchday food and drink will also be available from the SCCC concessions and bars around the ground.
Drinks will also be available from our new venue, “Joels” which is situated behind Block 5 of the Somerset Stand.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP TO DATE?
Our award winning live stream is available for fans to watch via this website and our YouTube channel.
You can also keep up to date by using our dedicated matchday blog via this website’s Match Centre and on our X feed.
A report on the day’s play will also be posted on this website.
THE OPPOSITION
WARWICKSHIRE BEARS WOMEN
Captain: Georgia Davis
Overseas players: Georgia Redmayne (Australia, all)
2025 finish: finalists
2025 leading run-scorer: Davina Perrin (385)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Millie Taylor (22)
Key winter moves: Australia wicketkeeper/batter Georgia Redmayne has been signed and will bring valuable experience and nous to a squad which is highly talented but still relatively young and inexperienced.
The big question: Can Warwickshire’s squad cope with injuries to key personnel which will affect them in the group stage? Katie George (abductor) and Davina Perrin (hamstring), two integral members of the first-choice top order, will miss at least the early group games. With Issy Wong and Em Arlott away on England duty, the Bears’ squad depth will be tested.
Wildcard watch: Meg Austin – an aggressive top-order batter who scores quickly with a range of strokes, the 21-year-old from Staffordshire is a ‘proper’ batter who can also improvise. Quick between the wickets, she is capable of delivering exciting, match-turning innings.
Final thought: The Bears did brilliantly to finish as runners-up in the Blast last year. They finished third in the group stage to reach Finals Day at which they beat much-fancied Blaze in the semi before losing to Surrey in the final. To have done all that has raised expectations among their supporters this time round, Can the Bears rise to the challenge of higher expectations…as successful teams must do?
WARWICKSHIRE BEARS MEN
Captain: Ed Barnard
Overseas players: Usman Tariq (Pakistan, all), Beau Webster (Australia, all)
Finals Day appearances: Four (2002, 2014, 2015, 2017)
Titles: One (2014)
2025 finish: Quarter-finals
2025 leading run-scorer: Alex Davies (464)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Hasan Ali (25)
Key winter moves: Pakistan off-spinner Usman Tariq is the big addition to a bowling attack which has lost its spin spearhead of recent years, Danny Briggs. Beau Webster’s all-round excellence and big-match temperament will be a big asset.
The big question: The same question that has been on the minds of the Bears’ supporters for five years? Can they fix that quarter-final jinx? Much work is required to even get to that stage, of course, but if they do, a sequence of five successive quarter-final exits must be broken.
Wildcard watch: Ethan Bamber – T20 games are decided by cricketers who make things happen and Bamber is very much in that category. A wicket-taker with the ball and capable of blistering cameos with the bat.
Final thought: Frustration is growing around Edgbaston at Warwickshire’s succession of Blast near-misses – five quarter-final defeats on the bounce. The stadium is a hugely popular host venue for Finals Day… for the hosts to again attend their own party is long overdue.
TEAM NEWS
Somerset Women will be without Heather Knight, Charlie Dean and Dani Gibson (international duty). Emma Corney (knee) and Mollie Robbins (unavailable) will also miss the game.
A starting XI will be named from the following squad:
Somerset Men will be without Tom Kohler-Cadmore (thumb), Will Smeed (hand) and Riley Meredith (international duty). James Rew is also unavailable (England Lions).
A starting XI will be named from the list below:
VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the match, Somerset Women’s Head Coach, Erin Osborne said: “We can take a lot of confidence and belief from the way we’ve been playing. There’s been some really good cricket and I’m looking forward to being back at home playing in a doubleheader against Warwickshire. It should be a good game and we’re looking forward to it.
“Any opportunity we get to play at home is one that we thoroughly enjoy. We love the atmosphere and it’s such a great place to play. We know how much Taunton loves its cricket and it almost adds another player to our team whenever we get the opportunity to play at home, so we’re really looking forward to that.
“I’m really happy with how we’re going at the moment, and I think there’s a real commitment to playing the way we want to play. They understand that it’s not always going to be their day but they’re still willing to commit to the way we want to play, so the squad’s in a great place. I think the belief is pretty high amongst the group and I’m really pleased with the way we’ve started this competition.”
Men’s Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “We had a really positive result at Edgbaston, so they’ll be looking for revenge. They’ve not had the best start to the campaign, but they are still a really good white-ball side, and we’ll need to make sure that we’re delivering our skills for longer. There are 40 overs and you can’t afford to switch off at any point.
“We certainly need to get a positive result. What I’m looking to get from the guys is an improvement in what we deliver in the middle. We need to see an uplift in what we’re delivering over the period of the 40 overs.”
TRADE NATION STATS
Ahead of our Vitality Blast matches this summer we will be be bringing you some amazing stats in partnership with Trade Nation.
CLASSIC MATCH
We go back to 2013 for the classic T20 encounter between the two sides at Taunton.
It was a match that Somerset won by 10 wickets.
Warwickshire Captain, Varun Chopra won the toss and elected to bat. That was as good as the day got for the visitors.
Yasir Arafat claimed career-best figures of four for five as Warwickshire were dismissed for just 73 with three overs to spare.
Chris Jones (30*) and Craig Kieswetter (39*) then saw Somerset over the line from just 8.3 overs.
MATCH SPONSOR – KING’S COLLEGE, TAUNTON
King’s College, Taunton seek to empower pupils to challenge themselves intellectually to learn and grow, and most importantly to develop a lifelong love of learning for their own sake, not simply to pass an exam.
One of the region’s most highly regarded education providers, King’s College is also a designated Centre of Cricketing Excellence and has produced a number of Somerset players over the years including Jos Buttler, Tom Banton, Will Smeed, James Rew, Thomas Rew, Josh Thomas and Erin Vukusic.
THE WOLLENS O-ZONE CHALLENGE!
Somerset County Cricket Club have teamed up with Wollens Solicitors to help raise money for Children’s Hospice South West in 2026.
If any player hits the ball through the “O” of the Wollens advertising board at the Cooper Associates County Ground this year, Wollens will donate £1 for every run that is scored in that innings!
Regarding the initiative, Emma Perry, Head of Fundraising at CHSW, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Wollens Solicitors and Somerset County Cricket Club for their fantastic support. The Wollens O-Zone Challenge is such a fun and creative way for players to help raise vital funds while doing what they love out on the pitch. Every run scored has the potential to make a real difference to the families we support, and we’re so thankful to everyone involved for getting behind this initiative.”
WIN A SOMERSET LEISURE CARAVAN
As part of our partnership with Somerset Leisure, we will be teaming up to bring our Members and supporters an incredible competition to win a caravan which is at the CACG today!
Keep your eyes on this website and our social channels for more information!
VITALITY BLAST VOLUNTEERS
At all of our Vitality Blast matches, Somerset Cricket Foundation’s Super 1 disability cricket players will be volunteering their time to support the matchday experience by offering you a friendly welcome and helping give out 4 & 6 cards.
Lord’s Taverners Super 1s is all about creating opportunities on the field, but just as importantly providing valuable experiences off the field that help young people develop confidence and life skills for the future.
If you see them around the ground this evening, please do say hello and give them plenty of encouragement because they’re a little nervous, but very excited to be part of tonight’s match.
NEXT MATCH
Somerset Women are next in action on Saturday June 13th when we welcome Hampshire to the Cooper Associates County Ground in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.
Tickets for this match are available now!
Somerset Men’s next match begins on Friday June 12th when we take on Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in the Rothesay County Championship
Tickets for the match are on sale via the link below.
