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Metro Bank One Day Cup Preview: The Blaze v Somerset

THE MATCH

Somerset travel to The Haslegrave Ground, Loughborough to take on The Blaze in the Metro Bank One Day Cup tomorrow (Tuesday May 20th).

Play is due to get underway at 10:30am.

Somerset are currently fourth in the table with 17 points from seven matches whilst The Blaze are third with 20 points from the same number of fixtures.

HOW CAN I KEEP UP TO DATE?

You can keep up to date using the dedicated Match Centre on this website which will feature a live stream of the action courtesy of Warwickshire CCC.

In-play updates will also appear on our X feed (formerly Twitter).

In addition to this, a report on the day’s play along with quotes will be posted on this website.

THE OPPOSITION

Captain: Kirstie Gordon

Head Coach: Craig Cumming

The big questions: After winning their first trophy in the 2024 Charlotte Edwards Cup, how will The Blaze fare now that head coach Chris Guest has left to lead England’s Under-19s Women? Can successor Craig Cumming, the ex-New Zealand Test batter, duplicate his success with Otago Sparks after two domestic 50-over titles in three years?

Player to watch: The return of former Loughborough Lightning captain Georgia Elwiss to the East Midlands after four trophy-laden seasons with Southern Vipers adds proven experience and availability to The Blaze squad. The 33-year-old former England all-rounder’s 2024 campaign was among the best of her career, including 488 runs at 69.71 in the 50-over competition.

Young gun: Josie Groves has taken 20 List A wickets in the past two seasons yet the leg spinner has only just turned 20 and is still looking to realise her full potential both as a bowler and batter. An Under-19s World Cup finalist, she is likely to have a big part to play this season.

Final thought: Last year’s 20-over champions and 50-over finalists two years ago, The Blaze have added a fourth current England player in Amy Jones to the squad with all-rounders Orla Prendergast (Ireland) and Heather Graham (Australia) sharing overseas duties. Stung by failing to make the knock-out stage in last season’s 50-over competition, they will be eager to put that right.

Squad: Kirstie Gordon (captain), Grace Ballinger, Sarah Glenn, Georgie Boyce, Josie Groves, Cassidy McCarthy, Lucy Higham, Sarah Bryce, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Tammy Beaumont, Kathryn Bryce, Prisha Thanawala, Charley Phillips, Marie Kelly, Michaela Kirk, Ella Claridge, Georgia Elwiss, Amy Jones, Olivia Baker, Amy Wheeler, Scarlett Hughes, Heather Graham, Orla Prendergast.

TEAM NEWS

England players are unavailable for this match and Somerset will therefore be without Heather Knight and Charlie Dean. Somerset will also be without Dani Gibson (back), Niamh Holland (back), Amelie Munday (shin) and Lola Harris (exams).

The following squad has been named for this fixture:

VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM

Ahead of the fixture, Somerset Head Coach, Trevor Griffin said: “The Blaze have had a good start to the season and, as I’ve said before, there are no easy games at this level because every team has match winners.

“This is the first time that we will see teams without their England players, so it will be interesting to see how the competition unfolds this week. Heather and Charlie are fantastic players who are also outstanding in the dressing room. Their skill, knowledge and experience will be a loss, but their absence gives other players the opportunity to step up and showcase what they can do.”

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

If you are planning to attend the match, all the information you need can be found on the official Warwickshire CCC Website.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE CCC

NEXT MATCH

Somerset are next in action when we take on Surrey at the Cooper Associates County Ground in the Vitality Blast on Friday May 30th.

This matchday is a double header which will also see Somerset men take on their Surrey counterparts.

Tickets for this match have sold out!