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Women’s Vitality Blast Preview: Somerset v Lancashire Thunder
THE MATCH
Somerset welcome Lancashire Thunder to the Cooper Associates County Ground for the first ever stand alone flood lit women’s Vitality Blast match.
The fixture also includes a free Taylor Swift tribute concert courtesy of Forever Swift.
Tickets for this match cost just £5 for adults and £1 for juniors and are still available, so book them now before it’s too late!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
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 and spectators are reminded that no glass or sharp implements will be permitted within the Cooper Associates County Ground.
Seating will be available in the following stands:
- Marcus Trescothick Pavilion Upper (Somerset Women Members)
- Marcus Trescothick Pavilion Lower
- Ondaatje Family Stand
- Ondaatje Alcohol Free Stand
- Gimblett’s Hill (accessible viewing area)
- Colin Atkinson Pavilion (Somerset Women Members)
- James Hildreth Stand (Somerset Women Members)
- Lord Botham Stand (Somerset Women Members)
- Somerset Stand Block 5
- Somerset Women 1875 Club and Long Room Members will be able to access the Long Room for this fixture.
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 and not in the Andrew Caddick Pavilion.
Due to the busy nature of a matchday, our telephone lines will reopen at 10am on Monday June 16th.
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.
FAN VILLAGE & CATERING
There will be live music on the Somerset Leisure Stage in the St James Street Fan Village before the match and during the interval from Stevie Nicole Brown.
Matchday food and drink will also be available from the SCCC concessions and bars around the ground.
Forever Swift will perform on the Somerset Leisure Stage in the Fan Village after the match.
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.
In association with Vertu, Somerset County Cricket Club will be providing radio ear pieces to enable Members and supporters to enjoy our live ball-by-ball match commentary. These will be available to purchase from Reception in the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion at a cost of £12 and these will last all season.
A report on the day’s play will also be posted on this website.
THE OPPOSITION
LANCASHIRE THUNDER
Captain: Ellie Threlkeld
Overseas player: Katie Mack (Australia, first three group matches), Alana King (Australia, from match four onwards)
Key winter moves: Lancashire were busy ahead of 2025. Eve Jones arrived and is currently one of county cricket’s in-form batters. She’s been joined by England fringe fast bowler Grace Potts and Scotland spinner Darcey Carter. Batter Katie Mack will start the Blast before being replaced by one of the competition’s standout overseas signings, her fellow Australian Alana King, the superstar leg-spinner.
The big question: Lancashire have started the summer brilliantly, winning six of eight matches in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, before lifting the T20 County Cup. Can they transfer that momentum into the Blast? If so, they will definitely be a force. They look to be well balanced, with strength across all disciplines. In the regional era, Thunder’s only knockout cricket came courtesy of a 2023 Charlotte Edwards Cup Finals Day appearance.
Wildcard watch: Left-armer Sophie Morris is another one off a Lancashire spin-bowling conveyor belt which has nurtured Sophie Ecclestone, Olivia Bell and Hannah Jones in recent times. The 21-year-old played in the regional Charlotte Edwards Cup during the last two summers and, in a 2022 Academy T20 friendly, returned an astonishing 6-0. Her maiden senior five-for came against Durham earlier this month.
Final thought: Ashes rivals, Thunder team-mates. You could well see a spin bowling partnership of Sophie Ecclestone and Alana King during this summer’s Vitality Blast. Aussie leggie King loves Emirates Old Trafford. In 2021, she took a hat-trick there whilst playing for Trent Rockets in The Hundred, a particularly proud moment given it was at the scene of her idol Shane Warne’s ball of the century to Mike Gatting in 1993.
TEAM NEWS
Somerset will be without Heather Knight (hamstring), Dani Gibson (back), Emma Corney (Knee) and Lola Harris (exams) but Charlie Dean is available for selection after returning from international duty.
Somerset have named the following squad:
VIEWS FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the match, Somerset Head Coach, Trevor Griffin said: “It’s been nice to have a couple of days back at Taunton after traveling to Edgbaston and Trent Bridge last week. We had a really good training session last night and we’ve been back in again this morning. The girls are champing at the bit and we had a really productive meeting yesterday. England players are available again, so it will be interesting to see how teams set up over the next few games
“The players know that they haven’t shown the best versions of themselves so far in the tournament and they’re desperate to go out there tomorrow and put it right in front of a fantastic crowd.
“Ahead of every match, the scoreboard goes back to zero and we can re-set. We can’t control the past but we can draw on the things that we’ve done well and try to do more of that for longer.
“I think we just need a little bit of luck, and we need to give ourselves a little bit more time. T20 is a fast game but you often have more time than you think you do. That’s something that we’ve spoken about this week and the coaches have been working on that with the squad.”
MATCH SPONSOR – CLARKE WILLMOTT
Clarke Willmott LLP is a national firm of solicitors providing a full range of legal services for businesses and individuals. Working closely with their clients, they provide legal advice and tailored solutions whilst also investing time and energy into developing strong client relationships.
NEXT MATCH
Somerset Women are next in action on Sunday we we take on Durham at the Cooper Associates County Ground in the Vitality Blast. This match is part of a double head which also features Somerset Men v Kent Spitfires.
This match has sold out!
Somerset Men and Women both play Hampshire Hawks at the Cooper Associates County Ground in a Vitality Blast double header on Thursday June 19th.
Tickets for this matchday are still available and can be purchased now!
