Kia Oval Talking Points: Bryony Smith cameo and Ryana MacDonald-Gay's opening salvo

The Cricketer looks at the main talking points from the Women's T20 Blast match between Surrey and Durham at the Kia Oval

Movement That Inspires play of the day

Safe in the knowledge that Suzie Bates would present Surrey – even with a stacked batting lineup – a whole host of problems, Ryana MacDonald-Gay promptly ran up and sent her middle stump cartwheeling several feet behind the New Zealand great.

Bates, with T20 scores for Durham of 65, 49 and 34, was key for Dani Hazell's side who, despite plenty of ambitious recruitment through the winter, sat second-bottom coming to the Kia Oval.

MacDonald-Gay wasn't finished there; she promptly produced the same delivery to clean up Mady Villiers, her Oval Invincibles teammate, as Durham's decision to bat first in south London backfired in a hurry.

^{Suzie Bates fell for five (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

Take The Lead, Drive Electric moment of the day

Having opted to bat first, Durham must have known that their score was below par.

So, Bryony Smith's immediate assault was not what the doctor ordered. The first 14 balls of Surrey's innings garnered eight fours, and the game was virtually done as a contest.

For all the talk around Laura Harris' mammoth hitting at Bears Women, Surrey – on Smith's example – made light work of their task.

She bossed a powerplay that brought 71 runs – 42 more than Durham's – and the carnage of that display spooked Durham into successive drops: the first an absolute sitter to mid-off made harder by a lack of communication, the second a fine piece of work on the ropes from Villiers to prevent a six.

The overall upshot, though, was that the onslaught was allowed to continue apace.

^{Ryana MacDonald-Gay claimed two early wickets for Surrey (Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)}

Tash Farrant back

It's been great to see Tash Farrant back in action for Surrey. The former England left-armer has endured a torrid time with injuries.

She missed almost all of the 2022 and 2023 summers with back problems and then was ruled out of last year's Hundred with what she described as "a random niggle" that was "extremely tough" to take.

So, when the start of Farrant's first summer with Surrey was promptly delayed by more fitness trouble, you could only feel for the 29-year-old.

She made her return against Hampshire last time out, claiming a single wicket on Thursday afternoon, before having Emma Marlow caught at mid-on by Paige Scholfield as her comeback reached its second game.

This report was brought to you in association with Kia – to find out more about why Kia is a leader in electrification, visit www.kia.com

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