Durham thump Essex, as Edgbaston plays host to thriller

WOMEN'S ONE DAY CUP ROUNDUP: The opening day of the tier one season delivered four matches of all shapes and sizes

ECB Reporters Network | 23/04/2025 at 18:17

Edgbaston: Hampshire 208, Bears 208 - match tied

Warwickshire and Hampshire tied an absolute thriller in their One Day Cup women’s competition opener at Edgbaston.

On a pitch which never yielded runs easily, Hampshire chose to bat and were bowled out for 208 in 48.3 overs, as only Rhianna Southby (72 from 95 balls - her maiden 50-over half-century) and Abi Norgrove (28, 46) passed 20.

Chloe Brewer took 3 for 40, and there were two wickets apiece for Emily Arlott and Georgia Davis.

Warwickshire then were also all out for 208, their last wicket falling from the final ball of the 50th over. Abi Freeborn’s composed 70 (96 balls) put them on top, but Linsey Smith, 4 for 39, cut through the lower middle order to leave Warwickshire’s last two wickets needing to find 44.

In fading light, Charis Pavely, Georgia Davis and Hannah Baker did brilliantly to find 43 before skipper Davis was run out off the last ball.

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^{Rhianna Southby hit 72 from 95 balls (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)}

Trent Bridge: The Blaze 234, Lancashire 235-2 - Lancashire won by eight wickets

England all-rounder Emma Lamb delivered a match-winning performance as Lancashire opened the new era of women's county cricket with an emphatic eight-wicket win over The Blaze in the One Day Cup at Trent Bridge.

Watched by the national team's newly-appointed head coach, Charlotte Edwards, opening batter Lamb took three for 42 with her off-breaks as The Blaze were restricted to 234 from 50 overs after opting to bat first, before making an unbeaten 130 with the bat as Lancashire chased down their target with five overs to spare.

Scotland captain Kathryn Bryce almost inevitably top-scored with 70 for the home side, Georgia Elwiss making 49 on debut. Left-arm spinner Hannah Jones also took three wickets, with England seamer Mahika Gaur picking up two.

All out to the last ball of their allocated 50 overs, The Blaze total always looked under par even on a used pitch, with too many batters out to self-inflicted errors. With the ball, they could not muster the same discipline as their opponents and critically dropped centurion Lamb three times, the opener going on to hit 15 boundaries.

Chester-le-Street: Essex 177, Durham 178-1 - Durham won by nine wickets

A four-wicket haul for fledgling seamer Phoebe Turner was followed by a brilliant, unbeaten 93 for New Zealander Suzie Bates as dominant Durham brushed aside Essex by nine wickets at the Banks Homes Riverside in the One Day Cup women's competition opener.

Turner, 21, was the standout bowler with four for 33 from eight overs as Essex, inserted, were bowled out for 177 inside 48 overs. Fellow seamer Grace Thompson also impressed with two wickets on her professional debut, while experienced leg-spinner Katie Levick struck three times.

Essex recovered from 65 for 5 in the 20th over, with Jodie Grewcock contributing 31 and Sophia Smale 40. They shared a sixth-wicket 53, but it wasn't enough in front of a 600-strong crowd at the start of the professional era of women's cricket in the North East.

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^{Warwickshire celebrate a wicket during their thrilling tie against Hampshire (Warwickshire Cricket via ECB Reporters Network)}

Beckenham: Surrey 243-7, Somerset 241-3 - Somerset won by seven wickets

Women's Tier One cricket got off to a dramatic start at Beckenham as Somerset beat Surrey off the very last ball in a One Day Cup classic.

With the scores level, Fran Wilson hit Alice Davidson-Richards for four to secure a seven-wicket win in a game reduced to 33 overs a side. Somerset had seemed to be coasting thanks to an opening stand of 122 between Heather Knight, who made 64 and Emma Corney, who hit 64.

Surrey responded with a stifling fielding performance, but with Somerset almost dead and buried, Amanda-Jade Wellington hit four successive fours to leave the visitors needing 15 off the last over and with the scores level, Wilson powered Alice Davidson-Richards' final ball through mid-wicket.

Earlier, Surrey posted 243 for 7meaning Somerset had to chase a revised target of 238.

Davidson-Richards was their top scorer with an unbeaten 57 from 47 balls, while Wellington took 3 for 42.