By Grockle
April 19 2026

Second game in the tournament, this one at an outground against the 2025 champions.  After taking the points form their first courtesy of a captain's innings, Sophie Luff and the side welcome Anika Learoyd to the county.  The Australian 'Indigenous Cricketer of the Year for 2025' joins the side as the new overseas player after the departure of Amanda-Jade Wellington in the winter.  Somerset have won the toss and will bowl first at Southport.

Women's Metro 50 v Lancashire @ Southport Sunday 19 April 2026

We sat out the last round after beating Yorkshire in our first game at home so we go into our first away fixture after a bit of a pause.  The side does not show all that much in terms of change;

Odgers, Holland, Knight, Luff, Learoyd, Gibson, Dean, Hazell, Griffiths, Skelton, Harris

Olivia Barnes and Ellie Anderson miss out in the second with their places taken by the arrival of Anika Learoyd and Charlie Dean

Somerset won the toss and will bowl first against the opening pair of Sreen Smale and Alice Clarke.  Griffiths takes the new ball with Chloe Skelton.  Somerset start well as Clarke is dragged out by Griffiths who then gets the ball to move in, surprising the bat who snicks it and is pouched by Jess Hazell for 6 from 4 in the 3rd over at 12 for 1.  Eve Jones is in early and looks to reset with her teammate. After 10 overs the score has reached a less than expected 28 for 1 after some good bowling and some very impressive close fielding from the away side.  The base is reset to some extent as Lancashire start ot focus on passing 50 but Dean throws one out to tempt Smale but the ball turns in past her bat and she is very deftly stumped by Hazell for 18 from 34 balls at 48 for 2.  

The 50 comes up off Gibson from the new bat Lancs Captain Ellie Threlkeld who edges the ball for four to move the score to 53 for 2.  Eve Jones works with her captain to try and get the score moving on but Lola Harris tempts her with a high full toss at 38 and she gives her wicket away skying the full toss straight to Charlie Dean on the boundary who won't drop those.  90 for 3 bringing Morris to the crease and keeping the batting side conscious of needing to push this score on.  The skipper finally get the score into 3 figures in the 26th as she moves to 26 herself and the Lancs score passes 100 to 102 for 3.

Despite tight bpowling, Thelkeld is looking to work with Morris to get the score moving along  and she moveds to 50 at 140 for 3 from 64 balls in the 33rd.  The run rate is still only in the mid 4 runs and she would want something at the top end of the 200s to make a game of this.

Somerset turn to Skelton in the 34th to hold the time but a few lapses in fielding concentration don't help the situation as Lancs look to finish the last 20 overs better than they started the first 20.

By the 37th they have moved past 150 to 161 for 3 with Morris starting to make her presence known with 26 supporting her skipper who is up to 60.  Lola Harris helps the visitors by bowling Threlkeld fo 71 from 85 balls with the score pon 178 for 4 to bring Lister to the crease and with 120 overs to go the home side have moved to 181.

Another fielding error, this time by the new girl Learoyd keeps Lister in the middle.  It was pretty much a 'dolly' and it is not helped as the 200 comes up off a Morris six from Dani Gibson.  Morris moves to her own 50 in the same over before she holes out trying to repeat the shot to Griffith at deep mid wicket at 209 52 runs from 52 balls  for the departing Lancs bat as Cross takes her place.

In the 42nd over, Gibson has Lister caught in the covers by Skelton for 20 from 18 and in comes Ecclestone.  Both of them push on to see if they can get past the 250 and they manage that with consecutive fours from Holland at the start of the 49th from an attgempted slower 'knuckle' ball which misses everyone and goes to the boundary for four from an embarrassed Naimh 

The last over starts at 252 for 6 but Cross is bowled by Griffiths and Carter is then out for four to move the score to 256 for 8 Gaur comes in but faces only one ball and Ecclestone moves the score on to a final 259 for 8 requiring Somerset to reach 260 for the win.

Excellent bowling from Alex Griffiths with 3 for 51, well supported by Lola Harris with 2 for 47 and the brilliant Dani Gibson with 2 for 31.  The other scalp went to Charlie Dean for 29 runs.  

Lancashire got back into this one courtesy of Ellie Thelkeld with 71 and Fi Morris with 52.  It will be a hard one to win but not impossible by any means.

The Reply

Odgers and Holland come out to face the English bowling prospect Mehika Gaur and Katie Cross.  They manage a decent start with 13 on the board after the first 2 but batting is not easy and they have only moved on to 19 for 0 after 5 with Odgers on 13 and Holland on 4.  Bex Odgers does not kick on though as she clips the ball to Fi Morris off Gaur for 17 off 24 and it is 25 for 1.  This brings Heather Knight to the crease to face her old England mate Cross.

By the end of the 9th it is 32 for 1 and Lancashire introduce Potts to take them through the first 'Powerplay'  Knight is not yet off the mark from the 7 balls she has faced and Holland is not finding it all that easy with 10 from her 24.  At the end of the 'Powerplay' Somerset have reached 37 for 1.

Ecclestone is introduced into the attack as Someset move into the 40s and then to 50 with a Holland driven four off Potts in the 14th.  Heather Knight has moved to 4 and Naimh Holland has 25 from the 40 she has faced.  She does not add to that as Sophie Ecclestone bowls her with a full ball at 53 for 2 as Sophie Luff comes in. 

They shift it on but the pair is not there for the long term as at 83 Sophie lofts one into the middle field and Cross leaps to a ball dropping on her but manages to get her hands under it and sends the Somerset captain back with only 10 to her name from 21 off the bowling of Carter.

83 for 3 brings Anika Learoyd to the crease for her first batting experience at her new county.  She is tall and looks strong with the bat in her hands.  23 overs are done in this one so there is a need to push this one along in the next 10.  

After 25 the score has moved to 90 for 3 and Somerset are looking at having to get 170 from the next half of the game.  They've pushed it to 100 before the end of the 26th with Knight on 26 and Learoyd on 13 facing Kate Cross.

The Lancashire attack starts to look worried as Anika Learoyd starts to get into her game.  She is going to be a handful for any side with a bat in her hand and she starts to put the pedal down as we move into the upper 20 overs of this game.  However the Red Rose have the players and Potts gets the Aussie playing back insted of forward and takes her out bowled middle stump in the 31st at 32 from 33 balls and a score of 134 for 4.  The home side needed to see the back of her with Heather Knight consolidating at the other end.  

Unfortunately, the departure of Learoyd heralds the arrival of Dani Gibson

She gets straight into her work and has moved the score to 149 for 4 at the end of the 33rd from Potts (1 for 19).  The 150 arrives half way through the 34th with Knight on 43 and Gibson on 14.  Heather moves on to 50 from 69 at 158 for 4 at the end of the 34th.  Somerset now need 110 from 99 balls.

At 185 for 4 in the 38th Somerset need 75 from 73 with Heather Knight on 63 and Gibson with her on 29 from 30 and the pendulum is moving towards the away side.  However, she then looks to reverse sweep Sophie Ecclestone, realises the ball is not where she thought it was, changes her mind, is caught in two of them, misses the ball in front and is LBW for that 63.  Oh dear oh dear oh dear Heather.

This puts the game back in the Lancashire hands even though Dean is the next bat in with 11 overs left and 187 for 5 on the board.  At this point Gibson takes the game (bull) by the horns and storms ahead.  She brings up the 200 with a six at the end of the 40th.  She then moves to 50 in the 42nd with another 6 and ends the over with 55 off 41 balls at 222 for 5.  However she lets the events get the better of her, tries to reverse sweep Ecclestone and is bowled as her stumps are completely open with Ecclestone taking the leg bail off and bowling her.  She goes for 60 at 229 and now Charlie Dean has to farm the younger players when the game was hers.  The experienced bats give the game to the less experienced team mates against Lancashire's experienced bowlers at the end of the game.  So Jess Hazell has the job now.

She gets down to doing it and the 250 arrives in the 46th with Jess on 15 from 10 calling for the second to get to there.  Dean has 17 from 20 and Somerset need 10 from 4 overs.  Gaur is back for the 47th and at the end of her over we need 5 from 18 balls.  Potts will bowl out with hard working figures of 1 for 43 from her 9.  They take a single from the first to move the need to 4 runs to win.  Hazell takes a single to move them closer.  Dean takes another and that is all they need to do.  Hazell hits through the field and they win the game by 4 wickets with 13 balls left.  They are now in second place in the table and they were pretty comfortable against the double champions.  Both of these games have been hard but we have come home in both.

What an excellent stubborn and decisive win.

Women's Metro50 - Lancashire @ Southport

Discussion started by Grockles.com , 19/04/2026 11:43

Grockles.com
19/04/2026 11:43

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:04:24:18:59:04 by Grockle.

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Bagpuss
19/04/2026 17:34

That really is an exceptional performance against last year's double-winners. What a start to the season.

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Des Platt
19/04/2026 17:54

Yes, congratulations to Somerset. Couldn’t go as I had some non cricket friends ( yes, I know terrible admission ) up in the north west and must admit , my antipathy to Old Trafford does not extend to the ladies so would have supported Lancs today.

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Grizzers
19/04/2026 18:00

Great effort !

Grizzers

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Grockle
19/04/2026 10:19

I'd try and keep a track on this game today from the sun of Hampshire but Lancs in their 'infinite' wisdom have a) assumed EVERYONE wants yearly membership of Lancs and b) are therefore desperate to pay £20 for the massive privilege of watching their livestream behind the 'LancsTV' paywall

Neither are true so I'll comment on the game when possible but Somerset's 'Match Centre' might be the best place to follow.

I lie!!! Either the paywall is not yet up or they aren't doing it for the women's game.

THERE IS A LIVESTREAM!!
[www.youtube.com]





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:04:19:10:25:35 by Grockle.

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Bagpuss
19/04/2026 11:15

I believe they said they'll are doing it for the men's matches.

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Grockle
19/04/2026 21:08

Well it would fit Lancashire

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Bobstan
19/04/2026 21:30

Now come on, Grock. I suspect you're just trying to get in Des's good books!

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