By Grockle
June 23 2026

The women have had an eventful 'week' of cricket playing in locations wide apart and in competitions of differing lengths.  After the poorish form in the Metro50 tournaments, after the loss of their trio of internationals, compared with their the excellent form in the Vitality Blast in the recent month it was going to be interesting to see whether the 20 over form was going to filter into the next 50 over games and whether the T20 form was going to cross over into the new T20 Women's Knockout Cup tournament.  I wasn't around to cover the games live so this is a general summary of an eventful 8 days in the somerset Women's 2026 season.

Game A  Women's Metro50 v Hampshire @ Taunton Saturday 13 June 2026

Back to the longer format while the men have a little 4 day break and we welcome Hampshire to the County Ground on a Saturday in June.  Not a typical Saturday in June however because it's like April or at best early May rather than the true summer.

Somerset go with mostly the T20 side that has been doing fine with one addition.  The side is;

Odgers, Luff, Learoyd, Holland, Hazell, Jones, Griffiths, Skelton, Harris, Willis (the addition), Barnes

We won the toss and Sophie put Hampshire (including Amanda-Jade Wellington) in.

We nearly get off to the best strat possible as a mix-up finds both Hampshire bats at the same end off the 4th ball.  Unfortuantely, Liv Barnes throws to the keeper's end and Jones fails to collect cleanl and therefore Bouchier has the time to get back and the wicket doesn't happen.  Not a great start.

Ella McCaughan and Maia Bouchier got off to a flying start against our new ball bowling attack of Griffiths and Willis pushing to 72 without loss from the first 10 overs.  Liv Barnes finally broke through bowling McCaughan for 31 fro 33 balls. Unfortunately that did not open the Hampsire floogates because they moved through the gears for another 9 overs before we had any more success.  Bouchier moves with Abi Norgrove, past the 3 figure point in the 16th off Niamh Holland. Bouchier reaches her 50 (from 47 balls with 7 fours) at 118 for 1 and the pair reach a 50 run partnership with Norgrove's third edge past the keeper at 122.  It is therefore good for us that 50 is all she wrote and Holland sends Bouchier back to the dressing room via a catch from Learoyd at 123 for 2.

Captain Georgia Adams comes into the middle and we get another breakthrough at 129 when Norgrove is sent back by Lola Harris, caught behind by Katie Jones for 35.  Rhianna Southby replaces her and together they push the score past 150 in the 27th over before we take another.  At 152 in the 18th over Chloe Skelton removes the visiting skipper who lazily lofts the ball to mid on to Holland.  Adams departs for 10 and Francesca Sweet replaces her. 

The partnership of the innings than happens as Sweet and Southby move the score past 200 and record a 50 ru n partnership at 202 in the 35th over.  They do not stop there though, they continue and records the 250 without further loss and both bats passing 50 in the 41st over off consecutive balls Sweet first at 242 (after being dropped on 7) from 44 balls with 8 fours and then Southby from 51 balls with 5 fours on 243.  the 250 arrives at the end of the 42nd but we do break through again as Harris gets Southby to top edge to the keeper for 53 (from 56) at the 250 mark.  However with 8 overs to go and Dattani and Wellington yet to come in a score over 300 is most definitely on.  

The next bat in is Naomi Dattani but we strike twice in quick succession as Liv has Sweet caught by Holland in the 45th at 261 for 57 and then Dattani is caught by Skleton also off the bowling of Barnes for 12 at 268 for 7 in the same over.  We look hopefully at keeping the score under that 300 total but Poppy Tulloch and Ananda-Jade have other ideas and with score of 18 and 19 respectively from 32 balls plus 18 extras (including 15 wides) Hamshire do break the 300 barrier finishing on 303 for 7

The Reply

We are hopeful of a close game and a possible victory as Bex Odgers and the in form Sophie Luff come out to start the attempt to pass Hampshire by scoring 304 in the 50.  It is a perfectly feasible total at Taunton and evedn though we lose the skipper for 23 from 24 bowled by Dattani in the 8th over, Anika Learoyd is certainly no shrinking violet and the new pair get down tomoving this score along. 

They pass the 100 mark without further loss in the 19th over (3 overs behind the Hampshire scoring rate) with Odgers on 37 on 52 and Learoyd on 32 from 39.  At 124, Anika deposits a poor ball from Tulloch over the boundary in the Hildreth to move past 50 to 51 from 52 balls with 8 fours.  

The next landmark is not the Odgers 50, as she seems a little becalmed, but the Somerset 150 which arrives in the 26th over courtesy of Learoyd moving on to 69.  Bex finally reaches the personal milestone off Wellington in the 27th with a single.  The 50 comes from 70 balls at 153 for 1 and includes 6 fours.  It is all looking promising as the scoring rate tends to accelerate in the second half and we are certainly capable of getting the 150 we need in the overs that are left.   The present pair have moved the score to 199 before the next Hampshire breaklthrough when Odgers on 77 in the 33rd over is caught behind off Wellington.

Ater the phenominal partnership of 162, the Somerset wheels come off!  As often happens in cricket the other partner goes almost immediately as Learoyd is caught and bowled by Adams in the next over for 87 at the same score.  Just over the 200 mark, Jess Hazell is bowled by Wellington for 6 at 206 for 4, Holland is caught by Dattani for 2 off Adams in the 36th over at 208 for 5.  Alex Griffiths does not make much of an impression either as she is caught and bowled by Wellington at the end of the 37th!!  199 for 1 becomes 213 for 6 in 5 overs and the game is pretty much done.

Despite brave attaempts to get the county back on track with the game and a run a ball 28 from Chloe Skelton, Jones, Harris, Willis and Barnes can't contribute enough between them and in the 47th over we are all out for 264 which creates a rather disappointing loss after a brilliant start by 39 runs.  The 8 day week has not started all that well and we run once more into the inconsistency in the longer white ball format that dogged us before the Blast started.

We move on...

Game B Women's Metro50 v Warwickshire @ Maer Ground Exmouth Wednesday 17 June 2026

Is this a 'home' or 'away' game one wonders as it is in Devon (hme to some of our players) but not at the 'home' of Somerset Women's cricket in Taunton.  Nevertheless Somerset are expected to deal with the familiarities and difficulties of the venue and get on with the job.

The side is;

Odgers, Luff, Learoyd, Holland, Hazell, Jones, Griffiths, Skelton, Anderson, Harris and Barnes

Therefore Ellie Anderson for Bea Willis is the only change to the side that lost to Hampshire at the start of the week.  Once more, Sophie won the toss and decided to put the opposition in first. So Amu Surenkumar and keeper Georgia Redmayne come out to face Alex Griffiths and Ellie Anderson.  

They start very well moving the score on at a decent pace in the first 8 overs, passing 50 and taking the score up to 56 after 8 overs when Chloe Skelton is introduced into the bowling attack.  It is however Liv Barnes introductionin the 9th over that creates the breakthrough as she bowls Redmayne at 65 for 1 for 32 from 31 with her first ball of the game.

Meg Austin is in at number 3 and she helps her opener pass 50 and her county pass 100 around the 18th over.  The 100 comes first with Surenkumar on 48 taking a single of Lola to bring it up and take her to 1 run away from the half ton.  Austin on 8 from 21 then finishes off the over to move to 104 and in the 19th Amu faces Holland and passes the 50 mark.  But Niamh does get revenge as she has Austin LBW for 17 before the end of the over at 112 for 2.  The new bat is Katie George and the visitors are still in a commanding position with 30 overs to go. 

The new pair move the score to 146 by the end of the 25th and mst start the second half of their innings with a hope for a score over the 300 mark with ne opener still in past 50 and batting to come. But it is not to be.  In the 26th over Suremkumar is caught by Anderson off the bowling of Lola Harris for 58. Pavely last 3 balls before being stumped in the same over for zero at the same score.  George and the new bat Freeborn have added 6 before George departs bowled by Barnes for 31 from 32 at 157 for 5.  Freeborn is bowled by Harris in the next over for 2 at 157 for 6.  Mary Taylor is run out for 2 before the end of THAT over - 159 for 7. Davies is caught by Griffiths in Liv Barnes next over - 159 for 8.  Stonehouse is caught by Odgers off Lola in the 33rd and Baker is bowled by Barnes in the 34th to leave Brett undfeated on 0 at 160 all out.

In 7 overs, Warwickshire lost 8 wickets for 9 runs with Liv Barnes finishing with 4 for 24 from 8.3 and Lola Harris ending on 4 for 32 from 9.  Stupendous bowling and quite crazy batting.

The Reply

No 'Behind the 8 ball' assessments of the task facing Somerset in this reply.  Warwickshire's imlosio has given the women a great chance of gettng back to winning ways with Odgers and Luff being just the bats to put this one away.  Warks get a bit of hope when Bex is run out for 6 in the 3rd over at 18 for 1 by Pavely.  but that is about it as Luff and new bat Learoyd take the score past 50 in the 9th before Luff is caught by Freeborn off the bowling of Stonehouse for 34 from 32.  Anika then anchors the score into the 80s with Niamh before she goes for 13 caught by George off Davis at 86.  The Australian passes 50 with with Jess Hazell and Somerset pass 160 with Learoyd not out 70 from 58 and Hazell not out 32 from 29 in the 22nd over to take the game by 7 wickets.  The first 50 over win since we lost our internationals thanks to great work by the bowling attack that has been improving all the way through the vitality especially Liv and Lola who other team's batting line-ups must absolultely hate to face nowadays.  Good win and a decent reward for a lot of hard work in the last month or so.

Game C - Women's T20 County Cup thingy v Yorkshire @ Scarborough Sunday 21 June 2026

And so we come to the last domestic competition, the all inclusive T20 Vitality County Cup which sees us join the competition taking on Yorkshire in Scarborough - a bit of a trek from Devon for a T20 but at least it's a nice place to play.

The side will change slightly as the T20 we look to add a bit more T20 'Va va voom' in the batting and bowling;

Odgers, Davis, Luff, Holland, Hazell, Jones, Griffiths, Skelton, Harris, Vukusic, Barnes

Erin Vukusic returns to the bowling attack replacing Anderson and there is no Anika Learoyd so Rudby Davis  returns to the top four. For the third time Luff calls correctly and once more but this time decides to set Yorkshire a total

So Bex Odgers and Sophie Luff look to fight for a quarter final spot in this contest facing Beth Langston and Sarah Glenn as the Yorkshire opening pair.  They go off at quite a pace and that sometime comes undone.  Bex is out for 24 from 15 with 4 fours in the 4th over caught by Oliver off Langston at a belting 37 for 1.  Ruby Davis is next in and she helps Sophie take the score past 50 wth a ramp frm Davis off Langston to move the score to 51 in the 6th.  The 'Powerplay' ends with 53 for 1 with Davis on 13 from 9 and Luff on 11 from 12.

Davis falls to Glenn, bowled, in the 7th at 58 for 2 bringing Holland  to the crease.  Niamh has been noticably much more of the allrounder inthis side of late, her bowling has come on as the season had progressed and her batting is also becoming a very useful asset to have, expecially as our Australian is not in this side.  She starts to move the score with the captain towards the 10 over and the 3 firgure mark.  They reach 10 overs just before they reach 100.  90 for 2 at the end of the 10th with Luff on 19 from 20 and Holland taking the lead role with 29 from 15.  The 100 arrives from a deceptively flighted delivery from Olivia Thomas in the 11th that beats bat and keeper and goes for 2 legbyes.  100 from 65 balls with Holland on 36 from 19 and her captain on 20 from 21.

The Somerset pair look to keep the pressure on and the scoreboard moving.  In the 14th over a swipe from Holland  goes for four and takes her to 49 at 121 for 2.  A two from her to the next ball from Cooper takes her to 51 from 30 balls.  In the 16th the pair have moved the score on to the edge of 150 and Sophie is also looking to move past an individual 50.  Niamh sweeps Cooper for 4 to move her score to 61 and Somerset to 151 for 2.

Luff is on strike on 47 at the start of the 17th and she drives Glenn for four to move to a 36 ball 51 as the pair move their partnership to 118.  It continues into the 160s when at 161 the skipper goes for a big hit and is caught in the deep by Langston off Glenn in the same 17th over for 51 from 38 with 8 fours.  In comes Griffiths with 3 overs to go and Holland on 65.  

Together they move into the last over with the score on 182 but Alex goes for 10 off the first bll from Blackwell skying it into the waiting hands of Oliver.  Skelton is in and out in 2 balls without worrying the scorers caught by Langston on the boundary trying the same boundary hit.  Jones gets 1 and Holland is out to Oliver trying to get a few at 75 from 44.  Somerset are 183 for 6 at the end of 20 overs. 

The Reply

Erin Thomas and Campbell look to get off to a good start for Yorkshire but it does not go all their way as Erin Thomas is caught by Harris at the end of the first over bowled by Skelton. she has nothing to her name but there are 9 on the board.  Ami Campbell welcomes Sarah Glenn to the crease and they look to set the base for a chase to the Somerset score.   They've moved it on considerably into the 5th over where they have 45 with 34 of those to Campbell from 17.  But she is caught by Harris off the bowling of Erin Vukusic at that score and replaced by Amelia Oliver who helps takle the score over the 50 point as Glenn drives the last ball of the 5th for 4.

Sarah Glenn is the next to fall as she is caught by the sub fielder from the bowling of Holland just after the 'Powerplay' ends at 54.  56 for 3 caught off the cut shot to backward point.  Lauren Winfield-Hill comes in and she is the BIG wicket.  However, Oliver and the Yorkshire captain and keeper work hard and move the score into the 90s before Oliver is the next just after the 10th over drinks break.  She is LBW to Vukusic for a run a ball 15 at 97 for 4.  Yorkshire are up with the rate and still feel they have a chance in this.

The new partner for the skipper is Alice Clarke and together they reach 100 for 4 at the start of the 12th with 2 to the new bat and 29 from 15 to the captain.  Winfield-Hill knows this requires a leading innings from her and she goes about that with real 'gusto'.  Into the 13th she is moving towards 50 and Yorkshire have sped into the 120's.  She passes 50 off Harris in a Scarborough 'sea fret' with the umpires considering taking the players off in the poor visibility.  She goes to 50 off 24 balls with 10 fours at 124 for 4.

While she stays in this is a game there for winning so as we come into the 17th over and the 150 is looking on and with Winfield-Hill on 65 from 32, Vukusic has the game in her hands, or in the hands of Harris who catches the Yorkshire skipper tyring to ramp rthe ball for 65 from 33 at 146 for 5.  

This leaves the new Tier 1 side needing to score 38 from 22 balls and the balance has shifted as Rebecca Duckworth makes her way to the middle.  Vukusic has taken the vital wickets in this game.  Yorkshire pass 50 at the end of the 17th and Erin has 3 for 24 from her 4.  

The new pair push the score to the end of the 19th where they have moved to 171 and therefore need 13 off the last over.  Clarke has 24 off 26 and Duckworth has 5 from 7 as Chloe Skelton takes the last one.  The first goes for a single.  The second sees Duckworth go up the wicket and Jones misses the obvious stumping but luckily there is no run as we go into another sea fret.  Duckworth is up the track again to get a single and it is 11 off 3.  Clarke tries to improvise a sweep and is bowled for 25 off 28 and they still need 11 off 2.  Beth Langston comes out.  A six and a four is a tie.  Two sixes is a Yorkshire win.  The 5th ball is thourhg extra cover for 1 and they need 10 from the last.  Chloe Skelton bowls Langston and she take 3 wickets and defends the last over to win for 9 runs.

We go into the quarter final after the heartbreak of last year.  Vukusic and Skelton take 3 each Holland comes in with a career best 75 and that was a really good win after a hell of a trek and a good performance. 

8 days, 3 games and 2 wins.  A quarter final place in a domestic competition, a win in the Metro50, the first for quite a while after a disappointing end to the third game where we had a chance in before our collapse.  All in all a plus end to the 8 day week and confidence for the rest of the season on our improving overall performances while there still being a need for our middle order to build on the base our front end is giving them taking into account that our bowling is really delivering the goods if that happens.  

Women's Cricket Summary - 8 Days a Week

Discussion started by Grockles.com , 23/06/2026 11:54

Grockles.com
23/06/2026 11:54

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:06:25:15:54:50 by Grockle.

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Grockle
13/06/2026 11:35

A home game back in the 50 over tournament for the Women as they have a strange few weeks of wafting between T20 and 50 over games wile the men play red ball bits.

They still don't have their England players as they are involved in the World Cup so they will be looking for their T20 form to move across to the longer white ball format where the loss of those internationals seems to have had a larger effect on their results. Let's hope that will change in this phase of the MetroBank.

I'm going to struggle to cover this game today as I am double booked in Nottingham as well. Presently Hampshire have ust past the 100 in the 17th at 109 for 1. A poor bit of fielding in the first over when both openers found themselves at the same end but the fielder (Liv Barnes) threw to the wrong end!!!!!

She did get some of that by taking the one wicket to go down in the first innings at the moment when she bowled McCaughan for 31 in the 11th over.

The livestream is up and running for this one on the Somerset website (link on the left hand side of this site via the Forum List option. I'll keep popping back to it when I can.

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Somerset LaLaLa
13/06/2026 19:23

Weird batting collapse by Spmerset that cost them the game. Might be a few words exchanged in the dressing room this evening

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Loyal of Lhasa
17/06/2026 12:47

Something of a sensation collapse by Warwickshire this morning:

151/2 became 160/10

Do we credit Captain Sophie?

LoL

Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter

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Bagpuss
17/06/2026 13:04

Good grief! I had a look at the scorecard barely half an hour ago; the third wicket had just gone down and I consoled myself that although Warwickshire were barrelling along at almost six an over, they were playing at a fairly small ground.

Four wickets each for Lola Harris and Liv Barnes. Might be turning a bit!

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Grockle
17/06/2026 21:03

Excellent performance today.

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Grockle
17/06/2026 14:08

We seem to have spinners they simply have no idea how to deal with. Lola is a real find and Liv Barnes is bowling like a dream at the moment in nearly every game. We were all worried when we lost the control of Charlie Dean but Liv has stepped up and provided all the control we presently need in these games.

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Bagpuss
17/06/2026 20:22

One of the main differences this year, compared to last, is that when they do lose, they put it behind them and go out and play well in the next match. Really impressed by this.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:06:18:12:21:07 by Bagpuss.

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