Essex Women v Birmingham Bears Women
Vitality Blast
Ambassador Cruise Line Ground, Chelmsford
Wednesday 04 June 2025, 6:00pm
After two fixtures in three days, Essex Women’s next Vitality Blast fixture comes against the Birmingham Bears Women, in a midweek clash against top of the table.
From their opening two games, the Bears remain undefeated—tying their first match at Trent Bridge against The Blaze, followed by a 42-run win just 20 hours later against Durham Women.
Despite posting 190 runs on the board, Essex Women suffered defeat in their opening T20 match away to Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl. However, Andy Tennant’s side bounced back with a comprehensive victory against Somerset Women in Chelmsford on Sunday, beating the West Country side by 65 runs.
The visitors won the toss and elected to field, putting Grace Scrivens and Lauren Winfield-Hill into bat first. The Yorkshire Women loanee produced the top score for Essex, hitting 42 runs off just 25 balls, as Essex Women posted a total of 149/7 from their 20 overs.
Esmae MacGregor was the standout performer with the ball for the Eagles, taking four wickets for just eight runs in 3.2 overs, at an exceptional economy rate of 2.4 runs per over. Abtaha Maqsood took two wickets, with the remaining dismissals shared between Grace Scrivens, Eva Gray, and Kate Coppack, as Somerset Women were bowled out for just 84.
Match highlights, match report and post-match reaction from Abtaha Maqsood is available here.
The Inside Line: ANDY TENNANT
Squad
Head Coach Andy Tennant has named a 13-player squad for the clash against the Birmingham Bears at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground.
Jodi Grewcock is set to return in the next couple of weeks, Flo Miller has undergone surgery on her ankle so will be unavailable for a couple of months and Sophie Munro is still recovering from her stress fracture – with another scan next week to find out more.
The Opposition: Birmingham Bears Women
Captain: Georgia Davis
Overseas Player/s: Laura Harris (Australia, full competition)
Key Moves: Bears entered the new era needing to keep up without the Joneses (Amy and Eve) after they departed to The Blaze and Lancashire respectively. That drained the top order of experience which the signing of Laura Harris is designed to rectify while Sterre Kalis is on a season’s loan from Yorkshire.
The Big Question: Consistency has proved elusive for the Bears in the early weeks of the season so can they find enough to be contenders for the T20 title? They have individuals capable of match-winning exploits, and have pulled off some eye-catching run chases in the 50-over comp, but is the group good enough to challenge?
Wildcard Watch: Amu Surenkumar, a highly talented, 18-year-old all-rounder from Rugby School who can change games with bat or ball. Played for England Under-19s earlier this year has the ability to make a big impact if her chance arrives after the important matter of her A Levels are out of the way!
Final Thought A fast start is always a massive asset in a group campaign and Warwickshire have been handed a very tough opening with away games at The Blaze and Essex. Emerge from that double-header with at least one win and who knows what might happen for a team whose highly-talented spin trio – Georgia Davis, Hannah Baker and Charis Pavely – can put any side under pressure?
Purchase your Essex Double Header tickets!
Our next double header at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground comes against Hampshire Hawks and Glamorgan on Thursday 12 June.
The Essex Women will face Hampshire Hawks Women at 2:30pm before the Men take on Glamorgan at 6:30pm.
Tickets are still available via our Ticket Site, so have a browse and get your Vitality Blast T20 tickets booked.
