Essex Women head to Colchester to take on Gloucestershire Women in Round 3 of the Vitality T20 Women's County Cup.
The Vitality Blast T20 Women's County Cup returns for 2026! Essex Women will be heading up the A12 to Castle Park in Colchester as they begin their County Cup journey.
The County Cup is a Women's T20 knock out competition in which three tiers of the women's domestic structure all participate. Due to Essex Women's Tier 1 status, we enter the competition at Round Three.
The knock-out nature of the County Cup has given Counties in Tier 2 and Tier 3 the chance to pull off 'underdog' victories against fully professional Tier 1 sides. Two all Tier 1 ties in Round Three means the competition will be guaranteed at least two teams from Tiers 2 or 3 in the quarter-finals.
The victors of this match will play Northamptonshire Steelbacks or Derbyshire Falcons in Round Four on Sunday 23 August.
Stephen Parry has named a 13-player squad for Essex Women's opening round.
The squad includes Essex Women Academy graduates Clara Thacker, Bella Johnson, Amelie Bishop, who have recently signed first team contracts. Bryony Gillgrass has also joined the Essex Women from Warwickshire Women's Academy.
Loan signing Nancy Harman is unavailable to play in the T20 format.
Abtaha Maqsood is unavailable due to suffering a hand fracture whilst on international duty with Scotland. Unfortunately, this has ruled Abtaha out of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup and an update on her return will be released in due course.
After sustaining a leg injury against Lancashire Thunder, Cordelia Griffith will undertake rehab and will be unavailable for the remainder of the season.
Everyone at Essex County Cricket Club wishes Cordelia and Abtaha the best in their recoveries.
Captain: Liv Daniels
Head Coach: Fran Wilson
2025 finish: Out in Round One
2025 leading run-scorer: Izzy Patel (46)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Charlie Phillips (3)
Gloucestershire squad: TBC - Preview the full squad here
If you are unable to attend any of the matchdays, the game will be available to watch via the Essex Cricket YouTube livestream. Alternatively, you can keep up to date with the game via our social media channels as we provide live updates.
Follow our Social Channels:
X: /@EssexCricket
Facebook: /Essex County Cricket Club
Instagram: /@EssexCricket
Daily highlights will be available after each day's play via the Club website and social media.
To attend this match, tickets are not needed. Just turn up and watch the Womens' teams play.
Please note that the start time is 10:30am so gates will open to spectators at 9:30am.
To secure your seats for any of our other matches, please click here or call 01245 254010.
