Essex Women put on their T20 kit one final time at home for their clash with Somerset Women on Tuesday.
Grace Scrivens will be leading out the side once again looking to make it back to back wins in Chelmsford.
On Sunday, Essex Women showcased an incredible display of cricket, beating Surrey Women by nine wickets at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl, Smale and Gray took two quick wickets in the fourth and fifth over to restrict the visitors to 2-31. Surrey then gained momentum with Smith and Harris putting on 82. Two wickets from Coppack and Smale helped restrict the batting attack. At the end of the 20 overs, Surrey had made a score to beat of 184/4.
After the innings break came an incredible chase. Grace Scrivens and Anneke Bosch were unstoppable in the powerplay, making 75 runs off the six overs. After losing Scrivens for 47 and making a partnership of 96, Bosch then joined up with Jodi Grewcock. The pair worked together seamlessly to beat Surrey with just five balls left. Anneke hit her first half century off 43 balls and ended the afternoon on 84* with Jodi just missing out her half-century on 47*.
Stephen Parry has named a 14-player squad for the last home T20 match this season.
Flo Miller and Amara Carr have both sustained hand injuries and are currently undertaking rehabilitation.
Abtaha Maqsood is unavailable due to suffering a hand fracture whilst on international duty with Scotland during the ICC Women's World Cup.
After sustaining a serious leg injury against Lancashire Thunder, Cordelia Griffith is undertaking rehab and will be unfortunately be unavailable for the remainder of the season.
Captain: Sophie Luff
Overseas: Anika Learoyd (Australia)
2025 finish: 8th
2025 leading run-scorer: Amanda-Jade Wellington (254)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Molly Robbins (15)
Winter moves: Australia A international Anika Learoyd will fill the overseas vacancy created by Amanda-Jade Wellington's switch to Hampshire, while England's Dani Gibson and Charlie Dean have signed one and two-year contract extensions respectively. England Under-19 seamer Bea Willis, batter Ruby Davis and leg spinner Lola Harris have agreed their first professional deals. Opener Amelie Munday and seamer Laura Jackson were released in the winter, while batter Fran Wilson took up a coaching role at Gloucestershire.
The big question: Can a relatively inexperienced squad find a way to win matches without their senior England players? In the anticipated absence of Heather Knight, Dani Gibson and Charlie Dean, it will be incumbent upon those with less experience to prove they can muster the consistency needed to translate last year's near misses into victories in 2026.
Wildcard watch: Lola Harris – playing her first season at this level and still something of an unknown quantity on the county circuit, the highly-rated teenage leg spinner has already made an impact in the Metro Bank One Day Cup. She has a great repeatable action and, providing she can maintain her composure under pressure, the England Under-19 international possesses the variation required to cause problems for batters.
Final thought: Although weakened by the loss of new ball bowler Mollie Robbins and batter Emma Corney, Somerset should still have sufficient resource to better last season's disappointing return of one win from 14 games. If Anika Learoyd, Bex Odgers, Sophie Luff and Niamh Holland can score runs consistently, Chloe Skelton and Alex Griffiths possess the bowling knowhow to restrict the opposition.
Somerset Women squad: Bex Odgers, Anika Learoyd, Sophie Luff (c), Ruby Davis, Jess Hazell, Katie Jones, Niamh Holland, Alex Griffiths, Chloe Skelton, Lola Harris, Erin Vukusic, Liv Barnes, Ellie Anderson, Maddie Russell.
Essex were edged out by four wickets by Somerset in a closely-fought Vitality Blast contest at Taunton, despite posting a competitive 155-5 and threatening to defend it until the closing stages.
Jodi Grewcock led the way with 45, sharing a 58-run partnership with Cordelia Griffith (31), before Jo Gardner (22 from 12) and Maddie Penna (21) added valuable late runs to lift Essex to a challenging total.
Essex's bowlers responded well, with Esmae MacGregor producing an excellent spell of 3-19 to keep Somerset under pressure throughout the chase. Eva Gray also struck early as the hosts slipped to 41-2.
Fran Wilson's 41 and Amanda-Jade Wellington's unbeaten 29 helped Somerset regain control, although MacGregor's late wickets ensured the result remained in the balance. Somerset eventually reached their target with three balls to spare to claim a four-wicket victory.
PREVIOUS LINEUPS
Somerset Women: Bex Odgers, Niamh Holland (C), Ruby Davis, Fran Wilson, Jess Hazell (WK), Alex Griffiths, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Chloe Skelton, Mollie Robbins, Olivia Barnes, Erin Vukusic.
Essex Women: Lauren Winfield-Hill (WK), Grace Scrivens (C), Cordelia Griffith, Jodi Grewcock, Maddie Penna, Jo Gardner, Eva Gray, Sophia Smale, Kate Coppack, Esmae MacGregor, Abtaha Maqsood.
Click here for our Spectator Guide, which contains everything you need to know before your visit to the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground. From matchday information and food & drink options to the Essex Cricket Store, a ground map, FAQs and more, you'll find all the essential information in one place.
Click here for the tournament preview. This gives you an in-depth breakdown into each team the Essex Women will face in the 2026 Vitality T20 Blast campaign: Durham, Hampshire Hawks, Lancashire Thunder, Somerset, Surrey, The Blaze, Warwickshire Bears and Yorkshire.
If you are unable to attend the match, it 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.
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Daily highlights will be available after each day's play via the Club website and social media.
Tickets are available to purchase from the Essex website by clicking here.
