In the Women’s T20 Blast 2026 Durham Women find themselves sitting in the bottom half of the table before even stepping onto the grass, as they didn’t feature on opening day and are currently looking at a blank slate with zero points. Hampshire Women, on the other hand, occupy the middle of the pack in fourth place. They walked away with 2 points from their opening fixture after a thrilling, down-to-the-wire tie against Somerset, leaving them with an exactly neutral net run rate of 0.000.
Squads:
Durham Women’s Cricket Team
Emily Windsor, Emma Marlow, Hollie Armitage, Leah Dobson, Suzie Bates, Katherine Fraser, Mady Villiers, Trudy Johnson, Bess Heath, Mia Rogers, Abigail Glen, Katie Levick, Lauren Filer, Lizzie Scott, Phoebe Turner, Sophia Turner
Hampshire Women’s Cricket Team
Abigale Norgrove, Daisy Mullan, Ella McCaughan, Georgia Adams, Maia Bouchier, Poppy Tulloch, Ava Lee, Charli Knott, Ellyse Perry, Freya Kemp, Mary Taylor, Naomi Dattani, Rhianna Southby, Bex Tyson, Daisy Gibb, Freya Davies, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, Megan Sturge, Nancy Harman, Rebecca Tyson
Players to watch out:
Ella McCaughan
Showing pure class at the top of the order, Ella McCaughan accumulated 69 runs in her sole outing last season to anchor the batting unit effectively. Striking at a very healthy 150.00, her fluent knock was decorated with 9 crisp boundaries before she was dismissed. Her ability to rotate the strike while finding the ropes consistently gave her team the perfect platform, making her a vital asset for the upcoming tournament.
Bex Tyson
Operating as a key bowling option for Hampshire, Tyson delivered a remarkably tidy spell of 4 overs last season. She picked up 1 crucial wicket while conceding just 20 runs, maintaining an impressive and disciplined economy rate of 5.00. Her knack for bowling dot balls and keeping the batters quiet under pressure helped build immense thermodynamic stress on the opposition’s middle order.
Bess Heath
Bess was a pillar of strength for Durham’s batting lineup last season, racking up 296 runs across 11 innings. She showed great resilience and adaptability by staying unbeaten twice, registering a solid tournament average of 32.88. Falling just short of a half-century with a top score of 45, she consistently gave the team middle-order stability, scoring her runs at a healthy, proactive strike rate of 146.53 while clearing the ropes with 3 sixes and finding 31 boundaries.
Katie Levick
Levick spearheaded the spin department with immense control last summer, picking up 13 wickets in her 12-bowling innings for Durham. Across her 43 overs of work, she even managed a rare maiden over, proving just how difficult she was to get away. Her best bowling figures of 2/27 highlighted her ability to pick up crucial breakthroughs, finishing the tournament with a highly respectable economy rate of 7.06 and an average of 23.38 per wicket.
Pitch:
The Riverside deck usually offers a bit of early movement for the seamers, but with the overhead conditions being so clear and dry (humidity around 57%), any initial spice should flatten out quickly. It will turn into an absolute beauty for batting as the day progresses, with true bounce and plenty of value for shots.
Weather:
It is looking like a gorgeous, sunny day up north. Temperatures are set to hit a high of 25°C with a gentle 8 mph breeze coming from the southwest, and only a minimal 10% chance of a stray shower.
Fantasy Playing XI:
Hollie Armitage, Katherine Fraser, Mady Villiers, Bess Heath, Katie Levick, Abigale Norgrove, Ella McCaughan, Charli Knott, Rhianna Southby, Bex Tyson, Rebecca Tyson
Match Details:
Date – May 23, 2026
Time – 4:00 PM IST
Venue – Riverside Ground, Chester-le-Street
Broadcast – The ECB app, website, and YouTube channels.
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