Women's Blast Game 9 - Consistency wins games Yorks (away)
By Grockle
July 5 2026
It's a different year for Somerset in the T20 Blast. Instead of wondering when they would get the right performance on the field and win a game they are looking at the possiblity of going beyond the qualification round and actually pushing for s starring role in the later stages. They go to Headingley as the favourites against the side holding up the table who have yeet to win a game in this year's competitiomn and with confidence after running Surrey close last Sunday. Consistency wins you games and a lack of consistency can do the opposite. Last week's debutant Maddie Russell just after her sixteenth birthday keeps her place as Somerset win the toss and choose to chase.
Women's Blast Game 9 v Yokshire @ Headingley Friday 3 July 2026
On a very warm afternoon in Yorkshire Sophie Luff wins the toss and shows faith in her bowlers to keep the Yorkshire bats in check producing a total the bats can then cahse down.
The side for today's competition is;
Odgers, Luff(c), Learoyd, Holland, Griffiths, Hazell (w), Davis, Harris, Barnes, Russell, Vukusic
Ami Campbell and Erin Thomas face the opening Somerset attack of Alex Griffiths and Maddie Russell and are in immediate trouble when, at the end of the first over Thomas is well caught and bowled by Alex for 6 (including the first boundary of the game) at 7 for 1.
It doesn't get any better when 3 balls later Campbell slaps a shot straight to Anika Learoyd off Russell and she also departs for 5 with the score on 11 for 2 after 9 balls. Jess Jonassen and captain Lauren Winfield-Scott are in and looking to start again but Somerset have the foor on the throat and keep it there when Jonassen on a score of 2 also falls to Russell caught by Niamh Holland in the 4th at 18 for 3. Somerset could not have asked for a better start and you hope that they had learned that once you have a team down you do not let them up again. However that was not the case as Winfield - Scott and the overseas signing Sterre Kallis refused to be held down and looked to rebuild the side's ininngs.
They passed 50 in the 7th over off Vukusic. They had reached 82 for 3 at the end of the 10th over from Lola Harris. Winfield-Hill had moved on to 41 from 27 balls and Kallis was on 25 from 18 and were solidly moving the score on against all Somerset bowlers and options.
The Yorkshire captain passed 50 off boundary from a free hit off a Holland overstep. It came off 31 balls in the 12th over and arrived with the Yorkshire 100. She pushed the score on as the prominent bat with her partner offering solid support for the next 50 runs. They passed 150 with another skipper boundary of Russell in the 16th as she moved to 82 from 47 while her South African team mate passed 50 with 1 run at 153 it came from 33 deliveries with 9 fours. The boundaries just kept coming and it was worrying as they still had 4 overs to go. Somerset struggled to pull it back and it was not until the start of the 19th over with the Yorkshire skipper on 99 when Winfield-Hill top edged a wide one to Luff looking for the ton and giving Maddie her third wicket. 55 balls and 19 fours had put the home side back in the driving seat at 186 for 4 with 11 balls left of the innings.
Russell finished the penultimate over and ended with 4 overs 3 for 43. Sarah Glenn came in and Sterre Kallis looked to hit out before the end of the game and she took another 15 off the over to move her side to 201 for 4 at the end of the 19th.
Liv Barnes took the last and with Glenn adding 2, Kallis went mad and finished on 84 from 50 balls with 15 fours. Yorkshire had pulled themselves to 210 for 4. The 4th wicket partnership was a record for the county and Winfield-Hill was one run from Yorkshire's first ever Women's T20 100.
Somerset got into the line-up but could not put them away. Fielding issues did not help but the Yorkshire pair were superb and probably not only brought their side back into the game but pushed the score to one the visitors will find very very difficult to overtake.
The Reply
There is only one way to go here. Somerset needed to 'go for it' from ball 1 and Bex Odgers needed to stay around for a while to set a base rather than a couple of overs and a score in the teens. Unfortunately no one mentioned this to Sophie in the 4th over at 30 when she top edged a drive off Woolston which went behind her and was caught by Glenn for 13 from 12. Learoyd replaced her
Anika and Bex looked to be pushing the score on after this keeping quite close to the Yorkshire progress profile. They passed 50 off Garton in the 6th with most of the runs coming from Odgers (31 from 18) with Learoyd starting to score with her first four to take the score to 53.
They had moved to 79 for 1 by the end of the 8th over. However Glenn breaks through in the 9th when she has Bex LBW for 39 from 26 with 4 fours and 2 sixes at 81 for 2. In comes Holland with the impetus moving to Learoyd's ability to keep this score moving.
The score has to keep going at 10 an over for Somerset to keep in this game. Learoyd knows this and works to keep it going. Jonassen finds this out in the 10 over where Anika pushes the score past 90 and they reach 92 at the halfway point with Holland only scoring 2 runs from the 3 balls she has faced.
Glenn takes the 11th and Holland brings up the 100 with a straight four off the last ball of the over. At the end of the 13th from Langston, Learoyd drives a four between two fielder to bring up her 50 with 53 from 27 balls. Somerset have 125 for the loss of 2 wickets and they need 86 runs from 42 balls with 8 wickets left. It's a tall order but while Learoyd is there anything is possible.
Niamh goes in the 15th bowled by Glenn for 25 from 19 with 3 fours at 140 for 3. In comes Alex Griffiths with 5 overs left with her side needing 61 from the 30 balls left. She worked to get Learoyd on strike but while that was giving the Aussie the chance to push the score on, by the start of the 19th over Griffiths herself was struggling to score and had only got 3 from the 9 balls she had face. Menwhile Anika had moved to 83 from 43 but the score needed runs to come from both ends.
As a result of this Somerset 'retired' Alex for the 3 at 171 for 4 and Ruby Davis was sent in to push the score with 11 balls left and 40 runs needed. It was probably too late but it was a decision that made sense. Unfortunately Ruby as she was caught by Kallis off Langston before the end of the 19th over with 8 from 4 balls with 2 boundaries. 179 for 5 with 7 balls left needing 32 runs. Jess Hazell comes in with Learoyd on strike. She hits 2, 6, 2, 4, 4 (going to 101 from 48 balls)2. Somerset finish on 199, 11 runs from the win. Learoyd produces an absolutely superb century - 103 not out from 49 balls with 13 fours and 4 sixes. She has been suggesting she is capable of this from Day 1 and this was phenomenal. BUT we let Yorkshire get away, we were not fully focused and we gave them too many. Despite the very good chase, they had too many and we have lost a game we ought to have stamped on at 18 for 3. Hope it hasn't stopped the chances of getting to the Finals but this is Yorkshire's first win of the season and we ought to have put them away.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:07:09:10:04:20 by Grockle.
The club preview is here;
Preiew v Yorkshire away
We're 5th and we need to be fourth!! Yorkshire are bottom of the table and need to stay there after the game today!!
The squad is;
Odgers, Learoyd, Luff (c), Davis, Hazell (w), Jones, Holland, Griffiths, Russell, Harris, Vukusic, Barnes, Anderson
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:07:05:18:18:40 by Grockle.