Women's Metrobank Must Win v Lancashire
By Grockle
September 9 2026
The Women have two games left to get into a position to go forward into a semi final and a possible place in the Final of the One Day Cup in Southampton in about a fortnight's time. Both our Somerset sides could be in a trophy final stages in the last week of the season. But the women have to win both games to be certain and may still need Warwickshire to mess up along the way. You can only do what you can do and each game left in the season counts. We face Lancashire at Taunton today in what could be Kate Cross's last professional match of a phenomenal career. Sophie luff has won the toss and elected to field first. The ground looks ready so we seem to be starting on time
Women's Metrobank 50 v Lancashire @ Taunton Wednesday 9 September 2026
Somerset are still in the hunt and to stay there they need to win every game left in their season. In this one they have won the toss and elected to chase in the cloudy morning in the West Country.
The side for today is;
Odgers, Luff (c), Corney, Holland, Hazell, Jones (wk), Griffiths, Skelton, Westley, Anderson, Harris
The same eleven as the side that lost versus the Blaze over the weekend has been chosen. Ellie Anderson as usual will open the bowling for Somerset against the opening batting partnership of Eve Jones and Gaby Lewis. They take 1 from the first and then face Alex Griffiths in the second over where Jones adds the first boundary to her single and Lamcashire finish that one with 5 without loss.
There are no wickets downas we pass 5 overs. The visitors have moved on to 23 with Jones on 9 from her 15 and Lewis on 14 from hers. Griffiths has gone for 16 from her two while her new ball partner has only gone for 7 from her 3.
However, it is Alex who claims the first victom of the day as she traps Jones in front with the 4th ball of the 6th. Eve Jones goes for 9 from 16 LBW to Griffiths at 23 for 1. In comes Tilley Kesteven at number 3 who sees out the over without scoring.
No more wickets before Chloe Skelton comes on to bowl the 10th at 42 for 1 and her first bowl is popped back to the bowler from Kesteven. She goes for 3 at 42 for 2 and Chloe has her 98th List A wicket. In comes keeper and skipper Kellie Threlkeld and she moves the score to 44 after 10 overs.
Jasmine Westley starts her morning with the 11th and she is joined by Lola Harris for the 12th who starts with a maiden over. Chloe changes ends as Threlkeld hits a boundary that brings up the visitors 50 at 53 for 2 with Lewis in the driving seat with 31 to her name. However at 63 for 2 in the 14th Lewis is next to go at 36 as she sweeps straight into the hands of Jess Hazell from the bowling of Lola Harris 63 for 3 in the 14th. Before we reach the 20th over we get a little closer as the Lancs pair get themselves in all kinds of trouble and despite some awful fielding under pressure Threlkeld is finally stranded in the middle of the wicket even though Jones drops the ball more than once!! She goes for 20 from 31 with the first ball of the 19th run out by Griffiths at 74 for 4.
Seren Smale is joined by Fi Morris in the middle and they look to reconstruct this innings from a very poor start as we hear that Warwickshire have indeed messed up being bowled out by Surrey for 55 and then have been beaten in a game lasting 26 overs by 10 wickets. Can we now capitalise on this?
At 20 overs Lancashire had moved pretty slowly to 79 for 4 and we have the press on well and truly. The livestreamvisual goes missing for part of the next 5 overs and when it returns the 100 has arrived for the visitors and at the end of the 26th from Skelton Lancashire are at 103 for 4 with Morris on 11 from 223 and Smale on 22 from 34 so they have re-established some stability to the innings. They manage a 50 partnership by the end of the 30th over as Smale moves on to 30 and Morris has 18.
Somerset re-introduce Anderson with Harris but the pair keep moving forward and they have reached 150 from a Smale single from Skelton in her 8th (1 for 33) and the 35th of the innings. Korris and Smale continue and push the score along and Seren is the first to go past 50 in the 36th from 71 balls (4 fours) with a single off Harris at 153 for 4.
Her partner achieves the same as the game goes into the last 10 overs when after reaching the 100 partnership in the 40th at 177 (from a poor bounce off the practice wicket which completely bamboozles the fielder and goes for four), Fi Morris passes 50 in the 41st with a six to the Ondaatje off the bowling of Westley to move her to 51 from 60 balls with 5 fours and that six.
The Lancashire 200 arrives in the 42nd over with Morris moving to 56 and Smale on 67. But Chloe Skelton is re-iointroduced for the 43rd and she strikes when Morris takes the bait and fires the ball to Anderson in front of the Ondaatje to depart for 56 from 63 at 200 for 5.
The Reply
With all the incentive they would need to win this game given the awful performance by the women from Birmingham today, Bex Odgers and Sophie Luff come out to try and set a base for the win against a Lancashire opening partnership of Grace Potts and Kate Cross. They have 5 from the first two so it is 'first blood' to the visiting bowlers. Odgers has all the runs to start with. After 5 it's looking a little better though the skipper is nearly stumped off a wide but she lkept her foot down.. However they have moved to 25 for 0
By the 8th over the two bats have nearly equal scores at 34 for 0 with Odgers 1 run ahead of her captain on 16 from 25. However Bex becomes the first Lancashire victim with the second ball of the 9th as she dances down the pitch and misses a yorker ball from Sophie Morris. She is bowled for 16 at 35 for 1. Emma Corney replaces her hoping to have a decent amoutn of timew in the middle today as she still hasn't really got herself back in from since her long injury layoff. She is off the mark immediatelywith a single from her first.
By the 10th over Somerset have 38 and they pass 50 early in the 14th from a Corney single off Fi Morris. the good new takes a hit when 2 runs later, Sophie is caught by Potts off the bowling of the Lancashire Sophie (Morris) for 23 from 38 with 2 fours.
This brings Niamh Holland in and they add 1 before the 15th is over. Weerapulli starts her spin bowling work in the 18th at 63 for 2. By the end of the 20th over Corney has 24 from 38 while Holland has moved to 12 from 18 and there is 79 in the pot for 2 wickets with a score of 241 needed to win this one. Weerapulli gets one right in the 22nd when she clean bowls Niamh for 12 from 27 at 87 for 3 which brings Jess Hazell to the crease at number 5. they push on and have moved the score to 95 for 3 at the halfway point.
The 26th over is Weerapulli's 5th which she starts with figures of 1 for 16 from her first 4. Somerset pass 100 off Fi Morris with a swept/dragged flip from Hazell moving her side to 102. Emma has 36 while Jess has 7. By the 30th from Carter the score has moved on to 122 for 3 and a partnership of 35 is developing between the 2 Somerset bats.
A 50 runs partnership arrives at 137 with a Hazell double off Cross taking her to 28 from 43. They are going over the top to get twos and the next two takes Emma to a well deserved and welcome 50 from 73 balls with 2 fours at 140 for 3 Somerset need 101 from 16.4 overs.
With the first ball of the 35th over, Jess Hazell seems totally confused about a ball from Sophie Morris, she top edges a sweep which is dropped at square leg but it is not that expensive as 2 balls later the one thing you don't need when a pair is in. Hazell calls Corney through for a second run off a misfield and while ball watching the in form bat is out for 50 at 142. Such a waste and now they are under pressure. Out comes Jones needing 99 for the win but they did not need that.
We are into the 38th over before the 150 arrives off Weerapulli with a quick single from Jones. She moves to 3 from 9 with Hazell on 34 from 52. Despite sopme suicidal run decisions where they are lucky to still be in, we reach the 'back 10' at 40 overs with 175 for 4 with Jones havioing moved on to 15 from 16 while Hazell has 47 from 61. We need 66 from 60 so this game is not yet in the bag and the amount of panic taking place int he middle suggests this game is by no means over yet.
Jess gets past the 50 mark with a single in the 42nd over with 5 fours in the 65 ball half ton but tight Lancashire bowling from the likes of Weerapulli and Cross mean that it is not until the end of the 44th over and a four from Katie Jones that Somerset pass 200 to 203. By then the partnership is 61 runs in 56 balls but they have 36 balls left to score 38 runs. This game is still on a razors edge.
Then a phase of play possibly decides the game. Cross bowls a full toss no ball which Hazell sends to the boundary. She then sends the free hit for six into the family stand and has taken 10 off 2 balls to leave the last 5 over need for Somerset down to 18 from 30. Cross will not be happy.
Weerapulli takes the 46th and Jones is not looking to be charitable. The pair take 5 off the over leaving the need to 13 fro 24. Sophie Morris will bowl the 47th and Jones reverse sweeps the first for four to put the ask in single figures. They then take a flurry of singles to take the ask down to 6 from 18 at 235. Sophie Morris finshes with 10 overs 2 for 40 and Potts takes the 48th.
6 runs with 6 wickets in hand in 18 balls. It is Somerset's to lose from here. Jones hits a fours from the second to make it pretty certain and take herself to 47 from 38 with 3 fours and 2 sixes when we needed them. She steps back and carves the ball straight to Fi Morris. A really good knock from the keeper to reset this innings and it is a shame she didn't pass 50.
Alex Griffiths arrives and edges a single off her first while nearly playing on. That is a tie and Jess hits the wiiing run to move to 241 to win by 5 wickets. Great win when Warks lost. On to Surrey and STILL all to play for. The Somerset openers didn't push on today, the middle order stood up and wer counted. Excellent half ton by Emma Corney was important an then Hazell and Jones really came to the party and took the game home.
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They are still in the hunt for a place in the next round of this tournament but they need to win the home game against Lancashire and the away fixture versus Surrey while Warwickshire have to come a cropper with one of their last games.
The squad for tomorrow's game will be;
Odgers, Luff, Davis R, Corney, Holland, Jones, Hazell, Griffiths, Skelton, Anderson, Westley, Harris, Barnes
Have to admit that on this game, I don’t have mixed loyalties because Lancashire captain Ellie Threlkeld came up through the club I support, Rainford . Her enthusiasm for the game was a joy to watch when she was a teenager playing in the men’s team ( though we weren’t premier league then ). Laura Jackson who also had a year with Somerset also came through Rainford’s second team ; indeed Laura and Ellie’s boyfriends are Rainford’s two opening bats. Ellie’s boyfriend Matt also keeps at times and of course gets sledged that he isn’t as good a wicketkeeper as his girlfriend. Her brother was first team keeper here for a few years until he lost his love for the game ; perhaps fed up of “ you aren’t even the best keeper in your family “.
Laura isn’t playing any cricket at the moment though is playing hockey. One of Somerset’s players told me last year that she was really well liked and missed in the dressing room and indeed she hosted a meal for them the day before they played at Southport this year when they beat Lancashire.
We are still in it with 1 to go but that 1 is Surrey who have absolutely massacred Warwickshire today.
But you have to be IN it to WIN it and we are IN it until the end.