Match Preview: Birmingham Bears v Hampshire Hawks Women, Vitality Blast

Birmingham Bears v Hampshire Hawks Women

Vitality Blast

Sunday 15th June (3pm start)

Edgbaston

Hampshire Hawks Women continue their travels with a journey to Edgbaston having secured a bonus point win against Essex in their previous match.

In front of the TV cameras, Ella McCaughan carried on her sensational form as she became the first player, male or female, to register a Vitality Blast century this year, as she surpassed 1,000 runs in the format.

Georgia Adams’ four wickets then helped restrict the hosts to 153, handing the Hawks a 42-run win.

Bears also won their last outing, a seven-wicket victory against Durham at Chester-le-Street.

Led by Nat Wraith’s 56 (36) and Davina Perrin’s 49 (31), the Bears chased down 163 after wickets from Issy Wong, Hannah Baker, and Em Arlott.

Hampshire Squad

Hampshire Hawks have named a 14-player squad to take on Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston.

The squad remains unchanged from their emphatic win over Essex on Thursday.

Full Hampshire Hawks squad

Birmingham Bears

Captain: Georgia Davis

Overseas players: Laura Harris (Australia, full competition)

Key winter moves: Warwickshire entered the new era needing to keep up without the Joneses (Amy and Eve) after they departed to The Blaze and Lancashire respectively. That drained the top order of experience which the signing of Laura Harris is designed to rectify while Sterre Kalis is on a season’s loan from Yorkshire.   

The big question: Consistency has proved elusive for the Bears in the early weeks of the season so can they find enough to be contenders for the T20 title? They have individuals capable of match-winning exploits, and have pulled off some eye-catching run chases in the 50-over comp, but is the group good enough to challenge?

Wildcard watch: Amu Surenkumar, a highly talented, 18-year-old all-rounder from Rugby School who can change games with bat or ball. Played for England Under-19s earlier this year has the ability to make a big impact if her chance arrives after the important matter of her A Levels are out of the way!

Final thought: A fast start is always a massive asset in a group campaign and Warwickshire have been handed a very tough opening with away games at The Blaze and Essex. Emerge from that double-header with at least one win and who knows what might happen for a team whose highly-talented spin trio - Georgia Davis, Hannah Baker and Charis Pavely - can put any side under pressure?

Tickets

Tickets for Hampshire Hawks Women’s Vitality Blast match against Birmingham Bears are available here.

Coverage

A live stream will be available for the match and a link to this stream will be available in the at www.utilitabowl.com/cricket, along with a live match centre with the scorecard, statistics and insight available throughout the match.

Weather Forecast

Please follow the link to view the latest weather forecast for Edgbaston: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2650236.