Hawks Women made the long journey up to Durham following their thrilling tied match against Somerset in the season opener.
Unfortunately, they didn’t secure any points as they fell to a 32-run defeat at Chester-le-Street.
Seamer Poppy Tulloch claimed two wickets as the pick of the bowlers, but having won the toss and chose to bat, Durham posted a mammoth 178/5 in their 20 overs.
Quick 30s from Naomi Dattani and Rhianna Southby – who struck two sixes – weren’t enough as the Hawks finished on 146/8.
Hawks Men haven’t played since the opening match on Friday against Somerset.
James Vince showed exactly why he has been inducted into the T20 Hall of Fame with a typically classy 58, but good bowling from the Wyverns restricted the Hawks to 158.
Scott Currie showcased his skills with 2/27, potentially with an eye on an England call up later in the year following his first selection by the Three Lions last autumn, whilst Liam Dawson was miserly with his 1/25 from four overs.
Essex Women defeated Warwickshire Bears at Chelmsford in their opening match.
England all-rounder Jodi Grewcock claimed 2/27 with pace bowler Eva Gray also picking up a couple of wickets as the visitors made 164/8 thanks to 86* from Abbey Freeborn.
Cordelia Griffith led the way with the bat as she made 68 from just 37 deliveries, with opener Lissy MacLeod scoring 59 from 38 balls as Essex chased down their target in the 15th over.
Essex Men, however, were defeated by Sussex Sharks by six wickets.
A strong opening partnership between Paul Walter and Michael Pepper, who both made fifties, saw the hosts to 191/5 but blistering innings from John Simpson (63 off 23) and James Coles (50 off 29) saw the Sharks to victory in just 16 overs.
Spin twins Simon Harmer and Matt Critchley were the pick of the Essex bowlers with combined figures of 2/60 from their seven overs.
Hampshire Hawks Squads
Hampshire Hawks Women
Hawks Women have named a 14-player squad for their Vitality Blast match against Essex.
The squad remains unchanged from their opening two games as they look to get their first win on the board.
Maia Bouchier, Lauren Bell, Linsey Smith, and Freya Kemp remain on England duty having won the series against New Zealand 2-1.
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Georgia Adams Captain (1)
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Abi Norgrove (12)
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Eliza Bristowe (18)
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Rhianna Southby † (17)
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Naomi Dattani (11)
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Megan Sturge † (3)
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Daisy Gibb (15)
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Francesca Sweet (13)
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Hannah Hardwick (19)
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Poppy Tulloch (24)
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Nancy Harman (25)
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Bex Tyson (35)
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Ella McCaughan (8)
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Amanda-Jade Wellington (10)
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Hampshire Hawks Men
Hampshire Hawks Men have also named a 14-player squad for this fixture.
Tristan Stubbs joins following a strong IPL campaign with Delhi Capitals where he scored 275 runs at an average of 34 with two half-centuries. He replaces fellow South African Delano Potgieter.
Young pace bowler Manny Lumsden, who recently signed a multi-year deal with Hampshire, is also part of the squad following his debut against Somerset after he battled an exam and cancelled trains to get to Taunton.
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Toby Albert † (15)
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Andrew Neal (17)
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Hilton Cartwright (35)
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Ali Orr † (27)
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Scott Currie (44)
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Tom Prest (24)
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Liam Dawson (8)
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Tristan Stubbs (30)
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James Fuller (26)
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James Vince Captain (14)
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Jake Lehmann (33)
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Joe Weatherley (5)
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Manny Lumsden (43)
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Chris Wood (25)
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Essex Women
Previewed by Ben Kosky, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Grace Scrivens
Overseas players: None
2025 finish: 7th
2025 leading run-scorer: Lauren Winfield-Hill (334)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Esmae MacGregor (21)
Key winter moves: Batter Liberty Heap, signed from Lancashire, is yet to feature for Essex – and the bigger issue as arguably who they’ve lost, rather than gained, since the 2025 Blast campaign. Lauren Winfield-Hill, back at Yorkshire after last season’s loan spell, was Essex’s leading run-scorer with Australian all-rounder Maddie Penna, now lining up for Lancashire, a close second.
The big question: It’s not only how Essex replace Winfield-Hill and Penna, but how they go about putting runs on the board collectively. The team only posted two totals above 160 last year, one in a dead rubber against Durham, and the likes of Cordelia Griffith, Grace Scrivens and recent England ODI cap Jodi Grewcock need to find ways of improving that.
Wildcard watch: Flo Miller has begun the 50-over tournament in good form, hitting unbeaten half-centuries against Somerset and Surrey and her strike rate of almost 96 is the best among Essex’s recognised batters. The 22-year-old could really come into her own as a T20 finisher – provided the top order give her a solid foundations to work with.
Final thought: Essex may miss Abtaha Maqsood’s wicket-taking skills in the post-powerplay overs while the leg-spinner is on World Cup duty with Scotland, but they possess a good stock of seamers who can do some damage. Esmae MacGregor’s return of 21 wickets was the second-best in last year’s Blast while Eva Gray, Sophie Munro and Kate Coppack should all help to make Essex more competitive, as long as they have something substantial to bowl at.
Head-to-Head:
Hampshire Hawks Women’s record in T20 matches v Essex Women:
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Played
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Won
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Tied
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Lost
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No Result
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2
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2
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0
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0
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0
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Recent meetings:
- June 12 2025 | Chelmsford | Hawks won by 42 runs
- May 30 2025 | Utilita Bowl | Hawks won by 25 runs
Essex Men
Previewed by Martin Smith, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Simon Harmer
Overseas players: Simon Harmer (South Africa, all), Wiaan Mulder (South Africa, first six games)
Finals Day appearances: Six (2006, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2019, 2023)
Titles: One (2019)
2025 finish: 9th in South Group
2025 leading runscorer: Michael Pepper (364)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Mohammad Amir (20)
Key winter moves: With wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Rossington not re-engaged after his T20-only contract did not work out, South African all-rounder Wiaan Mulder is the only addition to Essex’s Vitality Blast squad. Mulder’s most recent international T20 caps came as recently as March in New Zealand, and with approaching 150 appearances in the format, he should prove an asset in the early matches.
The big question: What will Jordan Cox have learnt from the IPL where he largely watched from the substitutes’ bench with Royal Challengers Bangalore rather than performing in the middle alongside Virat Kohli? Cox topped the Essex batting averages last season – 10 runs ahead of anyone else – and scored a memorable century against Hampshire. Can he do it again?
Wildcard watch: Luc Benkenstein. Leg-spinners are worth their weight in gold in white-ball cricket as Benkenstein showed in last year’s Blast where his 11 wickets earnt him a share of second place in the Essex wicket-taking list alongside Simon Harmer – and with a significantly superior average than his captain. Despite being only 21, he has T20 experience and temperament.
Final thought: Things can only get better for Essex. They won only three games last season, two of them late on with nothing at stake, to finish bottom of the South Group. The year before they were only edged out of a top-four place on run-rate, and in 2023 were beaten finalists. With their younger players a year more experienced, maybe an improved level of consistency can be expected to reverse the downward trend.
Head-to-Head:
Hampshire Hawks Men’s record in T20 matches v Essex Men:
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Played
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Won
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Tied
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Lost
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No Result
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44
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20
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3
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17
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8
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Recent meetings:
- July 17 2025 | Chelmsford | Essex won by four wickets (with four balls remaining)
- May 30 2025 | Utilita Bowl | Hawks won by 106 runs
- July 19 2024 | Utilita Bowl | Hawks won by seven runs
- June 20 2024 | Chelmsford | Essex won by eight wickets (with 19 balls remaining)
- July 15 2023 | Edgbaston | Essex won by five wickets (DLS method)
Tickets
Tickets for Hampshire Hawks Vitality Blast double header against Essex are available for £29.
Buy the day before the game and save £6 per ticket, with entry for U17s just £5.
Coverage
The match will be televised on Sky Sports Cricket with radio commentary from Kevan James and Nick Gledhill available on the BBC Sport website and app, and on BBC Sounds.
A live match centre with scorecard, statistics, and insight will be available via www.utilitabowl.com/cricket/news.
Fans can stay updated on the match via the Hampshire Cricket X/Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts, where regular score updates, photos from the game, and match clips will be shared.
Weather Forecast
Please follow the link to view the latest weather forecast for Utilita Bowl: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2634447.
