Match Preview: Hampshire Hawks v Somerset, Vitality Women's T20 County Cup Quarter-Final

Hampshire Hawks v Somerset

Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup

Sunday 23 August (2:30pm start)

Utilita Bowl*

Hampshire make a brief return to the Hawks, as Georgia Adams will lead her side against Somerset at Utilita Bowl in the quarter-final of the Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup.

Introduced last year, the T20 County Cup is a straight knockout competition involving all Tier 1, 2, and 3 counties, similar in nature to that of football’s FA Cup.

Tier 1 teams entered in round three, which was played in June. Hawks Women travelled to Newport, Wales, as they took on and defeated Tier 1-to-be Glamorgan by 97 runs.

Hawks Women were knocked out of the competition in the third round last year, but have made great strides in their T20 cricket in 2026 as they reached their first-ever Vitality Blast Finals Day.

Somerset ended their Vitality Blast campaign in sixth, with five wins from their 12 matches.

The opening T20 game of the season between Hawks and Somerset was tied, with the Hawks having two wins over the Wyverns in 2025.

Hampshire Hawks

Hawks Women have named a 15-player squad for their Vitality Women’s T20 County Cup match against Somerset.

Spinner Ava Lee comes into the squad in place of Amanda-Jade Wellington, who isn’t included due to overseas players not being permitted in the T20 County Cup.

England players Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Freya Kemp, and Linsey Smith are all unavailable.

Somerset

By Andy Stockhausen, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay

Captain: Sophie Luff

2026 Vitality Blast finish: 6th

2026 Vitality Blast leading run-scorer: Sophie Luff (397)

2026 Vitality Blast leading wicket-taker: Erin Vukusic (15)

Key winter moves: England's Dani Gibson and Charlie Dean have signed one and two-year contract extensions respectively. England Under-19 seamer Bea Willis, batter Ruby Davis and leg-spinner Lola Harris have agreed their first professional deals. Opener Amelie Munday and seamer Laura Jackson were released in the winter, while batter Fran Wilson took up a coaching role at Gloucestershire.

The big question: Can a relatively inexperienced squad find a way to win matches without their senior England players? In the anticipated absence of Heather Knight, Dani Gibson and Charlie Dean, it will be incumbent upon those with less experience to prove they can muster the consistency needed to translate last year's near misses into victories in 2026.

Wildcard watch: Lola Harris – playing her first season at this level and still something of an unknown quantity on the county circuit, the highly-rated teenage leg spinner has already made an impact in the Metro Bank One Day Cup. She has a great repeatable action and, providing she can maintain her composure under pressure, the England Under-19 international possesses the variation required to cause problems for batters. 

Final thought: Although weakened by the loss of new ball bowler Mollie Robbins and batter Emma Corney, Somerset should still have sufficient resource to better last season's disappointing return of one win from 14 games. If Bex Odgers, Sophie Luff and Niamh Holland can score runs consistently, Chloe Skelton and Alex Griffiths possess the bowling know-how to restrict the opposition.

Head-to-Head:

Hampshire Hawks Women’s record in T20 matches v Somerset Women:

Form Guide:

Hampshire Hawks Women’s recent meetings in T20 matches:

• July 17 2026 | Durham (SF), Kia Oval | Hawks lost by four wickets (with four balls remaining)
• July 12 2026 | Surrey (A), Kia Oval | Hawks lost by six wickets (with 14 balls remaining)
• July 10 2026 | Warwickshire (A), Edgbaston | Hawks won by four wickets (with six balls remaining)
• July 8 2026 | The Blaze (H), Utilita Bowl | Hawks won by 23 runs
• July 5 2026 | Lancashire (H), Utilita Bowl | Hawks won by nine wickets (with 33 balls remaining)

Somerset Women’s recent meetings in T20 matches:

• July 12 2026 | Essex (H), Taunton | Somerset lost by 41 runs
• July 10 2026 | The Blaze (A), Trent Bridge | Somerset lost by seven wickets (with 34 balls remaining)
• July 7 2026 | Essex (A), Chelmsford | Somerset won by two wickets (with one ball remaining)
• July 3 2026 | Yorkshire (A), Headingley | Somerset lost by 11 runs
• June 28 2026 | Surrey (H), Taunton | Somerset lost by two wickets (with four balls remaining)

Tickets

Admission for Hampshire Hawks v Somerset in the Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup is free of charge.

Coverage

The match will be live streamed on the Hampshire Cricket YouTube channel.

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 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.

* The match is currently scheduled to take place on the Utilita Bowl Nursery Ground. If Hampshire Men's Rothesay County Championship match against Yorkshire is completed on Saturday 22 August, Hawks Women v Somerset will be played on the main Utilita Bowl pitch