Match Preview: The Blaze v Hampshire Hawks Women, Vitality Blast

The Blaze v Hampshire Hawks Women

Vitality Blast

Friday 4^th July (3:30pm start)

Queen’s Park, Chesterfield

Hampshire Hawks Women return to Vitality Blast action after a two-week break as they travel to Chesterfield to play The Blaze.

The Hawks go into the match off the back of a five-wicket win over Somerset in their most recent competitive fixture, but played two friendlies against Sussex on Monday where they won…

The Blaze currently sit third in the table occupying the final qualification spot for Finals Day on Sunday 27^th July.

They were defeated by 25 runs at the hands of Birmingham Bears in their previous Blast match.

However, they beat Surrey in both friendlies on Monday with former Southern Vipers all-rounder Georgia Elwiss making 50 in the first match before Charley Phillips and Josie Groves claimed three wickets each in the second.

Hampshire Squad

Hampshire Hawks have named a 14-player squad to take on The Blaze at Chesterfield.

Australian legend Ellyse Perry comes into the squad for her first match as a Hawk.

Daisy Mullan is also called up to a Hampshire squad for the first time after impressing on loan at Glamorgan, where she scored 63*.

Maia Bouchier has been called up to England’s IT20 squad as they face India in the third match of the series tomorrow night at The Oval.

Ella McCaughan continues to recover from an injury she picked up against Essex.

Full Hampshire Hawks squad

The Blaze

Captain: Kirstie Gordon

Overseas players: Maddy Green (New Zealand, first four matches), Heather Graham (Australia, last 10 matches)

Key winter moves: The big change for The Blaze has been off the pitch, where former New Zealand Test batter Craig Cumming takes over as head coach in place of Chris Guest, who guided the Trent Bridge-based team to its first silverware in the Charlotte Edwards Cup T20 competition in 2024. Cumming arrives with a winning pedigree, though, having won two trophies in four years with Otago Sparks.

The big question: After last season’s impressive campaign established The Blaze at the top of the pile in the 20-over format, can anyone knock them off their perch? South East Stars, who ran them closest in 2024, have morphed into Surrey Women, with whom The Blaze shared 692 runs in an incredible 50-over tie at Beckenham earlier this month. There may be little between them over 20 overs too.

Wildcard watch: Charley Phillips - Such is the depth of The Blaze squad, some 15 of their number are already signed up for the 2025 edition of The Hundred. If they are to be joined by another team-mate, it may be Charley Phillips, who arrived from Sunrisers in the close season as a young bowler with pace and has already made a good impression.

Final thought: The Blaze squad contains four current England players but it is their Scottish triumvirate - skipper Kirstie Gordon and the Bryce sisters, Kathryn and Sarah - who are the heart of the team. Gordon was the leading 20-over wicket-taker in 2024, Kathryn Bryce the top runscorer and wicket-keeper Sarah had only one in front of her in the dismissals table. They may hold the keys to success again in 2025.

Tickets

Free admission tickets for Hampshire Hawks Women’s Vitality Blast match against The Blaze 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 Chesterfield: https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2653225.