Women's Blast Last one at Home - Blaze or Glory?
By Grockle
July 16 2025
The last home game of this year's Somerset Women's Blast campaign welcomes Blaze to the County Ground as already confirmed finalists next week. We would like to end with a win but still have injury issues though a few are returning tonight including captain Sophie Luff who was out with an injury despite us being told she was fully fit fir the games she did not play in!! Ahh well she's back where she should be tonight.
Women's Blast v Blaze @ Taunton Wednesday 16 July 2025
Somerset won the toss and will bowl first. The weather is grey and overcast so it might be a good shout.
The side from the 16 player squad is;
Odgers, Holland, Davis, Wilson, Luff, Griffiths, Wellington, Skelton, Anderson, Barnes, Vikusic
So a return for the now fit again Sophie Luff and Ellie Anderson in for Mollie Robbins who looked to be under par in the Surrey game on Sunday
Chloe Skelton opens the bowling from the River end facing Kelly and Elwiss and after one boundary ball and a dot, Chloe has Kelly caught by Luff after she just popped it up to her at mid on. 4 for 1 in the first and in comes Bryce. Anderson takes the second and we use Olivia Barnes and Erin Vikusic before Skelton returns in the 5th and takes the second important wicket of Bryce before she gets started to be honest. At 39 for 2 she is stumped by Odgers for 14. In comes her sister Sarah and she helps finish the over off at 41 for 2. The 'Powerplay' is finished by Barnes from the pavilion who has the new bat playing and missng at her first 2 deliveries. The ''powerplay' ends at 43 for 2
Amanda-Jade Wellington takes the 7th and goes for 6 ten during Griffiths' next we have a real 'village' run out when Elwiss hit it into the infield, they took the first but as Byce turned for the second she did not check if Elwiss was running and Elwiss was busy watching Holland throw the ball in and was totally unaware that her partner was coming for a second. So when Bryce finally looks up, there's her partner looking at her from the crease and she is run out for 8 at 55 for 3. Both ball watching and Bryce returns to the dressing room as Graham takes her place and Vikusic returns for her second.
Erin goes for 5 to move her to 2 for 14 as Wellington takes the 10th from the Pavilion and they move to 67 at the halfway stage as she puts her two over total at 13. Skelton continues to keep the pressure on as Somerset work at not letting the East Midlanders get away and she takes a third wicket after frustrating Graham who lobs a catch to Wellington to leave the field for 12 at 72 for 4. 'Golden Arm' Skelton strikes again and finshes her third with 3 for 19 - excellent figures.
The new bat is Claridge and she will be facing Alex Griffiths from the Pavilion.. She is also tight and goes for a mere 12 from her 2 overs so far. 78 for 4 with 8 to go as Barnes is asked to keep the pressure on. There now has not been as boundary since the fourth over as the Somerset slow attack has done its job quite effectively on a strange night in terms of the conditions. Olivia keeps her runs to 11 from 3 and the pressure mounts at 80 for 4 at the end of the 13th. Luff continues it with Wellington and we move to 88. Back comes Anderson from the River and she gets the big wicket of Elwiss for 35 from 34 bowled playing across the line at 88 for 5 in the 15th.
Blaze now look to Kirk and Claridge to get this score to a defendable total. With 5 to go it is 92 for 5 as Barnes bowls out. She fools claridge with a wonderfully disguised slower ball which completely bowls her for 12. Claridge knew she was done before the ball arrived with that one, completely fooled in the flight. 93 for 6. Groves comes in and hits her first ball straight to the mid on fielder Sophie Luff she leaves for 0 and Barnes is on a hat-trick ball. She doesn't get that but she gets Glenn with her next ball with a slight feather to Bex Odgers 93 for 8 and Olivia ends with 12 for 3 - storming performance in what must be Somerset's bestbowling performance of this competion with everyone contributing.
Wellington will bowl out with the 17th with Blaze 6 runs from 3 figures bowling to new bat Higham. he only gives away 3 so finishes with 0 for 24 and they still have not reached 100. Griffiths looks to twist the 'knife' a little more with the 18th. Kirk gets the first boundary since the 14th and then repeats it with a straight second four to go to 104. She adds a third and then a fourth. Higham then ramps the last ball to take 21 from the over.
Skelton takes the 19th to finish her bowling job for the evening and she nearly gets a 4th wicket as Barnes nearly gets to a swept shot from Higham, She finishes with excellent figures of 3 for 26 and Blaze face the last at 124 for 8 as Vikusic is on as the 'death' bowler. She takes the title as she bowls Kirk for 24 with a slow one that takes out the middle stump. 124 for 9. McCarthy comes in and takes run 1st ball irrespective of whether it is there. She does get therwich means Higham is on strike and she guides the next to the Hidlreth for 4. There is fine rain is coming down but they will finish the over and Higham is keen to finishit in style as she moves to 22 from 11 with 2 fours in this over. But it ends with the last ball as Erin bowls straight and Higham misses it all ends up and goes for 22 at 138 all out. The last 2 bats added 42 in the last 3 overs to make this definitely a fight.
The Reply
May take a little longer than expected as the rain comes and then settles in. On come the covers and we all start to try and work out what the regulations say about finishing times etc. A 5 over slog can start at 9 but it does look like this weather may kill the game.
At 8:20 it is still raining and there is little hope of any change - a shame because it was finely poised for an exciting second half. Doesn't seem it will happen as the umpires come out to have a look.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:07:21:20:56:14 by Grockle.
The game will start at 6pm
The squad includes
Anderson, Barnes, Davis, Gibson, Griffiths, Harris, Hazell, Holland, Jackson, Luff, Odgers, Robbins, Skelton, Vikusic, Wellington, Wilson
16 players - perm any 11 Ellie Anderson is back and Sophie Luff has been named in a number of squads but has not been on the pitch. We'll see I suppose. More later
It can't have been an easy season for any of the players - it's a steep learning curve for many and for many different reasons
The side is;
Odgers, Holland, Davis, Wilson, Luff, Griffiths, Wellington, Skelton, Anderson, Barnes, Vikusic
Game ON if the rain lets it!!
And it didn't. The game was abandoned at about 8:30 with no prospect of a break in the drizzle. 2 points each but a real shame.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2025:07:17:10:19:56 by Grockle.
With the home side needing more than a run a ball from their last over for victory with 5 wickets in hand, Mollie Robbins took the bowling job and took 2 wickets with her first 2 balls.
The hat-trick ball was not to be but ball 4 went to captain Sophie Luff at a decent height and she dropped it (though she may have slipped at a vital moment). The 5th ball also went to her, slower & easier opportunity but she shelled that one as well.
Needing 7 off the last ball the Lancs bat hit a six to tie the game and another game fell through Somerset's grasping fingers. Not a great night in not a great series of nights & afternoons as consistency of quality evades the side again unfortunately.