Surrey welcome Somerset women and Kent Spitfires men to south London for the Kia Oval’s T20 Family Day
Bryony Smith’s side remain unbeaten after Friday’s nail-biting tie away at Hampshire Hawks, with Sam Curran’s side looking to get back to winning ways after Friday’s defeat.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP WITH PLAY?
Tickets for the double header are still available to purchase here. Both matches will be broadcast live on Surrey’s YouTube channel. Surrey’s social media channels will provide regular updates and video clips throughout. Highlights, a written match report and the Oval and Out podcast will be available at the end of each match.
SURREY SQUADS
Both squads remain unchanged from Friday’s matches at Hampshire Hawks.
SOMERSET WOMEN
By Andy Stockhausen, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Sophie Luff
Overseas player: Anika Learoyd (Australia, all)
2025 finish: 8th
2025 leading run-scorer: Amanda-Jade Wellington (254)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Molly Robbins (15)
Key winter moves: Australia A international Anika Learoyd will fill the overseas vacancy created by Amanda-Jade Wellington’s switch to Hampshire, while 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 Anika Learoyd, Bex Odgers, Sophie Luff and Niamh Holland can score runs consistently, Chloe Skelton and Alex Griffiths possess the bowling knowhow to restrict the opposition.
KENT SPITFIRES
Previewed by Fred Atkins, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Sam Billings
Overseas players: Tom Rogers (Australia, all) Keith Dudgeon (South Africa, all). Dian Forrester (South Africa – when commitments with A tour permit)
Finals Day appearances: Four (2007, 2008, 2009, 2021)
Titles: Two (2007, 2021)
2025 finish: Quarter-finalist
2025 leading run-scorer: Tawanda Muyeye (516)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Fred Klaassen (15)
Key winter moves: There was genuine excitement when Kent swooped for both Jake Lintott, on loan from Warwickshire, and Forrester; while Bertie Foreman joins from Buckinghamshire. Jack Leaning has gone to Sussex and Nathan Gilchrist to Warwickshire, but the side that reached the last eight in 2025 is otherwise intact. Holding on to Muyeye was a very smart bit of business.
The big question: Will the new format might work in Kent’s favour? It should make their path to the quarter-finals significantly easier as they no longer have to play the most recent champions, Somerset and Gloucestershire, home and away, but still get to play their local rivals. Travelling distances have been slashed, significantly enhancing player welfare.
Wildcard watch: Coach Adam Hollioake believes Chris Benjamin has the potential to be one of the world’s most destructive batters. His 2025 campaign was ruined when he dislocated his shoulder grounding his bat at Lord’s, but his red-ball form this year has been outstanding and with Billings keeping wicket he’ll be able to concentrate purely on his batting.
Final thought: The St. Lawrence remains one of the great places to watch T20 cricket, but since winning the Blast in 2021, Kent have oscillated wildly. Off the pace in 2022 and 2024 they were unlucky not to go further in 2023 and 2025: Billings put last year’s quarter-final exit in a low-scoring affair at Emirates Old Trafford down to their failure to get Liam Livingstone out. Signing Lintott, Forrester and Foreman, all in the space of 24 hours, feels like a statement of intent.
