After a brief week of rest, Surrey return to the road and take on the Blaze after finding typical Surrey form in Somerset.
Surrey return to the Vitality Blast with a new found confidence after beating Somerset in Taunton last Sunday.
The Three Feather’s will now play The Blaze at Trent-Bridge where play will begin on Friday at 14.30pm.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP WITH PLAY?
The game between The Blaze and Surrey will be streamed, live on Sky Sports at 14.30pm.
Live updates will be posted across Surrey’s social media channels throughout the day. Post-match highlights and a report will be available via the Surrey website at the close of play.
SQUAD UPDATE
Priyanaz Chatterji returns from World Cup duty, alongside Ryana MacDonald-Gay who has been away representing England A against India.
LAST TIME OUT
Surrey took on The Blaze at Trent-Bridge in 2025. Having received their only loss of the 2025 season from the midlands based side at home, the Three Feather’s were intent on returning the favour of a loss on home soil.
Bryony Smith won the first battle of the day and elected to bat first at the toss.
Opening with herself and Alice Davidson-Richards, Surrey struggled to find flowing form with the bat. Davidson-Richards top scored on 27 with Grace Harris on her heels with 26.
The large boundary demanded quick running between the wickets and lasting partnerships.
Surrey finished on 132/9, a target that traditionally would have been 30 runs below par for a side like The Blaze.
With this in mind, Kalea Moore delivered in the third over and claimed The Blaze’s opening wicket of Marie Kelly.
With only one more wicket falling in the next 11 overs and The Blaze meandering to 89/3, their success looked to be within site.
However, complacency fell and Surrey capitalised on the large boundaries and impressive fielding. The Blaze’s chase became stagnant and despite Kathryn Bryce making 53, the hosts were unable to reach Surrey’s target.
A less than usual T20 performance from the two sides saw the Three Feathers control the game and emerge on-top.
When the two teams meet tomorrow, it will be for the first time this season. The Blaze currently sit one position above Surrey on the table in second with one game in hand.
Having found form in Somerset, the Three Feathers will take tomorrow’s game as an opportunity to topple their hosts’ position on the table.
THE BLAZE
Captain: Kirstie Gordon
Overseas players: Charli Knott (Australia, all)
2025 finish: Semi-finalists
2025 leading run-scorer: Georgia Elwiss (412)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Kathryn Bryce (17)
Key winter moves: The Blaze have signed talented Australia A all-rounder Charli Knott, who brings experience of the Women’s Premier League in India, the Women’s Big Bash and The Hundred, and hit five white-ball half-centuries for Hampshire Women last summer. Meanwhile, Emma Jones, formerly with Surrey, can provide useful runs in the middle order.
The big question: The Blaze, like others, will be depleted because of the clash with the Women’s T20 World Cup. They lose England’s Amy Jones and Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ireland’s Orla Prendergast, although it may be the unavailability of their three Scots, Kathryn and Sarah Bryce and Blaze skipper Kirstie Gordon, that is the most keenly felt. Can those left step up a level?
Wildcard watch: United States international Ella Claridge, whose country missed out on qualification for the T20 World Cup, has a chance to make her presence felt in the Vitality Blast. The 24-year-old wicketkeeper batter will carry some responsibility in the absence of Scotland’s Sarah Bryce and England’s Amy Jones but has proved before that she can rise to the challenge under pressure.
Final thought: Even stripped of six internationals, The Blaze still have the capacity to mount a challenge for silverware. Marie Kelly, a very capable top-order batter and excellent fielder, will captain the side, with experienced England batter Tammy Beaumont as a sounding board as well as a key source of runs. Charley Phillips, Grace Ballinger and Cassidy McCarthy are three top-notch seamers, while former England all-rounder Georgia Elwiss has enjoyed a couple of outstanding seasons with bat and ball.
