Surrey are travelling to Dunmow to go against Essex in the Women’s London Championship tomorrow (June 11) at Felsted School, with the hopes of making it two wins from two games.
Essex – who finished second in the London Championship in 2022 on 42 points, eight behind the champions Surrey – will be playing their first game of the 2023 season on Sunday.
Surrey’s social media pages will be providing regular live updates throughout the game.
TEAM NEWS
Aylish Cranstone returns to the Surrey side and she will take over the captain’s duties from Amy Gordon.
Surrey’s 12-player squad to take on Essex is as follows:
LAST TIME OUT
Surrey couldn’t have pictured a better start to their London Championship campaign. At Guildford, the Three Feathers outplayed Middlesex in every department as they secured a stunning 161-run victory.
It was an exceptional day for the talented 20-year-old Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones, who starred with the bat scoring her maiden Surrey century; ultimately finishing on 117 off 122 balls and pushing the hosts to a fantastic total of 267/8 from their 50 overs. Towards the end of the innings, Blinkhorn-Jones was well-supported by Bethan Miles, who played a blistering knock of 38 not out off 24 balls.
When Surrey came out to bowl, Charlotte Stubbs set the agenda early as she collected four quick wickets to disrupt Middlesex’s chase, boasting 4/19 from her seven overs. Spinners Anjali Ketan (3/20), Miles (2/31), and Priya Khatkar (1/12) took care of the remaining Middlesex batters.
ESSEX’S LAST GAME
In their final Vitality County T20, which was the Group 7 semi-final, Essex lost out against Hertfordshire by eight wickets at Felsted School.
Having elected to bat, Essex managed to trickle to 133/6 from their 20 overs. Jessica Bird top-scored with 32 off 34, while wicket-keeper-batter Scarlett Hughes played a bright innings of 31 off 23.
Led by captain Gemma Marriott’s remarkable 72 off 46, Hertfordshire easily hunted down the target, crossing the line with over three overs remaining. Marriott’s charge was readily complimented by Elsa Barnfather’s unbeaten 38 off 39.
LAST TIME OUT VS ESSEX
When the two sides met in July last year in the London Championship, Surrey produced an impressive bowling display and eventually emerged victorious by four wickets.
Asked to bowl first, Surrey limited Essex to 135 all out. The new ball duo of Priyanaz Chatterji (2/21) and Charlotte Lambert (2/21) provided a lively start, taking three early wickets. After that, spinners Claudie Cooper (2/5) and Danielle Gregory (3/41) – both of whom now regularly feature for South East Stars – took over the mantle. Off-spinner Cooper bowled a magnificent spell to keep a lid on the opponents, with four of her seven overs being maidens.
Essex made an optimistic start when they took the field, removing opener Chloe Brewer and number three Kira Chathli cheaply, with Surrey on 19/2. Blinkhorn-Jones (22) and Rhianna Southby (30) got Surrey’s chase back on track, but Essex’s bowlers persisted with their disciplined bowling and reduced the Three Feathers to 86/6 at a point in the game.
However, from there on, a composed stand of 50 not out between Priyanaz Chatterji (29*) and Eva Gray (16*) saw Surrey to a deserved four-wicket win over Essex.
