On July 11, Surrey secured their spot in Finals Day of the inaugural Women’s T20 Blast by successfully defending a modest total of 132 for nine against The Blaze at Trent Bridge, holding the hosts to 122 for five and sealing a 10-run win.
They managed to pull off the win despite a chaotic start to The Blaze’s chase of 133, which saw Alice Monaghan removed from the attack for bowling two waist-high full tosses and 27 runs conceded in the first two overs.
However, a determined comeback by Surrey’s bowlers turned the game around, as The Blaze, who were the only team to beat Surrey earlier in the season at the Kia Oval, fell short despite Kathryn Bryce’s unbeaten 53 off 55 balls. Ryana MacDonald-Gay impressed with 2 for 14, while Kalea Moore contributed with 2 for 17.
Despite five dropped catches, The Blaze managed to restrict Surrey to 132 for 9 in their 20 overs. England leg-spinner Sarah Glenn took 3 for 20, while Australian all-rounder Heather Graham claimed 2 for 20. Surrey struggled to capitalise on a promising start, with opener Alice Davidson-Richards scoring 27 from 23 balls and Australian all-rounder Grace Harris contributing 26 from 19 as their next-best effort.
Surrey’s experiment with Alice Davidson-Richards at the top of the order paid off as she struck five fours in the powerplay, helping the visitors to 39 without loss from six overs after winning the toss. However, when she advanced down the pitch to Kirstie Gordon in the seventh, she was caught at long-on.
Bryony Smith was caught at deep midwicket for 18, but the bowling team was unusually sloppy in the field. Kira Chathli was dropped three times before reaching double figures, and Grace Harris was also put down when on four.
The third-wicket pair added 39 from 29 balls before Harris top-edged a slog-sweep off Sarah Glenn. Glenn’s next over proved costly for Surrey, as Emma Jones was bowled making room to cut, Chathli was caught at mid-off, and Alice Monaghan was run out.
From 91 for 2, Surrey slipped to 98 for 6. Although Phoebe Franklin struck three boundaries, she was trapped leg-before while stepping across to Heather Graham, who then bowled Kalea Moore for 2. Cassidy McCarthy dismissed Alexa Stonehouse, and although another dropped catch off the final ball of the innings gave Ryana MacDonald-Gay two extra runs, the target of 133 looked very achievable for the home side.
Surrey’s fortunes did not improve with the ball, as The Blaze innings began with a 12-ball first over. It started with Monaghan, who was removed from the attack after bowling two waist-high full tosses in her first four deliveries, one of which was a wide. The over was completed by Davidson-Richards, who conceded three wides herself and saw a catch dropped when Marie Kelly survived on 4.
After Stonehouse conceded three boundaries, The Blaze raced to 27 without loss from two overs. Yet Surrey responded well, giving away only 14 more runs in the powerplay and picking up a wicket when Kelly hit Moore’s off-spin straight to cover.
The pressure continued to build. After Georgia Elwiss picked out Monaghan in the deep on the leg side, The Blaze were behind the required rate at 59 for 2 from 10 overs, still needing 74. The Bryce sisters added 43 at a run-a-ball before Sarah failed to clear wide long-on for 21, leaving 40 needed from the final five overs. Moore then tightened the grip further, conceding only two runs in the next over.
The 17th was the first over since the second in which Surrey conceded more than eight, but when Heather Graham was caught at long-on for 3, The Blaze needed 22 from 12 balls. Ella Claridge tried to lift the tempo but failed to clear deep midwicket off MacDonald-Gay. That left Franklin with 19 to defend in the final over, which she managed comfortably to seal an extraordinary victory for Surrey.
Surrey’s Danielle Gregory, who took 1 for 18 as The Blaze were restricted to just 122 for five in their 20 overs, said, “It just goes to show the depth we have across our bowlers, to be able to pull it back from the start we had. The Blaze are a class act. They’ve got some great batters, so I’m really impressed that we could slow their rate down and get the win in the end. And even after that start we had, conceding 27 in the first two overs, we have so many bowling options in the team that we still felt we could defend that total. We always back ourselves and our skills in any situation.”
“It’s been a good competition for us so far. We’ve got a big squad, with a lot of depth, and some class characters are still away with England. So hopefully when they come back in, we just go from strength to strength. It is good to know we’ve qualified for Finals Day, but we don’t want to let our level drop.”
Surrey, led by the skipper Bryony Smith, is having a dream campaign in the inaugural edition of the Women’s T20 Blast 2025, as they are currently placed at the top of the points table with 41 points from 11 games, including 9 victories and a solitary defeat by 17 runs against the Blaze and a tied game against Essex in the tournament so far. They are clearly dominating the tournament and have established themselves as firm contenders for the inaugural title.
The Blaze currently sits third in the points table with 31 points, trailing only Surrey and Warwickshire. Their upcoming fixtures are against Essex, Somerset, and Hampshire.
(Quotes sourced from Southwark News)
