By Dom Harris
A brand new era for ladies’s domestic cricket in England has begun following the opening round of top-tier fixtures within the Metro Bank One-Day Cup on Wednesday.
The most important transition has seen previously regionalised teams turn out to be aligned with the normal counties, competing within the two white-ball competitions that also mirror the lads’s game.
Here’s a round-up of a few of the key talking points because the eight counties awarded skilled Tier 1 status launched into a historic 2025 campaign.
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Thrilling tie at Edgbaston
The sport between Warwickshire and Hampshire produced a dramatic finale as Warwickshire captain Georgia Davis was run out off the ultimate ball as the edges played out a tie of their opening game.
Rhianna Southby top-scored with 72 for Hampshire because the hosts were set 209 for victory.
Abby Freeborn made 70 at the highest of the order, but England’s Linsey Smith took 4-39 as Warwickshire found themselves nine down and still 20 runs in need of their goal.
With just 4 needed from the fiftieth over, final-wicket pair Davis and Hannah Baker got the scores level but were unable to finish a fast single required off the ultimate ball of the match, with Abi Norgrove calmly hitting the bottom of the stumps with an underarm throw from extra cover.
Emma Lamb impresses with match-winning performance
The standout performer from the primary round of fixtures was undoubtedly Lancashire‘s Emma Lamb in her side’s emphatic victory over The Blaze at Trent Bridge.
Her off-break produced figures of 3-42 to assist restrict the hosts to 234 all out, having been 146-2 at one stage, before hitting a surprising 130 not out as Lancashire eased to an eight-wicket win with five overs to spare.
With newly-appointed England head coach Charlotte Edwards in attendance, the opener, who has 14 ODI appearances, struck 15 boundaries on her approach to becoming the primary player to attain a century on this season’s competition.
Overseas stars show their price
A lot of the largest international names in women’s cricket can even feature throughout the season, most notably Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry, who has joined Hampshire for the T20 Blast.
The primary round of the One-Day Cup already saw a few of the high-profile overseas signings reveal their class.
Latest Zealand legend Suzie Bates, who has scored over 10,000 runs for her country, made a fluent 93 not out as Durham made light work of their 178 goal to beat Essex by nine wickets.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Amanda-Jade Wellington made precious contributions with each bat and ball as Somerset edged Surrey in a final-ball classic.
Reduced to a 33-over contest, her three wickets included the scalps of England duo Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Alice Capsey as Surrey finished on 243-7 at Beckenham.
Somerset were well placed due to former England captain Heather Knight’s 54-ball 64 in a century stand for the primary wicket, before the hosts turned the screw.
With 32 needed off two overs, Wellington hit Ryana MacDonald-Gay for 4 successive boundaries to cut back the equation to fifteen off 6, before finding the rope twice more in the ultimate over.
With only one needed from the last ball, Fran Wilson pulled Alice Davidson-Richards for 4 to finish a memorable victory, with Wellington’s unbeaten cameo of 24 off 7 balls crucial in getting Somerset over the road.
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