The Blaze Maintain Treble Dream with Dominant Win at Trent Bridge
The Blaze are not easing their grip on this season. Not in the T20 Blast. Not in the County Cup. And certainly not in the Women's One-Day Cup.
On a bright day at Trent Bridge, the Nottingham-based side brushed Somerset aside by six wickets, tightening their hold on top spot and edging to within a single win of a home final on 19 September. One more victory from their last two games, and the road to the trophy runs straight back through their own ground.
The scoreboard will say routine. It was anything but for Somerset.
Higham’s spell breaks Somerset’s resistance
Somerset, led by the ever-reliable Sophie Luff, worked hard for their 192 but never quite escaped The Blaze’s grip. Luff, in familiar rescue mode, crafted her fourth 50-over half-century of the season, anchoring an innings that threatened to build but never truly broke free.
Every time Somerset tried to lift the tempo, Lucy Higham shut the door. The spinner turned the game with a superb 4-28, prising out key wickets and strangling the middle overs. Grace Ballinger and Kirstie Gordon chipped in with two wickets apiece, ensuring Somerset’s total always felt a touch light on a true Trent Bridge surface.
Somerset were bowled out before they could mount a late surge. Against this Blaze side, that’s dangerous territory.
Beaumont sets the tone, Bryce and Jones finish the job
Chasing 193, The Blaze never looked rattled. Tammy Beaumont, as so often, set the tone. Her 39 wasn’t a headline score, but it was the kind of innings that bends a chase into shape: early authority, gaps pierced, bowlers pushed back.
Once Beaumont departed, the chase could have tightened. Instead, it loosened.
Sarah Bryce and Emma Jones shut down any flicker of Somerset hope with a calm, clinical partnership. Bryce compiled an unbeaten 54 from 65 balls, the innings of a keeper-batter who understands tempo and risk. Jones injected the acceleration, striking 53 not out from just 44 deliveries.
The pressure finally told on Somerset’s bowlers. With 11.3 overs still in hand, The Blaze were home, the result long since inevitable.
Table-toppers under pressure – but still in control
Elsewhere, the pack tried to keep pace. Hampshire, The Blaze’s closest challengers, stayed within five points by beating Yorkshire by seven wickets. Warwickshire and Surrey also claimed important wins, with Surrey thumping Essex by 118 runs and Lancashire edging Durham by just three at their new home near Preston.
Yet the story at the top remains the same: The Blaze, the all-conquering force of the T20 Blast and County Cup, continue to dictate the terms in the 50-over competition as well.
Now comes the collision that could define the group stage.
Hampshire, already assured of a knockout spot, host The Blaze in Southampton on Wednesday. Second against first. Chasers against pace-setters. For The Blaze, victory seals a guaranteed place in the final back at Trent Bridge. For Hampshire, it’s a chance to drag the leaders into a genuine late-season dogfight.
Somerset left clinging to the race for third
For Somerset, the defeat cuts deeper than a simple six-wicket margin. They remain locked in a scrap with Warwickshire for third place and a route into the eliminator on 16 September. Luff’s form with the bat gives them a fighting chance, but they will know they cannot afford many more afternoons where a promising platform slips into a sub-par total.
The Blaze walk away from Trent Bridge with their treble hopes intact, their authority reaffirmed, and their destiny in their own hands.
Hampshire are next. If anyone is going to derail this juggernaut, they will have to do it fast.
