MATCH PREVIEW: Lancashire Thunder vs Durham Women, Vitality Blast Women
Lancashire Thunder v Durham
Vitality Blast
Sunday July 13, 2025, 11am
Emirates Old Trafford
Phoebe Graham believes the fortnight’s break midway through the Vitality Blast, late last month and at the start of this, has been crucial in helping Lancashire Thunder turn their fortunes around.
Thunder are on a three-game winning run and have an excellent chance of a top-three finish in the table for Finals Day qualification.
With three games remaining, starting against Durham at Emirates Old Trafford on Sunday morning (11am), they are six points adrift of third-placed The Blaze. Lancashire have 25 points, The Blaze 31.
However, they are also seven points behind second-placed the Bears with a game in hand and 20 points still to play for.
There was no game played in this competition between June 20 and July 4. Prior to the break, the Red Rose had lost back-to-back games to leave them with a mountain to climb.
“Sometimes the schedule is kind to you, and I think that little break was exactly what we needed as a group to reset and refocus,” said the fast bowler.
“What we found was that with fresh energy in the group, being able to reflect positively on some of the games we lost and look back at the positive cricket we played, we went into that second block with a lot more confidence and created a new momentum.
“We felt like we'd played a lot of good cricket but hadn’t got over the line on a couple of occasions, which would have changed our fortunes in the table.”
Their home game against Surrey at Emirates Old Trafford was a prime example of playing some good cricket but coming out on the wrong end of things.
They fought back impressively in a rain-affected game with the ball, got themselves ahead of the equation before Surrey’s Paige Scholfield hit a six to get Surrey back ahead. The umpires took the players off for rain almost immediately. Had they come off two minutes earlier, which they could easily have done, Lancashire would have won.
Thankfully, the situation now looks much brighter, with recent wins coming against Essex, the Bears and, on Wednesday afternoon, Hampshire.
In that most recent game against one of their qualification rivals, at Falkland CC in Newbury, Lancashire chased down 175 to win by eight wickets with an over to spare.
Opener Emma Lamb starred again with 66 not out off 45 balls, while Eve Jones and Seren Smale contributed 42 apiece. Earlier, in Hampshire’s 174-5, Alana King struck twice and Kate Cross and Graham once apiece. Australian star Ellyse Perry was run out backing up.
“It was a great win for us,” reflected Graham.
“It was a road of a wicket, and when the ball beat the outfield, it flew to the boundary.
“It was certainly one of those days you'd rather have a bat in your hand than a ball.
“We knew it was a high-scoring ground, and after the powerplay it became quite evident that we'd bowled well and had probably kept them to a few runs under par.”
Graham has had to remain patient for her chance having battled against an early-summer knee injury and then non-selection.
She briefly went on loan to the Bears for a couple of Blast games in mid-June before breaking into Lancashire’s team for the last three matches - her first of 2025.
And she has contributed nicely, claiming one early wicket in each of those games.
“I was injured with a knee issue at the start of the season,” she continued.
“The seam attack is absolutely brilliant at Lancashire, and it means you've got to work that extra bit harder to put your name in the hat. So I'm just pleased I've been given an opportunity and have been able to contribute in some shape to the team.
“Every wicket counts, but if it's in the top order then obviously it definitely impacts that bit more.”
Graham’s absence at the start of the summer meant she missed out on playing her part in the Vitality County T20 Cup triumph. But there’s no reason why she can’t know play her part in another successful trophy pursuit.
“That’s certainly how I was reflecting on it when I was injured,” she said.
“Hopefully it gives me a little bit more gas in the tank towards the end of the season and it does work in my favour. But cricket's a funny game, so we'll just sit tight.”
Durham are all but out of Finals Day contention having only won four of 11 games - 12 points adrift of the top three. They did, however, beat Hampshire at home last night.
Coached by former England and Lancashire Thunder spinner Dani Hazell - she represented the Red Rose in the old Kia Super League - Durham are captained by England fringe batter Hollie Armitage.
They have New Zealand batting legend Suzie Bates as their overseas player.
Bates is the second leading run-scorer in the competition with 361 from 11 matches, while leg-spinner Katie Levick has taken 10 wickets.
Lancashire’s last three games through to next Friday are against the bottom three sides in the table - Durham, Essex and Somerset.
Graham added: “We have a real clear task in hand. We need to keep winning.
“That's all we're focusing on, taking each game at a time.
“It feels like every game we play is almost like a knockout match. It's a different type of pressure, and we know the importance of every single point and every single result.”
Graham’s seam-bowling colleague Kate Cross will be unavailable for the remainder of the group stage because of England ODI duty. But Thunder are expecting opener Lamb to face Durham ahead of linking up with England for that 50-over series against India, starting on Wednesday.
This game is the first part of a Blast double header day with Lancashire’s men, who also face Durham from 3pm.
Opposition player to watch
Suzie Bates has posted 653 runs for the season, across both T20 and 50-over cricket.
Bates, 37, was part of the New Zealand team which won the T20 World Cup in Dubai late last year.
The right-hander has been a linchpin at the top of the order for a Durham side who are finding their feet in Tier 1, while she can also bowl some handy off-spin.
Bates has posted scores of 77, 49, 48 and 25 in her last six Blast matches.
She has scored 10,612 runs in 348 all-format appearances for her country, including taking 141 wickets. No one has played more for the White Fearns or scored more runs for them.
How’s Stat!
If Lancashire are to qualify for Finals Day, it may require them to win their last three group games.
Should they do that, they would also record the county’s 50th all-format win in the professional era.
Dating back to the start of the Kia Super League in 2016, Lancashire Thunder, Thunder and Lancashire Women have combined to achieve 47 victories to date in 50-over and T20 cricket.
Sixteen of those have come this season.