Match Preview: Lancashire vs. Surrey, Women's Metro Bank One Day Cup
Lancashire v Surrey
Metro Bank One-Day Cup, Women
Thursday September 3, 2026, 10.30am
AO Farington Cricket Ground
Captain Ellie Threlkeld is relishing Lancashire’s first game at Farington, with Surrey visiting for a crucial Metro Bank One-Day Cup clash.
The Red Rose men have already played two One-Day Cup matches at the county’s brand new second home, beating both Kent and Nottinghamshire last month. Now it’s the turn of the women.
Surrey are first up on Thursday before Durham visit on Sunday. Both are 10.30am starts.
Both will go a long way to deciding Lancashire’s fate as well.
Having beaten Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl last Wednesday, captain Threlkeld and her defending champions have given themselves a realistic chance of reaching the top three places for knockout cricket.
It was their fifth win in 12 games. They are seventh in the nine-time table on 23 points, with Somerset third on 27. This is the first of four remaining fixtures, with a maximum of 20 points still available.
A good few days on the outskirts of Preston and a third county trophy in two years will be very much within striking distance.
Threlkeld said: “We've done a bit of training at Farington, and it's a great facility.
“We've obviously had a hit on the wickets, and they seem to be really good.
“I'm pretty excited to be able to call that place home.
“Hopefully it'll be a nice addition to Emirates Old Trafford, and hopefully we can make it a real fortress for us and play there as much as possible.
“We want to make it a special place and create some good memories there.
“We’ve got two games there and four left in all, and they're going to be pretty big for us to try and make knockout cricket.”
Surrey are also in the mix for knockout cricket. They are fifth and three points better off than Lancashire having won six and lost six.
Last time out, last Wednesday, they beat Yorkshire at Ampleforth College.
Sandwiched in between, they were beaten in the final of the Vitality County T20 Cup by The Blaze at a wet Emirates Old Trafford on Saturday evening.
They lost a 13-over final by seven wickets as The Blaze chased 92.
Surrey are captained by wicketkeeper-batter Kira Chathli in the One-Day Cup and have former South Africa captain Sune Luus as their overseas player.
Luus played for Lancashire Thunder in the Kia Super League back in 2019.
While Red Rose opener Eve Jones is the leading run-scorer in the One-Day Cup with 569 from 12 innings, her retiring team-mate Kate Cross is now the third leading wicket-taker with 22.
Cross, who announced recently that she will retire at the end of the season, took an impressive 4-33 in victory at Hampshire last Wednesday.
Opposition player to watch
At the start of July, in the T20I series against England, Sune Luus made her 300th appearance for South Africa across all formats.
Luus, aged 30, is a former Proteas captain who bats in the top order and bowls as a frontline spinner with the capability to bowl both off and leg-spin, Liam Livingstone style.
The former Lancashire Thunder all-rounder has signed a late-season overseas deal with Surrey, and has played two matches so far.
She has returned hauls of two wickets and three wickets and has posted a couple of scores in the teens with the bat.
Luus has three international hundreds, including two in ODIs, and seven hauls of five wickets or more. Five have them have come in ODIs.
Previous meeting
Surrey beat Lancashire by three wickets at the Kia Oval in mid-May.
Lancashire, having been inserted, posted 246-9 from their 50 overs, a total built upon a patient 69 off 105 balls for Eve Jones at the top of the order.
Australian fast bowler Maitlin Brown and leg-spinner Dani Gregory claimed three wickets apiece for the hosts.
In reply, Surrey fell from 57-0 to 92-4 to threaten their chances before captain Kira Chathli’s middle-order 88 off 101 balls led the recovery.
She shared a fifth-wicket 134 partnership with Brown, who contributed 62 to enhance her impressive day.
When Brown fell, at 226-5 at the end of the 42nd over, Lancashire just had too much to do to turn the game around.
Kate Cross claimed three wickets and fellow seamer Grace Potts two.
;