Toss & Conditions

Head-to-Head

The Blaze W have won the last two meetings between these sides. In the most recent meeting last season, The Blaze W won and Essex W were restricted to 104/9 while The Blaze W were bowled out for 139/10, a game shaped by Essex W failing to keep pace with the target. In the earlier meeting last season, The Blaze W won again, chasing 104/10 with 35 balls remaining after posting 106/3. The pattern across these meetings is clear: The Blaze W have controlled both results.

ESEssex W 104/9

TBThe Blaze W 139/10

2025-07-13 · TB-W won by 35 runs

TBThe Blaze W 106/3

ESEssex W 104/10

2025-06-06 · TB-W won by 7 wickets (with 35 balls remaining)

Essex W

Essex W are 6th in the regular season with 13 points and a 3W-3L record. Their last two matches were defeats, including a heavy loss to Hampshire W where Essex W were held to 100/9 while conceding 155/4. Their most recent win came against Lancashire W, where they chased down the target with 13 balls remaining.

ESEssex W 100/9

HAHampshire W 155/4

2026-06-07 · HAM-W won by 55 runs

ESEssex W 145/7

SUSurrey W 149/5

2026-06-05 · SUR-W won by 5 wickets (with 14 balls remaining)

ESEssex W 132/4

LALancashire W 128/8

2026-05-31 · ESS-W won by 6 wickets (with 13 balls remaining)

The Blaze W

The Blaze W are 3rd in the regular season with 20 points, a 5W-1L record, and are currently in the playoff zone. They have responded to their loss against Durham W by winning their next two matches, both by defending totals. The most telling recent result was the 15-run win over Lancashire W, where they bowled the opposition out for 120 after making 135/9.

TBThe Blaze W 135/9

LALancashire W 120/10

2026-06-07 · TB-W won by 15 runs

TBThe Blaze W 151/7

WAWarwickshire W 138/5

2026-06-05 · TB-W won by 11 runs

TBThe Blaze W 153/10

DUDurham W 156/3

2026-05-31 · DUR-W won by 7 wickets (with 5 balls remaining)

Playing XI

Key Stats

Verdict

All four models favour The Blaze W, with the average projection at 68% for TB-W. Bookmakers agree, pricing TB-W at 65% (1.50) vs ESS-W at 35% (2.68). Key stats lean to The Blaze W 5-2, driven by their stronger season position and recent head-to-head control. Essex W’s path to an upset likely runs through reversing that recent matchup trend and avoiding another low total.

Knott and Kelly shut the door early

Charli Knott made the chase feel inevitable, first with the ball and then with a crisp 54 off 35 that took the pressure out of every moment. With Marie Kelly anchoring at the other end, The Blaze hunted down 137 for the loss of just one wicket in 15.5 overs, winning by nine wickets with 25 balls to spare. Essex had a mid-innings lift, but once The Blaze’s second-wicket pair settled, the contest slipped away.

Essex’s powerplay damage lingered

The match swung in the first six overs of Essex’s innings. They stumbled to 33/3 in the powerplay, forcing a rebuild that cost them boundary options later. Even though they recovered strongly through the middle overs at 7.8 an over, the early wickets meant the finish never quite arrived: just 24 runs in the last four overs, with four wickets lost, left them at 136/9 instead of something defendable.

Higham sets it up, Knott finishes

Lucy Higham’s 3/24 gave The Blaze the stranglehold that Essex never escaped, repeatedly breaking momentum just as Essex tried to reset. Knott’s 2/24 added to that squeeze and then her batting provided the knockout punch, driving the scoring rate up without risk. Kelly’s 55 off 44 ensured there was no wobble, and their 95-run partnership effectively ended the game in the middle overs.

Pre-match edge became on-field control

The Blaze’s advantage on paper was built on being the more settled, better-performing side, and it showed in how they managed the key phases. Essex needed a clean start and a bigger total to flip recent trends, but the early collapse put them into catch-up mode. By contrast, The Blaze won the powerplay 47/1 and then accelerated through the middle at 9.2 an over, turning a chase into a formality.