Warwickshire Bears Women return to T20 cricket with a Vitality Blast showdown with Surrey at Edgbaston Stadium, in a repeat of last year’s final.
Taking place before the men’s team play Worcestershire in a huge local derby, play gets under way at 3:00pm. Here’s what you need to know…
Team news
Bears Women have named a 13-player squad for the fixture against Surrey, with the playing 11 to be announced at the toss.
Squad: Abbey Freeborn, Davina Perrin, Nat Wraith, Georgia Redmayne, Katie George, Sophie Beech, Amu Surenkumar, Chloe Brewer, Mary Taylor, Georgia Davis, Millie Taylor, Hannah Baker, Bethan Robinson
Current form
It’s been a difficult start to the Vitality Blast for Bears Women, with Ali Maiden’s team having lost all six games to date. Those results don’t tell the full story though, with the Bears coming close to a first win of the campaign on several occasions. An 11-run loss to current table-toppers The Blaze at the start of the month shows that the Bears are a tricky proposition for any opponent.
Surrey meanwhile have picked up four wins, one loss and a tie from their six games so far and sit just behind The Blaze in second spot. Although two weeks removed from their last T20 fixture, Surrey did come out on top on that occasion, with a five wicket win against Essex.
Previous meetings
The fixture between the Bears and Surrey is a repeat of last year’s Vitality Blast final, where Surrey became the inaugural winners of the competition with a five-wicket victory.
On that occasion Surrey manged to restrict the Bears to 153 for nine from their 20 overs, and despite two wickets apiece for Em Arlott (two for 29) and Amu Surenkumar (two for 13), an unbeaten 63 from Grace Harris saw Surrey over the line.
The teams actually met three times in T20 cricket in 2025, with Surrey winning all three games.
Players to watch
Abbey Freeborn
Abbey Freeborn is one of the leading run scorers in the Blast so far and is in good form heading into the fixture with Surrey. In last Sunday’s Vitality T20 County Cup match against Middlesex she top scored with an unbeaten 79 off 61 balls, and in Wednesday’s 50-over fixture against Hampshire, she notched a second 50 in four days.
Amu Surenkumar
Amu Surenkumar was one of the star performers for the Bears in each fixture against Surrey last year, particularly with the ball. The right-arm seamer took six wickets across three games, so will look to add to that number while also being dangerous with the bat when the teams meet at Edgbaston.
Jemima Spence (Surrey)
Wicketkeeper-batter Jemima Spence is having a standout season in the Vitality Blast, and is Surrey’s leading run-scorer through six games. Snapped up by the Birmingham Phoenix for this year’s The Hundred, it’s easy to see why. She’s been key to Surrey’s success, with 179 runs at an average of almost 45 so far.