The inaugural women’s Metro Bank One Day Cup in 2025 begins on April 19 and here is everything you need to know.
The eight counties from Tier One in women’s cricket will compete for the Metro Bank One Day Cup, with the remaining 10 battling it out in the Metro Bank One Day Cup League 2.
Top Tier: Durham, Essex, Hampshire Hawks, Lancashire Thunder, Somerset, Surrey, The Blaze (Nottinghamshire), Warwickshire
League Two: Derbyshire Falcons, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Kent, Leicestershire Foxes, Middlesex, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Sussex Sharks, Worcestershire Rapids, Yorkshire
Durham
Led by captain Hollie Armitage, Durham are in good hands with the all-rounder who bats, bowls leg-spin, and impresses on the field too.
Her strongest performance is with the bat, and the 27-year-old, who is set to captain England A Women team for their upcoming tour to Australia, will be hoping for some big scores that will help her become a regular pick for the main team.
All-rounder Phoebe Turner has impressed for the Northern Diamonds, and the 21-year-old will also be hoping to capture the attention of the England selectors.
Their overseas pick of New Zealand captain Suzie Bates will add experience to the squad and with England pacer Lauren Filer also in the mix, Durham have plenty to turn to.
Squad: Hollie Armitage (captain), Suzie Bates, Leah Dobson, Lauren Filer, Katherine Fraser, Abi Glen, Bess Heath, Trudy Johnson, Katie Levick, Emma Marlow, Mia Rogers, Lizzie Scott, Phoebe Turner, Sophia Turner, Mady Villiers, Emily Windsor.
Essex
Having mostly kept together the Sunrisers squad, which won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint trophy last season, Essex will head into this season full of confidence.
They are led by 21-year-old Grace Scrivens, who has plenty of experience in high-pressure situations after leading the Under-19 England side to the World Cup final in 2023.
Slow left-armer Sophia Smale has big boots to fill after Mady Villiers’s departure to Durham, but the 20-year-old has impressed on for the U19s and in The Hundred so will bring confidence.
With a strong bowling line-up which also includes 23-year-old seamer Sophie Munro, and leg-spin duo Jodi Grewcock and Abtaha Maqsood, Essex will be relying heavily on their opening batters to score big.
Squad: Grace Scrivens (captain), Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones, Amara Carr, Kelly Castle, Kate Coppack, Ariana Dowse, Jo Gardner, Eva Gray, Jodi Grewcock, Cordelia Griffith, Esmae MacGregor, Lissy Macleod, Abta Maqsood, Flo Miller, Sophie Munro, Sophia Smale.
Hampshire
Former head coach Charlotte Edwards won seven trophies and boosted plenty of cricketers. Now, Hampshire must look at life beyond as Edwards begins her reign as England’s head coach.
Former Essex men’s captain Paul Prichard is now in charge and has a challenging task ahead of him to match up to Edwards.
However, cricketing icon Ellyse Perry will play for Hampshire Hawks in this summer’s Vitality Blast. The Australian all-rounder expressed her disappointment at missing out on working with Charlotte Edwards at Hampshire, but believes she can turn things around for England as their new head coach.
Perry is the world’s top-ranked women’s all-rounder, boasting numerous accolades, including two-time ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year, named ICC Player of the Decade in 2020, and winning Australia’s Women’s International Cricketer of the Year on three occasions.
The youngest-ever cricketer, male or female, to represent Australia, Perry has been at the top of the game for the best part of 20 years and is one of the most decorated athletes in the world.
She is set to make her Hampshire debut at Chesterfield on July 4 against The Blaze, before making her Utilita Bowl debut for the Hawks against Somerset on July 6.
Squad: Georgia Adams (captain), Charli Knott, Ellyse Perry, Maia Bouchier, Lauren Bell, Freya Kemp, Nancy Harman, Linsey Smith, Rhianna Southby, Ella McCaughan, Mary Taylor, Freya Davies, Bex Tyson, Naomi Dattani, Megan Sturge, Ava Lee, Abi Norgrove, Daisy Mullan, Poppy Tulloch (rookie), Daisy Gibb (rookie).
Lancashire
Lancashire have only made it past the group stages once over five years of regional cricket, so that will be one of their goals this season.
They have the experience of senior England seamer Kate Cross and slow left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone, who tops the ICC charts for best ODI bowler.
The bowling line-up will also see Australia’s Alana King join Lancashire as the overseas signing. The 29-year-old leg-spinner took 23 wickets during the Women’s Ashes earlier this year, the most taken by a bowler alongside Ash Gardner, who also picked up 23 in the previous Ashes in 2023.
Lancashire will be led by wicketkeeper batter Ellie Threlkeld, who will be hoping to maintain her domestic form.
Squad: Ellie Threlkeld (captain), Olivia Bell, Alice Clarke, Danielle Collins, Kate Cross, Sophie Ecclestone, Mahika Gaur, Phoebe Graham, Liberty Heap, Hannah Jones, Alana King, Emma Lamb, Ailsa Lister, Katie Mack, Fi Morris, Sophie Morris, Tara Norris, Hannah Rainey, Seren Smale.
Somerset
On paper, Somerset’s squad is strong with the likes of England’s former captain Heather Knight, off-spinner Charlie Dean, and all-rounder Danielle Gibson. However, most of these players are likely to be absent due to England duty, which could be a defining factor in their success.
Australian leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington will link up with Somerset, and her wicket-taking ability will mean she is dangerous to play against. But not only that, the 27-year-old is also known to be a fiery batter at the tail.
Squad: Heather Knight, Emma Corney, Sophie Luff, Fran Wilson, Rebecca Odgers, Charlie Dean, Dani Gibson, Alex Griffiths, Niamh Holland, Amelie Munday, Erin Vukusic, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Olivia Barnes, Katie Jones, Jess Hazell, Laura Jackson, Lola Harris, Chloe Skelton, Mollie Robbins, Ellie Anderson.
Surrey
There’s plenty of England talent in the ranks for Surrey, with the likes of opening batting pair Sophia Dunkley, Danni Wyatt-Hodge, and all-rounder Alice Capsey, which should give them a strong start.
Led by Bryony Smith, Surrey will be hoping to capture some silverware after falling just short in previous seasons. There’s plenty of experience in the squad as well as some rising stars, including Tilly Corteen-Coleman, who was the youngest player ever to feature in The Hundred when she made her debut for the Southern Brave at just 16.
Squad: Bryony Smith (captain), Alice Capsey, Kira Chathli, Priyanaz Chatterji, Tilly Corteen-Coleman, Aylish Cranstone, Alice Davidson-Richards, Sophia Dunkley, Tash Farrant, Phoebe Franklin, Danielle Gregory, Charlotte Lambert, Emma Jones, Ryana MacDonald-Gay, Bethan Miles, Alice Monaghan, Kalea Moore, Paige Scholfield, Jemima Spence, Alexa Stonehouse, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.
The Blaze
The Blaze won the Charlotte Edwards Cup in 2024 under Chris Guest and will be hoping to replicate that success this time around. However, this time it will be under Craig Cumming after Guest departed to lead England’s U19s side.
They also have plenty of England players in the ranks including Sarah Glenn, Nat Sciver-Brunt, and Tammy Beaumont, so they will be hoping to use that to their advantage.
They have also added England wicketkeeper Amy Jones to the setup to give them a bigger boost, and after failing to make it to the knock-out stages last season, captain Kirstie Gordon will be hoping to put that right.
Squad: Kirstie Gordon (captain), Grace Ballinger, Sarah Glenn, Georgie Boyce, Josie Groves, Cassidy McCarthy, Lucy Higham, Sarah Bryce, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Tammy Beaumont, Kathryn Bryce, Prisha Thanawala, Charley Phillips, Marie Kelly, Michaela Kirk, Ella Claridge, Georgia Elwiss, Amy Jones, Olivia Baker, Amy Wheeler, Scarlett Hughes, Heather Graham, Orla Prendergast.
Warwickshire
With the full integration of the women’s team into the county set-up, Warwickshire are at the start of a new and exciting chapter.
They will be captained by off-spinner Georgia Davis with Ali Maiden named as their head coach, both of whom will be under pressure to deliver results.
Squad: Georgia Davis (Captain), Meg Austin, Em Arlott, Chloe Brewer, Hannah Baker, Bethan Ellis, Abbey Freeborn, Katie George, Hannah Hardwick, Charis Pavely, Davina Perrin, Amu Surenkumar, Millie Taylor, Issy Wong, Nat Wraith.
