Bears Women v The Blaze (h): Metro Bank One Day Cup preview

Warwickshire Bears Women are back at Edgbaston Stadium on Wednesday 26 August for the latest round of Metro Bank One Day Cup fixtures, as they take on in-form The Blaze.

2026-08-25T15:30+01:00

It’s the business end of the competition, so here’s all you need to know before play gets under way at 10:30am on Wednesday…

Bears targeting back-to-back wins

The Bears returned to 50-over action last week, doing so in fine style as they eased to a 57-run win against Yorkshire Women at Edgbaston.

Meg Austin’s brilliant 94 off 114 balls set the tone at the top of the order, with Brooke Halliday contributing 37 on her debut for the Club and Em Arlott a blistering 44 off just 19 balls to boost the total to 269.

Arlott then starred with the ball, taking the key wickets of Lauren Winfield-Hill and Sterre Kallis on her way to figures of three for 24 from eight overs, while Phoebe Brett (3-24) also impressed as the Bears produced a complete performance.

It was the Bears’ sixth win of the competition, and it was a significant one as they climbed to third place in the table. With this week’s opponents, The Blaze, and Hampshire clear in first and second, the team in third place after the remaining league games will be the only other team to progress. Second and third will play each other in an elimination game, with the winner progressing to the final. The Bears are in the mix.

Opposition insight

The Blaze have been the best team in the Metro Bank One Day Cup so far. They’ve registered ten wins so far with just two losses, and arrive at Edgbaston having lost only once in their last ten 50-over fixtures.

In their last outing they amassed a huge 356 for four batting first against Durham, before they went on to win by 59 runs on the DLS method. Hundreds from Kathryn Bryce (136 off 138) and Georgia Elwiss (134* off 110) were key, before Kirstie Gordon and Grace Ballinger picked up seven wickets between them with the ball to make sure of a dominant win.

In Charley Phillips, they have the competition’s leading wicket taker. Her 24 wickets have come at an average just under 15, with an economy under four.

Last meeting

The two teams played out a thrilling contest when they met in Nottingham back in April, with The Blaze winning by three wickets with only four balls remaining.

An unbeaten 128 from Charis Pavely, off 102 balls, and an 86-ball 98 from Katie George helped the Bears post 302 for five from their 50 overs.

The Bears restricted The Blaze to 103 for two from their first 25 overs, however crucial contributions from Orla Prendergast (56 from 30) and Elwiss (31 from 17) made the difference for The Blaze late on as they got home with four balls remaining.