England Women captain Nat Sciver-Brunt was trapped lbw for a golden duck in her first outing of the 2026 county season for The Blaze.
The Blaze were already two down in the fourth over of their chase against Essex at Chelmsford. The home side had been bowled out for 213, leaving what should have been a straightforward chase for a Blaze side bolstered with their England stars. Along with Sciver-Brunt, Blaze also had Amy Jones in their ranks for the first time this season, after she took time off following her recent wedding.
Several England players have been rested from some of the opening matches of the county season, with England putting on training camps to prepare for the T20 World Cup, which gets underway in less than two month's time. Sciver-Brunt appeared for Blaze just once last season, playing a single T20 Blast match.
Nat Sciver-Brunt dismissed for golden duck on county return
After Tammy Beaumont was dismissed for four off 11 balls, followed by Scotland captain Katherine Bryce being cleaned up by Sophie Munro in the next over, Sciver-Brunt came out with her side 9-2. She faced up to her first ball from Munro, the last of her second over, and was dealt a ball angled into her, which struck her on the back leg. The Essex fielders appealed, and the umpire quickly raised his finger. That put Munro on a hat-trick for the start of her next over, which Marie Kelly blocked out for a duck.
Things went from bad to worse for Blaze when they lost Jones in the next over, chipping a ball from Kate Coppack straight to the fielder in the ring on the leg side. All three of Blaze's England players contributed eight runs to their chase between them.
Match 13, Essex Women vs The Blaze
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Despite slipping to 22-4, Blaze did fight back. A half-century from Orla Prendergast from No.7 kept them in the hunt, and, at the time of writing, they require 45 more runs from 16 overs with three wickets remaining to win the match.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
