Surrey Preview: Cupset quest on as Rapids ready for superstar arrivals

Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup: Worcestershire Women’s Rapids v Surrey Women

Venue: Himley CC, Himley

Date: Sunday 21st June

Scheduled start time: 12pm

Match preview sponsored by MSN Pharmacy Group.

Fresh off a season best performance against Middlesex, a buoyant Worcestershire Women’s Rapids face another seismic challenge this Sunday when galacticos Surrey travel to Himley in the next round of the T20 County Cup.

Relishing the chance to face some Tier One opposition, the Rapids head into Sunday high on confidence.

After such an impressive outing last Sunday during the comprehensive win over Middlesex, Ed Wilson would like to have stuck to his guns, but a handful of untimely recalls and unavailability has forced the Head Coach’s hand.

Half-century maker Bryony Gillgrass, the in-form Sophie Beech and deubtant Madison Windeatt, who all played crucial roles in an excellent run-chase last time out, miss out this Sunday.

In far from ideal circumstances, the Rapids will be forced into some personnel and positional changes, with all-rounders Ebony Jade-Tweats and Sophia Mitchell expected to be bumped up the order.

A big day awaits the Rapids bowling unit, who will be led by the evergreen Jess Beach, impressing last week with the ball with another efficient spell with the new ball.

Worcestershire Women’s Rapids are “buzzing with excitement” according to skipper Clare Boycott ahead of a historic Couty Cup clash with Surrey this Sunday.  

The Rapids are in line to take on a fully professional opposition for the first time in their history, with the knockout game this weekend offering the chance for Worcestershire to extend their unbeaten run in the competition and progress to the next round. 

Standing in their way however is one of the giants of English Women’s Cricket, with Surrey travelling to Himley on Sunday.  

A mismatch on paper, the Rapids’ were dealt a blow earlier this week with the confirmation that their entire top three who masterminded a superb run chase against Middlesex, would be unavailable for this weekend’s clash.  

Undeterred by the news, skipper Boycott just wants her side to enjoy the experience and focus on their own performance after impressing last week.  

“It might be a bit cringe, but I felt like a proud mum watching Maddie make her debut last week. 

“I was her captain for her club debut in 2020 when she was 12! So it was so good to see her playing so well against a very strong Middlesex team.  

“Bryony again produced a super knock. She’s shown real maturity this season, and Beechy came in and played a fearless, inventive knock with plenty of reverse sweeps, and it just finally felt like everything came together with the bat on Sunday. 

“Of course we will miss those three this weekend, but it is a great chance for the other girls to step up against another quality side. 

“It’s exciting for sure! It’ll be a good test for the girls to see how we go against a fully Professional team for the first time in our history!  

“I’m not putting any pressure on the girls, it’ll be a big occasion for sure, but we’re confident after being Middlesex who have only lost a couple of games in Tier 2!  

“The crowd at Himley last time out against Northumberland was fantastic, so I really hope lots of people come down and cheer us on and enjoy a proper day of cricket.” 

There was a marked improvement across the board for Boycott’s side last Sunday, but perhaps the most notable difference was the in the field.  

The Rapids built pressure from the outset and took wickets at regular intervals, with the pressure eventually telling as the girls claimed three run-outs, two of which were inspired by the skipper.  

Backed up by a disciplined performance with the ball, the Worcestershire captain is after more of the same this weekend in the hopes of producing a ground-breaking result.  

“We’ve been working really hard over winter on our fielding. We set out this season to beat our run out tally from last season and we’ve already done that. 

“We’ve been clinical and especially on Sunday our fielding standards created some panic in the opposition. 

“The bowlers bowled superbly on Sunday and restricted Middlesex to a low total, everyone stuck to their plans and that was probably our best bowling first performance, but we have to be able to back that up this weekend if we are going to spring a shock.  

“If we do the basics well, we give ourselves a chance on the day.” 

Surrey Women

Sunday’s visitors come into the County Cup clash on the back of defeat last time out to the Blaze, by five wickets in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.

Bryony Smith leads the run-scoring charts for Surrey this season, having notched up 234 runs in 12 innings so far this summer, whilst Ryana MacDonald-Gay tops the wicket taking list with 19 scalps so far in 2026.

With threats all over the pitch, Jemima Spence is another who the Rapids will be keeping a close eye on after the batter recorded successive fifties in the most recent Vitality Blast T20 assignments for Surrey.