A hard-fought 28-run victory over The Blaze Women in Blackpool saw Lancashire Women cement their place in the Women’s One-Day Cup 2026 cricket competition Fi Morris was the star of the show with bat and ball in hand to ensure her side delivered a key result.
Having lost the toss, Lancashire faced some early pressure with the bat but recovered well enough to set a target of 239. Fi Morris was the key middle-order component, hitting 57 at a time when wickets tumbled regularly. And wicketkeeper Seren Smale, ensuring Lancashire stayed on for at least a serviceable score, chipped in with an effective half-century of his own (51).
The Blaze bowlers reined it in expertly across the innings and did not allow Lancashire to change gear towards the end of their innings. Still, the hosts had a close target that would require batting effort from the visitors.
In pursuit of 240 to win, The Blaze took their time and were looking comfortable enough in the chasing effort behind a resilient performance from Tammy Beaumont. No 3: The veteran had steadied the initial phase of succession with his 64 at the top. It was an innings where she really tried to up the ante, however Lancashire kept nibbling away with fairly regular wickets and The Blaze were never able to build those partnerships which are vital if you want to get on top of what is, in effect, a version of a chase.
The most significant moment was in the middle overs when Fi Morris exchanged batting heroics for bowling brilliance. Four for 33 saw her break vital partnerships and put Lancashire completely in control. By applying pressure with her disciplined spell, she ultimately had an impact on determining the match.
The Blaze then struggled to match the required run-rate as wickets continued to tumble. The lower order made a fight of it, but Lancashire’s bowlers kept their cool to wrap up the win by bowling the visitors out for 211.
Lancashire Women have a third significant result in the bag – with another fantastic individual performance coming from Morris, taking centre stage at the contest. Lancashire did win and Williams contributed considerably with her outstanding all-round performance and the fact there was a lot of acclaim in this.
