Surrey Set to Play Hampshire in Inaugural Women’s T20 County Cup

England international Sophia Dunkley is confirmed to represent Surrey within the new women’s domestic structure. Surrey has been drawn to compete against Hampshire in the new T20 Women’s County Cup, which is scheduled to begin next summer. Additionally, other top-tier teams, Somerset and Durham, are set to face each other. This knockout tournament, scheduled for May, will involve 37 teams spanning all three tiers of the women’s domestic cricket setup. The eight professional Tier 1 teams for 2025—Durham, Essex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Surrey, and Warwickshire—will join the competition in the third round. For the duration of the cup, Nottinghamshire will compete under the name The Blaze, and Warwickshire will participate as Bears. The cup’s structure is designed to provide Tier 2 and Tier 3 counties with opportunities for upsets, as the draw presents lower-ranked teams with a potential path to Finals Day. Given the two matchups exclusively between Tier 1 teams, a minimum of two non-top-flight sides are guaranteed to advance to the quarter-finals. Taunton will host both semi-finals and the final on Monday, 26 May. Round One (Monday, 5 May) Lincolnshire v Cheshire Staffordshire v Cumbria Northumberland – BYE Yorkshire v Derbyshire Falcons Leicestershire Foxes – BYE Shropshire v Norfolk Cambridgeshire v Herefordshire Northamptonshire Steelbacks v Worcestershire Rapids Sussex Sharks v Buckinghamshire Suffolk – BYE Hertfordshire v Bedfordshire & Huntingdonshire Middlesex v Kent Cornwall v Berkshire Wiltshire v Oxfordshire Dorset v Devon Glamorgan v Gloucestershire Round Two (Saturday, 10 May) Match 17: Yorkshire or Derbyshire Falcons v Staffordshire or Cumbria Match 18: Leicestershire Foxes v Lincolnshire or Cheshire Match 19: Shropshire or Norfolk v Northamptonshire Steelbacks or Worcestershire Rapids Match 20: Northumberland v Cambridgeshire or Herefordshire Match 21: Glamorgan or Gloucestershire v Sussex Sharks or Buckinghamshire Match 22: Cornwall or Berkshire v Middlesex or Kent Match 23: Wiltshire or Oxfordshire v Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire & Huntingdonshire Match 24: Devon or Dorset v Suffolk Round Three (Saturday, 17 May) Match 25: Surrey v Hampshire Hawks Match 26: Winner of Match 24 v Bears Match 27: Winner of Match 19 v Winner of Match 18 Match 28: Winner of Match 21 v Lancashire Thunder Match 29: Winner of Match 17 v Essex Match 30: Winner of Match 23 v The Blaze Match 31: Winner of Match 20 v Winner of Match 22 Match 32: Somerset v Durham Quarter-finals (Saturday, 24 May) Match 33: Winner of Match 25 v Winner of Match 32 Match 34: Winner of Match 31 v Winner of Match 30 Match 35: Winner of Match 27 v Winner of Match 28 Match 36: Winner of Match 29 v Winner of Match 26 Finals Day (Monday, 26 May – Taunton) Match 37: Semi-Final 1: Winner of Match 35 v Winner of Match 34 Match 38: Semi-Final 2: Winner of Match 36 v Winner of Match 33 Match 39: Vitality T20 Women’s County Cup Final