Surrey's women and men host Lancashire in a Vitality Blast double header at the Kia Oval on Thursday, with Bryony Smith's side facing Lancashire Thunder at 2:15pm before Sam Curran's team take on Lancashire Lightning at 6:30pm. Both matches are being shown live on the Surrey YouTube channel, while Surrey's social media feeds will carry updates and video clips through the day.
There is plenty riding on the fixture for Surrey even before a ball is bowled. Laura Harris has joined the squad for the full Blast campaign, but Alice Capsey, Sophia Dunkley and Tilly Corteen-Coleman are unavailable because of international commitments, Danni Wyatt-Hodge is waiting for the birth of her first child, and Phoebe Franklin is still recovering from a winter injury. Chris Jordan remains in rehabilitation after an ankle problem, Ollie Sykes is sidelined with a knee injury, and Tom Lawes is away with the England Lions, while Jamie Smith, Matt Fisher and Gus Atkinson have been rested ahead of the upcoming Test series with New Zealand.
Lancashire arrive with a white-ball record that gives this double header extra bite. Their women won the Vitality County T20 Cup and the Metro Bank One-Day Cup last year, then fell short of Finals Day, and they have kept Australian great Meg Lanning for the full campaign after making her one of their key winter signings. Emma Lamb led their women's run-scoring in 2025 with 336 runs, while Alana King and Tara Norris took 16 wickets each, and 21-year-old Grace Johnson is one to watch after captaining Lancashire's U18s to two national titles in 2024.
The men's side bring a different kind of edge. Lancashire have made 10 Finals Day appearances and hope to build on Keaton Jennings' 459 runs in 2025, with Australians Chris Green and Ben McDermott available for the full campaign. Surrey will publish a written report, highlights and the Oval & Out podcast at the end of play, then Lancashire move on to host Yorkshire in a televised T20 Roses double header on Friday July 10. For both clubs, this is the kind of early Blast test that can quickly show whether a season has legs.
