Surrey seek home comforts as Blaze, Bears challenge in inaugural Women's Blast Finals Day

With a home T20 World Cup just a year away, the inaugural Vitality Blast Women's Finals Day offers an enticing stage for international and domestic aspirants alike.

Surrey are the favourites on their home ground, especially as they are direct entrants to Sunday's final, having lost just once all season (alongside a rain-affected tie with Essex). The team that beat them, however, are The Blaze, who take on the Bears in the semi-final.

Bryony Smith, Surrey's captain, is looking for a big score this season, having played 13 games for 225 runs at 17.30 with a strike rate of 125.00 and highest score of 44. But she knows she has it in her after a 33-ball 62 in a winning England Development XI against India, which acted as a warm-up to the international tour, which concluded on Tuesday.

And while it won't be at the forefront of her mind this weekend, Smith has set her sights on next year's T20 World Cup as an opportunity to break into the senior England side. She played one ODI against West Indies way back in 2019 and 10 T20Is sporadically between 2018 and the tour of Ireland last September.

"I feel like I've not had a real go at it yet," Smith said. "I've been in and out of squads over the years, had that Ireland tour, but only ended up playing two games. So I see myself looking forward to the T20 World Cup next summer and that's something I'm going to aim for.

"I'm getting on with things here at Surrey and if England come calling that would be great but if not, we've got a good enough set-up here to play loads of games, so I'm happy doing that."

Danni Wyatt-Hodge, recruited by Surrey this season from the now-defunct Southern Vipers, is the third-highest run-scorer in the competition with 372 at 62.00 and a strike rate of 158.29. She racked up five half-centuries from eight games, played around her duties with England's T20I side, with a best of 74 not out.

Wyatt-Hodge was left out of England's ODI squad this summer with a World Cup looming in October, and it won't only be national head coach Charlotte Edwards who might be keeping an eye on Surrey's gun fielder with a view to strengthening that department.

"We've seen what Danni Wyatt-Hodge has done for us throughout the comp," Smith said. "She played the first eight games for us and was leading run-scorer and to have her in your team is massive, not just with the bat but with the field as well.

"She's new to us this year but she's fitted in so well and she loves batting here at The Oval, so we're excited to see what happens."

The hosts qualified for Finals Day when they defended 132 for 9 to beat The Blaze on July 11, Ryana MacDonald-Gay and Kalea Moore taking two wickets each to restrict The Blaze to 122 for 5 despite an unbeaten fifty from Kathryn Bryce.

And while the win was arguably more gritty than pretty, Surrey got the job done and Smith believes her side's all-round strength and depth has been their best asset.

"We've had to use a lot of players so far this comp with England duties and England A girls away as well, so it's been a real squad effort," Smith said. "We've got top-class players throughout the order and we have that real trust in each other to go out and play your own game, no matter what the situation.

"Some of the scores we've produced, we back ourselves to chase anything, and then we've got the bowlers and the fielders to back that up as well. We've been able to protect low scores.

"You see that Blaze game… our fielders pretty much won us that game. We've got an all-round package and that closeness within the group is something that we really rely on."

The Blaze and Bears have won eight games each this season but the Bears have five losses against them compared to The Blaze's two. The sides tied in the opening match of the season while the Bears won by 25 runs in the return fixture.

The Bears boast the competition's second-highest run-scorer, Davina Perrin, and the second-leading wicket-taker in left-arm wrist-spinner Millie Taylor with 19 at 16.10 and an economy rate of 7.46 with best figures of 3 for 13. Bryce is third on the wicket-taker's list with 17 at 14.82 and 6.66 with a best of 4 for 13.

Surrey defeated Warwickshire in a dead rubber in their final match of the regular season with Kira Chathli striking a timely half-century during a second-wicket stand of 93 with big-hitting Australian Grace Harris.

That was before Harris's sister, Laura, responded with a 42 off just 14 balls, although Surrey's bowlers swung the match back in their favour to claim the upper hand ahead of the season's showcase.