Chloe Brewer
Birmingham Phoenix batter on BBC Radio WM

I thought Meg Austin had got that clear of the ring but Heather Graham has put that down. I think she is just losing it in the [white] seats in the stands.

Dropped catchpublished at 4 overs

4 overs

Bears 27-1 The Blaze

Heather Graham at cover shells Meg Austin on three and Grace Ballinger is denied a second scalp.

It's aerial and Graham sees it all the way, but she seems to mistime the jump and its bursts through her hands. Will that be costly?

Issy Wong rubs salt in the wound by slapping the next ball down the ground.

A swipe into the legside brings two more.

Cassidy McCarthy in for a second over - both opening bowlers are finding movement under leaden skies.

Issy Wong opened the face of her bat and gets a thick outside edge to pick up her second boundary.

The Bears batter then guides the fourth ball square through the legside square for four more. Kathryn Bryce didn't seem to pick that up at all on the boundary.

Eleven from the over.

After that scare, Issy Wong clips a single to end an eventful second over.

The Blaze will be delighted with the start - but it could have been even better.

Issy Wong gets a lifeline.

The ball is doing too much and missing leg.

Lively second over.

Issy Wong hits a four down the ground first ball - what style!

But Grace Ballinger swings the next ball into Wong's pads and it's given!

The batters decide to review.

Meg Austin scampers through for a leg bye to get the scoreboard ticking.

Perrin is then off the mark with a pushed single into the legside, but McCarthy is getting the ball to shape in nicely.

The Blaze look on it in the field and restrict Bears to a further single as Austin gets off the mark.

Three from the first over. Tidy.

Warwickshire openers Davina Perrin and Meg Austin make their way out to the middle.

Perrin is second-leading run scorer this season in the comp and the Bears will want a good start from her.

Cassidy McCarthy to open the bowling.

Play.

Bears skipper Georgia Davis has called the toss right and has opted to bat first.

Tammy Beaumont and Grace Ballinger return for The Blaze in two changes from their final group stage match.

Bears: Perrin, Austin, Kalis, Wraith, Harris, Arlott, Surenkumar, Wong, Taylor, Davis, Baker.

The Blaze: Beaumont, Kelly, K Bryce, Elwiss, Graham, S Bryce, Claridge, Glenn, Gordon, McCarthy, Ballinger.

Image source, Getty Images

Warwickshire Bears will draw confidence from their head-to-head record against The Blaze after shading their two Blast meetings this season with one win and a tie.

An unbeaten 60 from leading runs scorer Kathryn Bryce proved enough for Blaze to haul themselves to a tie against the Bears when they met at the end of May, both teams finishing with 160.

But a solid batting performance anchored around a Sterre Kalis half century and 3-33 from Em Arlott saw Bears post a comfortable 25-run victory over Blaze on 20 June.

Although it was in a different format, the two met on Thursday in the Women's One Day Cup at Lincoln, Blaze running out winners by 47 runs.

But even though they were on the wrong side there were plenty of positives to take from that.

Abbey Freeborn and Natasha Wraith produced a superb 112 run partnership after coming together with Bears wobbling at 28-5.

While she failed on that occasion, opener Davina Perrin has been a standout performer for Bears this season as they finished third behind Surrey and The Blaze with the 18-year-old racking up 384 runs.

With the ball Millie Taylor (19 wickets), Hannah Baker (14) and captain Georgia Davis (13) will ensure they are competitive as these two teams meet for the third time in 20 overs.

Image source, Rex Features

The Blaze have strong recent pedigree in the T20 format and are bidding for a third final in as many years.

Last summer they lifted the last edition of the Charlotte Edwards Cup - an eight-side regional competition - beating South East Stars in the final, and they were beaten finalists in 2023.

They won eight and lost just two of their 14 group matches to finish second behind finalists Surrey, but one of those losses came up against the Bears at Edgbaston.

In fact The Blaze failed to beat the Warwickshire side in the group, with the reverse fixture at Trent Bridge ending in a thrilling tie, although they did secure an emphatic 50-over win on Thursday.

The Nottinghamshire side welcome back England gun batter Tammy Beaumont for finals day, joining international team-mate Sarah Glenn

But it is Scotland all-rounder Kathryn Bryce, playing alongside her sister Sarah, who has been instrumental in firing the Blaze to the Kia Oval.

She is fourth in the competition's leading run scorers this season with 370 at a more than healthy average of 46, while Georgia Elwiss has chipped in with 352, including four 50s and a century.

Bryce is also third in the wicket-takers list, with 17 victims.

Surrey ran out comfortable winners of the Vitality Blast group stages losing just one match (they tied one too) as they topped the table.

Their prize is to sit and wait (and in the comfort of their home venue at The Oval as well) for the winners of the semi-final at 12.30 between The Blaze and Warwickshire Bears.

The final is set to start at 16:30 but a word of caution for confident Surrey fans might be drawn from the Men's Vitality Blast finals days.

This is the first time the women have had a finals day in this format but in the men's the last six winners (Glocs, Somerset, Hampshire, Kent, Notts and Essex going back to 2019) have all come from the second semi final on finals day.

If that shows anything it is that going into a final boosted by the adrenaline rush of victory immediately before is no bad thing.

Good afternoon - we hope you're ready for a little bit of history to be made.

We're at The Kia Oval for the first Vitality Blast Women's finals day.

First up from 12:30 BST it's an all-Midlands affair as The Blaze of Nottinghamshire, take on Bears of Warwickshire in the Eliminator.

They will be vying to take on Surrey in the final from 16:30 BST.

So let's find out a little more about the sides and this new competition.

BBC Sport

How can I start playing?

• Find your local club in England and Wales, external, external, Scotland,, external, external or Northern Ireland., external, external

Tell me more about cricket

England have celebrated success in both men's and women's cricket, and as we saw in those finals, cricket can be dramatic, explosive and nail-biting.

• Cricket is a social sport with many formats. Games can be played ranging from 15 minutes to five days.
• It's a team sport, but the three key elements - batting, bowling, fielding - rely on individual skills.
• Traditionally it's played on a field with 11 players per side but there are many ways to play newer, scintillating styles - indoors, local parks, playgrounds and, in some cases, cages.

Who can play?

If you want to play for fun or be right up there challenging for honours, there's a place for everyone. Here are some helpful links to get you started.

• All Stars Cricket, external, external - aimed at providing children aged five to eight with a great first experience in cricket.
• Dynamos Cricket, external, external - focuses on children from eight to eleven developing skills while having fun.
• Chance 2 Shine, external, external - a sports charity that aims to give schoolchildren across the country the chance to play cricket and also brings cricket to thousands of young people in inner-city areas with Street Cricket., external, external
• The Lord's Taverners, external, external - provide cricket programmes across the UK. They enable young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with disabilities to enjoy sport through programmes such as Table Cricket, Disability Cricket Championships, and Wicketz, external, external.
• Women's softball cricket, external, external teaches the basic skills you need to get started.
• Cage Cricket, external, external - an all-action, high-octane version of the sport aimed at giving people living in inner city areas a chance to play the game. Mike Bushell explains it here.
• You can try Sports Coach UK, external, external for coaching opportunities across the country. If you want to lend a hand to a club near you, find out about volunteering in England, Wales,, external, externalScotland, external, external and Northern Ireland, external, external.