Essex came to Taunton earlier this season and left with nothing. Then Esmae MacGregor took career-best T20 figures away from home at Chelmsford, and Essex beat Somerset to record their first Women's Blast win of the season. Now they meet again. Same competition. Different ground. Somerset Women vs Essex Women is Match 54 of the Vitality Blast Women 2026, played at the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton on Sunday, July 12 at 10:00 AM GMT (11:00 AM BST / 3:30 PM IST). Both sides have something to play for. This Match 54 preview includes the Somerset Women vs Essex Women prediction, betting tips, fantasy cricket picks, and the complete women’s cricket betting guide for Reddy Anna users.
Details of Match 54
Match: Somerset Women v Essex Women Series: Vitality Blast Women 2026, Match 54 Venue: Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, Somerset Date: Sunday, 12 July, 2026 Start Time: 10:00 AM GMT / 11:00 AM BST / 3:30 PM IST **Format**: T20
The Cooper Associates County Ground is a small venue in Taunton. Boundaries are short. Batters who time the ball well score here without needing to clear the rope. Somerset plays all their home Blast matches here. They know exactly how it plays. Their spinners use the surface well in the second innings. Any total above 160 at Taunton tends to be genuinely difficult to chase.
Somerset Women are Four Wins and Still Pushing
Somerset Women came into this tournament as heavy underdogs. Heather Knight, Dani Gibson, and Charlie Dean were all away at the T20 World Cup. Heather Knight is their captain. That is not a small absence. But the players left behind have found something in 2026.
Four wins from the group stage so far. That includes a five-wicket win over Warwickshire w, where Niamhh Holland scored 42 from 31 balls and spinners Liv Barnes and Chloe Skelton shared four wickets between them. That win had a structure to it. Bowl tight. Restrict to 123. Build a chase sensibly. Holland anchored it. Anika Learoyd pushed alongside her. A third-wicket partnership of 54 was enough.
The issue is the head-to-head with Essex. MacGregor took career-best T20 figures at Chelmsford when Essex beat Somerset in their first meeting. Somerset's batting capitulated. Somerset will want to fix that here at home. Short boundaries, familiar surface, a home crowd. These are the conditions where their batting tends to perform better.
Amanda-Jade Wellington gives Somerset bowling depth that was not there last year. She bats in the top order. She bowls leg spin. She had a hat-trick for Hampshire in a different match earlier in the competition before joining this squad. Her dual value makes her the most important individual pick for fantasy teams and the hardest player in this lineup to account for.
Essex Women is One Win, One Mission
Essex Women have one Blast win this season. It came at Chelmsford against Somerset, driven by Esmae MacGregor's career-best bowling. MacGregor has been the most reliable performer in the Essex lineup across both matches. Twenty-one wickets in the 2025 Blast, second-highest in the entire competition. She does not stop taking wickets.
Cordelia Griffith and Lissy MacLeod have contributed runs at the top of the order. Flo Miller has been in outstanding form in the one-day cup with back-to-back unbeaten fifties. She has not quite repeated that in the Blast, but the ability is clearly there. At Taunton, where the pitch is true and the square is compact, a batter who can hit cleanly and consistently can score quickly without needing to clear the outfield.
Essex's problem is batting depth. Without the runs they had from Winfield-Hill and Penna in 2025, they are relying heavily on their top two or three to set totals. If Griffith or MacLeod falls early, the middle order must rebuild quickly. On a ground like Taunton, losing wickets in the middle overs becomes very hard to recover from.
Grace Scrivens, as captain, has been solid without being dominant. She bats in the top order and uses the ball tactically in short spells. At Taunton, her ability to bowl economically in a couple of overs is a useful option that Somerset's batters will not take lightly.
Somerset Women vs Essex Women Prediction
The Somerset Women vs Essex Women prediction leans toward Somerset. At home, on the ground, they know, with four wins already in the group stage. Essex beat them at Chelmsford with MacGregor taking career-best figures. Somerset will look to make the ball harder to bowl with on their home pitch.
Somerset to win: 1.65 to 1.75. They are the home side, in better form overall, and playing without the pressure of needing results to stay alive in the group.
Essex to win: 2.10 to 2.30. They have the match-winner in MacGregor. If she takes early wickets and restricts Somerset's total, Essex has enough batting to chase modest totals. Their previous win at Chelmsford was built on exactly that formula.
Both teams to score 150-plus at around 2.00 is the market for those who believe the Taunton pitch produces runs. Somerset's batting is better at home than away. Essex has shown they can put up competitive totals when MacLeod and Griffith click.
Open your Reddy Anna account today and check the live Somerset Women vs Essex Women odds before the 10:00 AM GMT start at Taunton.
Fantasy Cricket Picks for Match 54
Wicketkeeper: Amara Carr (Essex). She keeps wicket and bats in the middle order. Reliable dual-category scorer in domestic fantasy.
Batters: Niamh Holland (Somerset), Cordelia Griffith (Essex), Flo Miller (Essex). Holland scored 42 from 31 balls in the Warwickshire win and is Somerset's most consistent batting contributor after the World Cup absences. Griffith opened aggressively in Essex's earlier matches. Miller's one-day cup form makes her a genuine Blast scorer waiting to happen.
All-rounders: Amanda-Jade Wellington (Somerset), Grace Scrivens (Essex), Fran Wilson (Somerset). Wellington is the standout dual-value pick in this match. She bats high and bowls. Scrivens captains and contributes in both departments. Wilson adds batting depth for Somerset below the top three.
Bowlers: Esmae MacGregor (Essex), Liv Barnes (Somerset), Chloe Skelton (Somerset). MacGregor is the match's single best bowler pick after career-best figures against this opponent. Barnes took 2-20 and Skelton 2-21 in the Warwickshire win at identical economy rates. Both spin well on this surface.
Captain: Esmae MacGregor. Career-best T20 figures against this exact opposition. Bowling at the same opponent on a different ground does not dilute her threat. Best captain pick available.
Vice-Captain: Amanda-Jade Wellington. Bats' top order bowls leg-spin and contributes in both innings. Best dual-value vice-captain from either side.
Key Takeaways for Match 54
Somerset Women vs Essex Women is July 12 at Taunton, 10:00 AM GMT / 3:30 PM IST
Somerset has four Blast wins. Essex have one, which came against Somerset at Chelmsford
E.sm.ae MacGregor took career-best T20 figures when Essex beat Somerset in their first meeting
Niamh Holland scored 42 from 31 balls in Somerset's most recent win over Warwickshire
Somerset at 1.70 to win is the main match winner prediction at home. Essex at 2.20 is the value
MacGregor as captain and Wellington as vice-captain is the strongest fantasy cricket combination
Summing Up Somerset Women vs Essex Women
Somerset Women vs Essex Women at Taunton on July 12 is the rematch both sides needed. Essex won at Chelmsford. Somerset wants to level the record at one win each. At home, Somerset are the pick at 1.70. MacGregor is the pick for fantasy captain at any price after what she did to this batting lineup last time.
For Reddy Anna users, combine Somerset to win at 1.70 with the fantasy cricket picks in this guide for the most complete approach to Match 54. Check Reddy Anna on the morning of July 12 for the latest team sheets and updated odds before the Taunton start.