International cricket comes to Taunton for England vs India decider
England as they take on India in a Women’s IT20
BRISTOL, ENGLAND - MAY 30: Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone of England pictured during the Second Vitality T20 International match between England and India at Seat Unique Stadium on May 30, 2026 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Matt Lewis - ECB/ECB via Getty Images)BRISTOL, ENGLAND - MAY 30: Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone of England pictured during the Second Vitality T20 International match between England and India at Seat Unique Stadium on May 30, 2026 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Matt Lewis - ECB/ECB via Getty Images)(Image: ECB via Getty Images)
International cricket comes to Taunton on Tuesday as the Cooper Associates County Ground will host England as they take on India in a Women’s IT20 on Tuesday June 2.
In addition to Somerset’s Heather Knight and Charlie Dean, the likes of Sophie Ecclestone and former Western Storm stars Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma are set to be involved.
The series is currently tied at one match apiece, so it’s a winner take all clash in Taunton with mre than 5400 tickets already sold.
And stand-in England captain Dean has hinted matchwinner Freya Kemp could move up the order for Tuesday’s T20 decider with India in Taunton. Kemp starred in a 26-run triumph over India in Bristol on Saturday with a scintillating unbeaten 39 off 13 balls to fire England to 168 for five before she claimed a two-wicket haul to restrict the tourists to 142 for nine.
All-rounder Kemp has batted at five and six across T20 series with New Zealand and India, with the hosts experimenting with their batting line-up in the absence of injured captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, who returned with 29 on Saturday.
“Freya was exceptional,” Dean said in the post-match presentation. “She really took the momentum into our bowling innings and I think we needed a score like that to really put pressure on their batters. “For her to go out like that, especially when maybe there’s been questions about our power, is brilliant and I know how good she can be, so it’s really nice to see that.
“Kempy is a very dynamic batter, so potentially to give her a bit more time, I don’t see why not (move her up). She was brilliant today and looking forward to Taunton, hopefully we can put in a similar performance.”
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur acknowledged Kemp, 21, made the difference. “I think she took the game away from us, the way she batted in the last two overs, and we should give credit to her,” Kaur said.
Kaur also admitted India’s gamble to retire Yastika Bhatia after a 36-ball innings of 33 to bring in Jemimah Rodrigues, who Kemp dismissed for one, backfired. She said: “Unfortunately she was not connecting with the ball and we thought Jemi was someone who got runs in the last game and wanted to give her a chance to play, but I think that didn’t work.”