Mixed Start To Blast Defence For Somerset
Somerset made a mixed start to the defence of the Vitality Blast with a win and a loss from the opening weekend of the competition.
The Vertu Motors-backed side secured the title for the second time last year after beating Essex in the final at Edgbaston, with the same opponents kicking off the 2024 campaign at Taunton.
Essex were put in to bat first and started well enough as Adam Rossington and Dean Elgar put on 67 for the first wicket in little over seven overs before Rossington was bowled by Lewis Gregory.
Michael Pepper followed soon afterwards before Jordan Cox joined Elgar at the crease to help guide the visitors past the 100 mark. Elgar passed 50 before losing his partner when Cox was caught for 30 off the bowling of Gregory before Paul Walter smashed a quickfire 18 off eight balls.
Elgar would eventually fall for 77 in the final over as Gregory grabbed his third wicket, with Essex setting Somerset a tricky target of 194 for victory.
The home side charged out of the blocks as Tom Banton and Will Smeed smashed 49 off the first four overs before Banton fell for 21, with Smeed hitting four sixes and three fours in a 16 ball 39 before he was caught with the score on 63.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore fell to Matt Critchley in the next over, with Somerset being slowed by the deployment of spin bowling to reach the half-way stage still more than 100 runs adrift of the target.
When Sean Dickson was caught off the bowling of Aaron Beard, Somerset were on 127-4 but that only brought Gregory to the crease and kicked off the vital partnership as he and Tom Abell put on a quickfire 60 before Abell was fifth man out in the 19th over with ten still needed.
Gregory fell three balls later for a 20-ball knock of 44 that included four sixes, with Ben Green and Craig Overton finishing off the innings as Somerset scored victory by four wickets.
From there, Somerset headed for the Oval to face off against Surrey – another side they had defeated en-route to the title last season.
Surrey batted first and were in trouble early on as Tom Lammonby took three early catches to remove Dan Lawrence, Laurie Evans and Jason Roy with the score on just 23.
Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith then swung the game back towards Surrey with an impressive partnership of 111 before Pope was dismissed with the score on 139 and Ben Green then grabbed three wickets in an over to remove Jordan Clark, Tom Curran and – crucially – Smith for an impressive 87 from just 38 balls.
The tail was wrapped up quickly as Surrey were bowled out for 163.
Somerset lost Banton and Smeed early on to the bowling of Spencer Johnson before Abell fell cheaply, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore was run out having been unable to build on a solid start to his innings.
Some tight bowling – in particular from Sean Abbott who conceded just eight runs from three overs – prevented Somerset from getting into the their stride and wickets would fall regularly, three of which would go to Abbott.
It meant when Overton was caught off the bowling of Curran to be last man out, Somerset had fallen 57 runs short of the target to end the opening weekend with a record of won one, lost one in the competition.
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