Somerset Switch Focus After T20 Finale
Somerset’s focus is now firmly on fighting for a first County Championship title after slipping to defeat in the Vitality Blast final at Edgbaston.
Only days after a dramatic league win against Surrey, the same rivals provided the opposition for the Vertu Motors-backed side as T20 Finals Day kicked off with the two semi-finals.
Somerset were up first and elected to bowl, although Craig Overton was then smashed for 16 off the first over as Surrey went on the attack with the bat, although Dan Lawrence tried to attack a bit too much in the second over when he skied a catch to Tom Abell to give Josh Davey the opening wicket.
Ollie Pope and Dom Sibley added 43 before Pope was bowled by Lewis Gregory when he came in to bowl his first over, and the captain then removed Jamie Smith first ball to leave the score on 69-3.
Sitting on 86-3 at the half-way stage of the innings, Surrey lost a fourth wickets in the 13th over when Rory Burns was run out by Gregory, who then removed Sibley in the next over for 48 to grab his third wicket.
Tom Curran then went for one to leave Surrey six down in the 15th, although some big hitting from Laurie Evans helped his side to reach 153 in their 20 overs, despite three more wickets tumbling in the final two overs.
Somerset got off to the worst possible start in reply when they Tom Kohler-Cadmore fell LBW to the first ball of the innings from Dan Worrall, with Abell falling in the next over when he was caught behind off the bowling of Curran.
Will Smeed then went without scoring in the third to leave Somerset in huge trouble at 7-3, with Surrey now huge favourites to make it through to the final.
James Rew – called in to replace the injured Tom Banton – and Sean Dickson had other ideas however as they went on the attack, gradually improving the run rate and taking the game away from Surrey.
The pair put on a record-breaking partnership of 144 from 98 balls – the largest seen on Finals Day – as Somerset moved towards a second successive final, and although Dickson fell for 78 late on, captain Gregory smashed a six to wrap up victory by six wickets.
Gloucestershire would be waiting in the final after demolishing Sussex in the other semi-final and this time it was Somerset who were put in to bat first and set a target to try and defend.
Although the start was better than in the semi-final, wickets still fell early, with Matt Taylor removing both Kohler-Cadmore and Smeed in the fourth over to leave the defending champions on 33-2.
Taylor then removed Rew in his next over and Dickson followed soon after the two heroes from the semi-finals contributed just six between them.
At 42-4, Somerset were in trouble and wickets continued to fall at one end whilst Gregory did his best to stand firm at the other.
The captain battled hard to make a half-century but aside from Abell, who was fifth man out for 19, none of the remaining batsmen would make it to double figures as Somerset were bowled out for 124.
Gloucestershire went on the attack from the start and openers Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft ensured that it was a case of when, not if, their side secured victory as they put on a century partnership for the first wicket.
By the time Bancroft was dismissed for 53, victory was already in sight and despite then losing James Bracey shortly afterwards, Gloucestershire wrapped up victory by eight wickets.
Somerset now return to County Championship action this week with a trip to Old Trafford to face Lancashire in the penultimate round of fixtures.