GLCS vs SOM 63rd Match, T20 Blast 2023

And with that, Somerset have secured a comprehensive win by 80 runs over Gloucestershire. 

It was a good toss to Lewis Gregory as the Somerset batters showed some serious intent throughout the first innings which eventually got them to a daunting total of 231- 4 from 20 overs. Will Smeed was the wrecker-in-chief as he powered his way to a scintillating knock of 94 (35).

Smeed struck a partnership of 122 runs alongside Tom Banton from just 10 overs, out of which Banton only managed to contribute with a run a ball 26. Will Smeed had struck eight fours and eight sixes while batting at a strike rate of 268.57 before getting dismissed to Zafar Gohar.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore made sure to take the momentum forward as he stormed his way to 30 (15), while batting at a strike rate of 200. The duo of Sean Dickson 28 (17)* and skipper Lewis Gregory 30 (13)* did the rest as they smashed their way to a 58 run unbeaten stand to finish the innings. 

The likes of Matt Taylor, Tom Smith, Danny Lamb and Oliver Price all went for an economy of over eight per over. Zafar Gohar did manage to save face courtesy his 2-44 from four overs.

The run chase didn’t start off in the most ideal manner as Benn Wells was dismissed for 10 (8) with Craig Overton getting into the act. That being said, Miles Hammond and Ben Charlesworth did manage to counter attack for a brief while as they compiled a 75 run stand. 

Charlesworth’s knock of 41 (25) came to an end courtesy Josh Davey, whereas, Hammond’s impressive 61 (34) was brought to a close by the veteran Roelof van der Merwe.

Apart from that partnership, nothing seemed to click for Gloucestershire as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Oliver Price was sent back to the hut for a golden duck by Josh Davey. Meanwhile, Jack Taylor 11 (7), James Bracey 2 (5) and Danny Lamb 3 (7) didn’t have much to offer either. 

Gloucestershire ended up being bundled out for 151 from 19 overs.

In the bowling department, it was Roelof van der Merwe who stood out courtesy his spell of 3-25 from four overs. Shoaib Bashir also did well with his quota of 3-26 from four, while, Josh Davey also chipped in with a spell of 3-26 from three.

All in all, it turned out to be a near perfect performance by Somerset in all three departments, which led them to a well deserved win. As for Gloucestershire, they’ll have to go back to the drawing board and do a lot of head scratching in order to prevent such performances moving into the games ahead.