They may be in deep trouble in the Championship but Somerset dug in during the past week of the Vitality Blast not only to qualify for the quarter-finals but also to make the last four in incredible fashion. In the South Group, they overcame Middlesex with just two balls remaining while long-term leaders Surrey were despatched decisively thanks to a third-wicket stand of 165 between Smeed and Abell, plus three wickets in seven deliveries for Craig Overton, who capped a great evening of family bragging rights by having twin brother Jamie caught behind.
In
yesterday’s quarter-final against Derbyshire, the Taunton crowd must have been
breathless in amazement. Somerset struck eighteen sixes and twenty-two fours, led
by Tom Banton and Riley Rossouw on their way to an English Blast record total
of 265-5. Poor Derbyshire never got
started. Wayne Madsen’s runs ensured they reached the knockouts but, with the
exception of George Scrimshaw’s bowling, they were never at the races, bowled
out for a paltry 74, a record losing margin. To keep the unwanted records flowing,
Mattie McKiernan’s four overs of leg-spin went for 82. The fifteenth over conceded
36 runs, including an embarrassing no-ball and five sixes.
The
unpredictability of T20 was confirmed when Surrey, so dominant for most of the
summer, hosted Yorkshire at The Oval and somehow contrived to lose. Players on
both sides were absent on England duty but there were still plenty of
internationals on the pitch. David Willey had been allowed to race up to London
and put in a good all-round stint for the visitors but Jamie Overton’s brutal striking
looked to set to win the game for Surrey. They needed just five from Jordan
Thompson’s final over but, after three dots, JOverton dithered over running on
a fumble by ‘keeper Tom Kohler-Cadmore and ran himself out. Narine was
brilliantly caught in the deep first-ball but Thompson held his nerve at the
death and the Vikings were home by a single run.
Their
Roses rivals also had a topsy-turvy week. After losing to Worcestershire and
Derbyshire, they scraped through as North division runners-up only by defeating
the leaders, Birmingham Bears. Lancashire also had several players away for the
India T20I but regardless they made short work of Essex, courtesy of tight seam
bowling from Bailey, Wood and Lamb, and an unbeaten 76 by 37-year-old Steven
Croft. Their Finals Day entrance pits them against … Yorkshire!
Somerset’s
semi-final will be against old Finals Day adversaries Hampshire, who knocked
out the Bears by 104 runs. The latter had produced seven 200+ scores but needed
only 187 to win. That they didn’t come remotely close was largely down to James
Fuller’s 4-17 and Nathan Ellis’ 3-4 in just nine balls.
So,
who will win this weekend? Not Somerset. Obviously. If they have their star
players back, I’ll plump for Lancashire but Hampshire have a habit of
surprising me..
Team
of the Week: D’Oliveira (Wor), Rossington (Ess +), Duckett (Not), Madsen (Der),
Ackermann (Lei), Abell (Som), Mousley (War/Bears), Fuller (Ham), C Overton
(Som), Sams (Ess), Stone (War/Bears)
