Vitality Blast Final: Somerset v Gloucestershire
09/14/2024 04:10 PM
GloucestershiredominatetheWestCountryBattleandVitalityBlastChampions
Having just scraped through to the quarter finals of the Blast with two victories in their last two matches, Gloucestershire took their winning run to five by totally dominating their final against Somerset. They bowled their opponents out for 124 and then knocked off the runs for the loss of two wickets, off only 15 overs.
Chasing what looked like a well under par score to win the 2024 Vitality Blast, Gloucestershire made a steady start. Miles Hammond was scratchy, but Cameron Bancroft struck a six apiece off Craig Overton and Josh Davey. At the end of the powerplay, they were 49-0 and well on their way.
Hammond began to play his part, cover driving Lewis Gregory for consecutive boundaries and then hitting Jake Ball over square leg for six. With another six and a four off a visibly annoyed Roelof van der Merwe, he raced ahead of his partner who survived an lbw decision that was overturned.
With the advantage of knowing their target, the Gloucestershire pair were pacing their innings beautifully. Bancroft brought up the 100 and his own 50 with consecutive boundaries and the question became when, not whether his team could win.
Hammond too reached a half century as the target neared, before Bancroft holed out to Josh Davey, Will Smeed taking the catch on the square leg boundary. His 53 was off 42 balls and included five fours and two sixes. James Bracey quickly lobbed a catch to mid-on off Jake Ball.
Despite these wickets, the game was up for Somerset, winners last year but second best this time round. An Ollie Price six clinched it and Gloucestershire were home by eight wickets with all of five overs to spare. Hammond finished with 58 off 41 balls, with six fours and three sixes.
Having been put in to bat, Somerset had begun positively. Tom Kohler-Cadmore survived the Finals Day equivalent of a King Pair by a whisker, but was soon striking David Payne for two sixes in an over. Then Smeed mis-cued a catch to backward point off Matt Taylor and Kohler-Cadmore skied the same bowler to cover where Tom Price almost misjudged the catch, but hung on – T K-C gone for 21 and Somerset 33-2.
The last ball of the powerplay brought a key moment when Bancroft leapt to his right at cover to pull off a spectacular one-handed catch to remove James Rew. Then, in the next over, semi-final hero Sean Dickson tried to reverse sweep Ollie Price and was bowled. At 42-4, Somerset were in trouble.
Tom Abell and Lewis Gregory are two players that you would like to have batting for you in a crisis and they set about cautiously rebuilding as daylight faded and the lights took over. Gregory struck Tom Smith for a straight six and then took a four through extra cover next ball, but just when the stand was starting to hurt Gloucestershire, Abell picked out Bancroft on the long on boundary and was gone for 19 – 86-5 in the 13th over.
When David Payne came back for the 16th over, he immediately took two wickets in two balls – Cameron Green caught off a leading edge and Overton off a mis-timed defensive push. Gregory battled on, but Bracey took a brilliant one-handed catch behind the stumps to send Roelof van der Merwe on his way.
In the 19th over, from Payne, Ben Charlesworth made a valiant effort to catch Gregory on the cover boundary and then Ollie Price caught him at long off. Gregory's 53 was scored off 37 balls and included three fours and two sixes.
In the final over, Josh Shaw finished off the Somerset innings for 124 when he had Jake Ball caught at mid-off. This was his second wicket and Payne and Matt Taylor and Payne had three apiece.
As suspected, this was simply not the total Somerset could defend.
