By David Williams
Will Smeed smashed 86 off 48 balls to lead Somerset to a 108-run Vitality Blast South Group victory over Glamorgan at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.
The opener blitzed nine fours and five sixes to dominate the home side’s innings of 193 for 8 after losing the toss. Craig Overton contributed 42, while Dan Douthwaite claimed three wickets in an over to finish with 4 for 37 from four.
In reply, Glamorgan could muster only 85 all out, Sam Northeast top scoring with 24 and Lewis Gregory taking 3 for 11 to become Somerset’s equal leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket.
The defeat leaves Glamorgan back in seventh place in the South Group with much work to do if they are going to make the knockout stages.
https://twitter.com/SomersetCCC/status/1802377997393035664
Somerset’s innings was a rollercoaster, starting well, dipping dramatically and finishing strongly. Smeed and Tom Banton produced an opening stand of 38 inside four overs before Banton was bowled by a full delivery from Timm van der Gugten.
It was 51 for 1 at the end of the six-over powerplay as Smeed took centre stage, dominating a second-wicket stand of 54 inside six overs with an out-of-sorts Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who fell to a boundary catch off Andy Gorvin for nine.
By then, Smeed had gone to a brilliant 30-ball half-century with a pulled four to fine leg off Douthwaite. He celebrated by clearing the rope in the same area next ball and Somerset looked on course for a 200-plus score.
That changed in the 12th over, which saw Douthwaite send back Tom Abell, Sean Dickson and Gregory with the second, fourth and sixth deliveries, Dickson to a brilliant one-handed catch by Jamie McIlroy at mid-on. When Ben Green was caught and bowled by Mason Crane at the start of the following over four wickets had fallen in the space of seven balls.
WICKET! Jake Ball has bowled brilliantly today and deserves that one! Glamorgan 66/7!!
LIVE STREAM ➡️ https://t.co/aRtGCP76ez#SOMvGLAM#WeAreSomerset pic.twitter.com/G745CSF1gm
— Somerset Cricket (@SomersetCCC) June 16, 2024
Smeed, who had looked on course for his second T20 century, was bowled by a full-length ball from Douthwaite and Somerset were seven down with more than six overs of their innings left. Overton and Roelof van der Merwe showed their experience by steadying the ship before a late assault, which saw Overton hit sixes over long-off and long-on, the latter sending the ball sailing into the River Tone.
A half-century stand off 30 balls gave the hosts momentum going into Glamorgan’s reply, which saw Overton dismiss Kiran Carlson, caught at third man in the first over, and Riley Meredith send down a wicket-maiden, having former Somerset player Eddie Byrom caught behind for a duck.
https://twitter.com/BBCSportWales/status/1802353720555864469
Marnus Labuschagne and Northeast took the score to 37 by the end of the powerplay, but the second ball of the seventh over saw Labuschagne fall lbw to Gregory aiming to leg. Colin Ingram then guided an Overton delivery straight to gully to leave Glamorgan 43 for 4.
Northeast miscued an attempted scoop shot off Gregory to Jake Ball at short fine-leg and when Douthwaite offered the same bowler a tame return catch Somerset’s captain had equalled leg-spinner Max Waller’s record of 139 T20 wickets for the county.
Van der Gugten clothed a Ball delivery to cover and Chris Cooke was superbly caught by Green on the cover boundary at the end of the same over to make it 71 for eight.
Gorvin delayed the inevitable with a couple of belligerent blows, but left-arm spinner van der Merwe wrapped up the result, taking wickets with his only two balls of the innings.
https://twitter.com/GlamCricket/status/1802361404042657905