Somerset come out on top in thrilling T20 Blast semi-final

NICK FRIEND AT EDGBASTON: A game that swung on multiple occasions turned one last time on a cameo from Ben Green, who smashed 35 in just 18 balls, before leaving Josh Davey to hit a six and a four in the final over to clinch a dramatic victory

Edgbaston: Hampshire 150, Somerset 153-8 - Somerset win by two wickets

Scorecard

Somerset reached the final of the T20 Blast thanks to a remarkable fightback, having appeared out of contention after a top-order collapse against Hampshire.

With two wickets remaining and 10 runs required, Josh Davey struck the third and fourth balls of the final over – bowled by Brad Wheal – for six and four, leaving the Hawks – who have now lost six semi-finals at Edgbaston – deflated, having appeared to have done enough to inch over the line after themselves recovering from a poor start with the bat.

But a game that swung on multiple occasions turned one last time on a cameo from Ben Green who smashed 35 in just 18 balls, before falling in the penultimate over just as it looked as though he might finish the job himself for Lewis Gregory’s side, who at one point needed 45 to win off just 16 deliveries with three wickets remaining.

Earlier, Somerset had restricted Hampshire after winning the toss and opting to chase in the first of the semi-finals. There is an old adage that, more often than not, batting teams struggle to recover once three wickets fall in the initial powerplay.

Toby Albert gave Tom Banton the first of three catches behind the stumps at the end of the second over, before James Vince – who had already survived a straightforward caught and bowled opportunity for Craig Overton – was dismissed two balls later by the England seamer, once again edging to Banton. And when 18-year-old Tom Prest was cleaned up by a superb nip-backer from Davey with the game still just 24 deliveries old, Somerset had the third wicket they were after.

A recovery ensued thereafter, triggered by the smart thinking of Joe Weatherley, who spotted a third Somerset fielder – Marchant de Lange – erroneously outside the circle still during the period of fielding restrictions. He swung for the hills, confident in his judgement and, once caught in the ring, signalled to the umpires to check on the legality of the field placement. He was vindicated and reprieved, with Liam Dawson hitting the subsequent free hit for six.

They added 39 runs in six overs, taking the score to 65 when Dawson was deceived by a seemingly innocuous, full ball from Green, who was only called upon for a solitary over with the ball before his later heroics. Lewis McManus was the fourth Hampshire batsman to fall in single figures, offering another catch to fellow keeper Banton, this time off the left-arm spin of Lewis Goldsworthy, who conceded just a single boundary in his allocation.

^{Joe Weatherley made his highest T20 score for Hampshire}

James Fuller kept Weatherley company, though, with the 24-year-old going through to the third half century of his T20 career, before later reaching the highest score of his career in the format. Their partnership only ended when Fuller attempted a quick single to Roelof van der Merwe’s follow-through, only to be sent back by Weatherley, who had hardly left his crease.

At that stage, Hampshire appeared in dire straits at 111 for 6 with four overs remaining. But Chris Wood, hardly renowned for his batting, emerged to produce a pair of sizeable sixes off the pace of de Lange, who was also slog-swept over the ropes by Weatherley. By the time Wood fell for 18 off six balls – a dismissal that precipitated a collapse of four wickets in the last 10 balls of the innings – he had given his county a fighting chance of reaching a first Blast final since winning their last crown in 2012.

Weatherley was the ninth man out, having made 71 off 50 – a knock that dragged Hampshire to a score of 150 and earned a round of applause from non-striker Mason Crane as he left the field.

Like their opponents, however, Somerset found themselves three down at the end of the powerplay, with openers Banton and Will Smeed – both wielding Adidas bats and burgeoning reputations – caught as they looked to break the back of a middling total. Banton found deep midwicket and Smeed mid-off, while the decision to promote van der Merwe backfired when he miscued to Vince.

Somerset needed cool heads but instead continued to contribute to their own downfall; Goldsworthy was run out in the next over after being sent back by Tom Abell, with Tom Lammonby trapped in front by Crane’s next ball to leave Lewis Gregory’s side 34 for 5.

Gregory joined Abell to wrestle back some momentum, adding 45 in quick time. Abell is a renowned player of spin, and he reaffirmed that theory with a perfect stroke over extra-cover for six; Gregory, though, is far more effective against pace. So, it was no surprise – two deliveries after Abell’s perfection – when Dawson snuck a quicker ball through his defences.

All seemed lost, then – Somerset needed 54 off 24 – but Green – Somerset’s captain in the Royal London Cup earlier this season and a batsman of some pedigree – whacked three sixes in a clutch, match-winning cameo. Wood’s first three overs had cost just eight runs but his fourth – the penultimate over of the match – went for 18, albeit including the key wicket of Green.

It meant that Brad Wheal, who impressed in The Hundred for London Spirit earlier this summer, had nine runs to defend in the last over. But Davey hit the third ball over long on for six and the fourth past midwicket for the winning boundary to complete a remarkable win plucked from the jaws of defeat.