T20 Blast Essentials: Somerset v Essex

Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, weather forecast, form, prediction and everything else you need to know ahead of the opening round of the Vitality Blast...

Fixture: Somerset v Essex

Venue: The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton 

Date: Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Start time: 6.30pm

What’s the lowdown? 

Somerset play host to 2019 Blast champions Essex who struggled badly last year, finishing second bottom of the South Group with just two wins from their 10 games. The Cidermen for their part last made Finals Day in 2018 and, despite being able to call upon the talents of Babar Azam, failed to progress from their group in 2020. 

Though Taunton is one of the smaller grounds on the circuit, spinners remain a threat. No batter was able to take down Somerset’s pair of tweakers Max Waller and Roelof van der Merwe last term, with both registering economy rates of well below eight runs-per-over on their home patch. With marquee overseas signing Devon Conway busy smiting Test match double-tons, Somerset’s batting could be a little light, though Tom Banton, despite a difficult winter where he suffered from fatigue, will no doubt give Essex’s bowlers cause for a few sleepless nights. 

With Dan Lawrence unavailable on England duty, the Eagles’ batting line-up looks short on power but the experienced duo of Tom Westley and Ryan ten Doeschate are a comforting presence. Skipper Simon Harmer is as well placed as any to exploit a turning deck at The Coopers Associates County Ground. 

Who’s in form? 

Not only has Abell been in great form with the bat in this season’s County Championship, but he was also Somerset’s top run-scorer in the Blast last year with 227 at 32.42 (strike rate 136). Expect the batting allrounder’s purple patch to continue into this year’s Blast. Meanwhile, with the ball, Waller remains a wily operator and had a season economy rate of 6.34 last year, the third-lowest among those who had bowled at least 10 overs in the tournament.

Ten Doeschate was Essex’s leading T20 batter last year with 255 runs at 51.00 and striking at over 130. In what could be his final season it would be no surprise to see this domestic short-form titan sign off in style. Harmer was typically miserly last term and had an economy rate of 7.20 whilst allrounder Paul Walter had an impressive season with bat and ball, going at less than seven runs-per-over and hitting 147 runs at a strike rate north of 140.

What’s the team news? 

Somerset are without England pair Jack Leach and Craig Overton while overseas signing Devon Conway is also unavailable. 20-year-old Kasey Aldridge could make his debut after being named in the 14-man squad.

Squad: Lewis Gregory, Tom Abell, Kasey Aldridge, Tom Banton, Jack Brooks, Eddie Byrom, Josh Davey, Marchant de Lange, Ben Green, James Hildreth, Tom Lammonby, Will Smeed, Roelof van der Merwe, Max Waller

Dan Lawrence, who is currently away on England duty, is the only notable absentee for Essex while overseas signing Jimmy Neesham is inline to make his debut for the Eagles. Simon Harmer, now occupying the second overseas slot, will skipper the side.

Squad: Simon Harmer, Aaron Beard, Varun Chopra, Sam Cook, Jimmy Neesham, Aron Nijjar, Michael Pepper, Jack Plom, Jamie Porter, Shane Snater, Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul Walter, Tom Westley, Adam Wheater

Latest Somerset news: Click here

Latest Essex news: Click here

Who said what?

Jason Kerr revealed the importance of his young players to Somerset's T20 ambitions this year, stating: "It’s always an exciting time of the year. The Second XI have already started their T20 campaign and we’ve seen some great performances from them. It’s also given the guys who haven’t been involved in red-ball cricket the match sharpness that you need. We’ve had a few really good practice sessions and we’ve learned some really valuable lessons from last year. We’re still growing as a side and Lewis and I are really optimistic about this campaign.

“We saw some immense performances from some young players last year. That will give them a lot of confidence, and if we can build on that we should have a good tournament.

“We talk a lot about how much talent there is in the squad. That now has to come down to performance. There’s a lot of excitement in the camp about the format. If we can capitalise on the learnings from last year, I think our T20 cricket will go from strength to strength."

Meanwhile, Essex head coach, Anthony McGrath, has challenged his players to improve on last season's poor white-ball form.

"Although we won the T20 in 2019, the 20-over game remains a challenge for us," he admitted.

"There’s no doubt that we can be successful as we showed two years ago but we need to show consistency in our performances. We haven’t hit those heights consistently.

"We want to solve that and want to get better, obviously. I think our home record has been poor in T20 and we want to address that too, so that is something that we need to target."

Head-to-head T20 record  

Total matches: 11

Somerset wins: 7

Essex wins: 4

Tied: 0

Abandoned: 2

What’s the weather forecast?

Cloud cover and high levels of humidity are expected at Taunton for Wednesday evening’s game. With highs of 17 degrees celcius it could be a sweaty evening for all involved.

The weather is set fair for the opening night of the Blast. Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Taunton: Click here

How do I follow the match?

TV/stream: Somerset will offer live coverage of the match via their website: Click here

All T20 Blast matches are also available via the ECB's central hub: Click here

The matches can also be viewed on mobile via the ECB app.

Radio: All Vitality Blast fixtures will be available on BBC Local Radio stations with extensive coverage also on 5 Live Sports Extra.

Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and updates from every Vitality Blast match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more.

Going to the game

Tickets

Tickets are only available for members until the easing of further Covid-19 restrictions on June 21.

Travel

Address: Somerset County Cricket Club, St James St, Taunton TA1 1JT

By car

From the north

From the M5, exit at junction 25 and take the A358 Exit to Taunton/ Yeovil. At the roundabout, take the second exit (south) or third exit (north) onto the A358 heading to Taunton/A38/ Minehead, continuing straight onto Toneway/A358. At the next roundabout, take the second exit onto Priory Avenue and the Cooper Associates County Ground will be on your left.

From the south

Exit the M5 at junction 26 towards Wellington/Taunton/A38 and follow the A38 to the ground.

From the east

Follow the A303 to Southfields roundabout and take the fourth exit onto the A358. Take the third exit at the first roundabout and the first exit at the second roundabout, following signs for A358. At the third roundabout go straight over on Priory Avenue and the ground will be on your left.

From the west

Exit the M5 at junction 26 towards Wellington/Taunton/A38 and follow the A38 to the ground.

By bus: Taunton Bus Station is a five-minute walk from the Cooper Associates County Ground. As you leave the station, turn left onto Castle Green. Turn left at Fat Face and walk down to Debenhams before turning right into St James Street and the ground will appear on your left.

By train: Taunton Train Station is a ten-minute walk from the Cooper Associates County Ground. As you leave the station, turn left into Station Road, heading towards the Town Centre. Turn left onto Priory Bridge Road, and the ground will be on your right.

Prediction?

With both sides shorn of batting stars much will ride on whether Van der Merwe and Waller can out-spin Harmer and the developing slow left-armer Aron Nijjar. Home win.