Somerset Start Strongly As Blast Kicks Off

07/07/2025 14:49 Share

Somerset Start Strongly As Blast Kicks Off

Somerset’s bid to reclaim the Vitality Blast title has kicked off in positive fashion, with the 2023 champions setting the early pace in the Southern section.

The opening ten games in the group, taking place across June and early July, resulted in eight victories to established a handy advantage over the chasing pack, whilst the return to action in the County Championship also resulted in two unbeaten games for the Vertu-backed side.

A Positive Start

The T20 season kicked off in fine form at the end of May with an entertaining victory against Surrey at Taunton, where the Vertu-backed side were set 147 to win after Jason Roy smashed a fine 92 for the visitors.

Three wickets each for Matt Henry and Riley Meredith also had an important role to play in setting a manageable target, which was reached for the loss of five wickets with 13 balls to spare.

Impressive work with the ball again against Essex – where Ben Green took 3-30 – set up a second successive win, with an unbeaten 89 from Will Smeed helping to guide Somerset to an eight wicket victory – with Somerset then chasing down 167 to beat Sussex and make it three from three.

History Is Made

The fourth game against Middlesex back at Taunton saw history made as the visitors secured the highest total for a visiting side in the competition, with an unbeaten 87 from Max Holden helping his side to reach an impressive 229-5 when batting first.  

Somerset weren’t to be defeated however and Sean Dickson celebrated his return to action after broken finger with a fine 76 from 38 balls – including five sixes. Lewis Gregory also cleared the boundary half a dozen times as his side clinched victory with four balls of the innings left.

A straightforward victory over Gloucestershire – where Lewis Goldsworthy took 4-13 - made it five wins from five before the visit of Kent.

The Run Ends

Once again batting second, Somerset endured a tough time in the field as Kent compiled 228-5 from their innings, with Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawanda Muyeye putting on 158 for first innings and Bell-Drummond hitting a century.

Tom Banton and Smeed made a strong start in Somerset’s reply but the target would prove to be too much as Kent held on to secure a narrow win.

However, Somerset fought right back to defeat both Hampshire and Glamorgan before action in the Blast was briefly halted for a return to competition in the County Championship.

Two Unbeaten

A trip to Edgbaston to face Warwickshire petered out into a draw on the final day after Somerset had set the home side a target of 377 on the final day, with Tom Lammonby and Tom Kohler-Cadmore having earlier posted centuries in the first innings.

Batting first against Nottinghamshire in the next game, Somerset recovered from a tough start to post 379, only for the opposition to fight back in style – with Ben Slater and Jack Haynes both hitting centuries to give their side a lead of 130.

Jack Leach had bagged six wickets to help the home side stay in contention and Kohler-Cadmore once again impressed with the bat on the final day, hitting an unbeaten 147 to salvage another draw.

Mixed Return

The return to action in the Vitality Blast would prove to be one of frustration as Glamorgan headed to Taunton and came away with a slender win in a nail-biting game that went right to the wire.

However, it didn’t take long for Somerset to bounce back and an impressive half century from Dickson helped to wrap up a four wicket win against Hampshire to cement top spot in the group going into the next round of games.