Somerset through to Vitality Blast Finals
Tom Abell smashed an unbeaten 78 as Somerset reached Vitality Blast Finals Day with a seven-wicket win over Lancashire Lightning at Taunton last Thursday.
The visitors posted 184-9 after losing the toss, skipper Dane Vilas top-scoring with 42 from 33 balls, Josh Bohannon contributing 35 and Rob Jones 38 not out. Left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe claimed 4-27. In reply, Somerset made 185-3, winning with 11 balls to spare. Abell hit seven fours and three sixes in his 45-ball innings, while Will Smeed cracked 44 and Tom Lammonby 47 not out.
After the match, Abell said: “It was an incredible night.
“The atmosphere from the very first ball was amazing and to come out on top against such good opponents feels fantastic.
“I just tried to play the situation. I had one of my worst net practices ever yesterday, but thankfully Will Smeed took a lot of pressure off me at the start of my innings and Tom Lammonby was brilliant at the end.
“The support from the crowd was superb and we know a lot of our supporters will be at Finals Day.”
Somerset returned to the County Championship on Monday, hosting Nottinghamshire. Liam Patterson-white smashed 101 for Notts as the were bowled out for 448 in their first innings - Abell claimed 3-84 alongside two wickets for Jack Brooks. Beginning their reply on Tuesday, Somerset looked to be struggling slightly on 11-1 from nine overs.
After the first day, Somerset head coach Jason Kerr delivered some bad news: “The severity of Lewis’ [Gregory] injury means his next bowling will either be in the winter or next summer.”
■ WESTERN STORM opener Georgia Hennessy hit a run-a-ball 62 to lay the foundation for a five-run victory over Sunrisers at Fenner’s in the Charlotte Edwards Cup on Monday. Victory though was bittersweet for Storm who narrowly missed out on qualification due to an inferior run rate despite finishing level on points at the top of their group.
That came after Storm beat Thunder by seven wickets last Wednesday and then by four wickets in a low-scoring contest against Northern Diamonds on Saturday.