Somerset
Blast Game 2 - Sunday in Chelmsford
By Grockle
June 1 2025
After the good first win against Surrey in Taunton on Friday, nearly the same squad is named for the second fixture away to Essex in Chelmsford. Maybe we'll see the same side except for Tom Banton who has returned to England's squad in Cardiff? Tom Lammonby takes his place in the side announced.
Vitality Blast Game 2 - v Essex @ Chelmsford Sunday 1 June 2025
Roughly the same squad is named for this game as the one that took on Surrey and beat them well at home on Friday though Tom Banton has returned to the England white ball squad in Cardiff.
Unless there are niggles or something it is hard to see why the selectors should change a winning line-up though Tom Lammonby may find a place instead of Thomas Rew who they may not want to risk yet away from home and Tom Banton will not be available. Having said that Thomas was pretty unfamiliar with the Taunton middle as well also as a competitive venue so they may be giving him a run in the side. We shall see in about 2 hours.
The Squad is;
Smeed, Umeed, TKC, Abell, Lammonby, Gregory, Goldsworthy, Green, Rew, Overton, Pretorius, Davey, Henry, Meredith
One strange thing is that on the Somerset teamsheet, Migael Pretorius is not identified with the plane that designates an overseas signing for this tournament, though my understanding is that he most definitely is.
The side is:
Will Smeed, Tom Lammonby (Banton is back with the England squad I assume), TKC (wk), Tom Abell, Thomas Rew, Lewis Gregory (c), Ben Green, Craig Overton, Lewis Goldsworthy, Matt Henry, Riley Meredith
Essex have won the toss and have chosen to bat first.
Overton opens for Somerset versus Rossington and Elgar and after Rossongton drives him for four, the next ball leaves him and he is caught behind for 4 at 4 for 1. TKC has the gloves on and takes the catch. In comes Nick Pepper and he helps complete the first over at 7 for 1. Matt Henry will bowl the second over into the wind from the Cook End. Pepper attacks him and gets a very good four but at the end of the over he tries a pull shot which is held up in the wind and he top edges it to Riley Meredith on the boundary and Essex are 11 for 2 after 2 overs. Paul Walter comes out very much earlier than he really would want to.
Elgar has yet to get off the mark while atteempting to use the field placings of the 'Powerplay' to get his side off to a start. He finally gets a much needed boundary off the fourth ball and it is 15 for 2 at the end of the third.
There is 13 off the Henry over to end the 5th and Essex have settled a little at 29 for 2 when Meredith comes on for the six replacing Overton and leaving him with 1 to go. Elgar and Walter take it to 36 before Walter sends one out to the boundary where Thomas Rew snatches a full blown smash it out of the air and it is 36 for 3 with Walter gone for 6. At the end of the 'Powerplay' Critchley has helped Elgar stay in 36 for 3 after 6.
Somerset turn to the spin of Goldsworthy from the Gooch end. Elgar ends it with 26 from his 20, Critchley has 1 and Essex are 5 short of 50. The skipper takes the 8th and the home side reach and pass 50 with a Critchley four off his penultimate ball 53 for 3 after 8. Lewis G Jr gets a second and an unusual Cove misfield allows a boundary but Elgar's second four is much more of a class shot. Elgar is moving up the gears and Goldsworthy has gone for 21 from his 2. Essex move to 66 for 3.
A change brings Ben Green on at the Cook End for the 10th. They end it on 80 and both Critchley (15 from 12) and Elgar (46 from 29) are starting to put a partnership together. Gregory replaces the junior LG from the Gooch as we start the back side of this innings. They'd like Dean to go quite soon rather than have to deal with him in the last 5. Critchley spins and smacks the ball for 6 with what is described as a 'reverse slog sweep' directly behind him to bring up the 50 partnership. He hits another six off the 5th ball just over Rew. This moves Critchley to 27 from 16 and they've added 64 in 5.2 overs.
This prompts Gregory to ask Meredith to return to try and blast one of these out in the 12th. He doesn't get a wicket only going for 5 but he holds Elgar below 50 and Essex below 100 at 97 for 3. Matt Henry also returns to try and get a wicket. Critchley hits his first for four and takes Essex to 3 figures at 101 for 3. He then reverse scoops a six to go to 40 from 21. These 2 are scoring at 10 an over with 79 from 7.1 overs. Dean Elgar is on 49 but Critchley has moved to 47 from 23 with another 6 and a single moves him to 48 as Henry goes for 19 off the 13th.
Gregory brings himself on and Elgar goes to 50 from 36 with 5 fours and 2 sixes at 118 for 3. Critchley goes to 50 with the next ball with 3 fours and 4 sixes from 26 balls. Elgar goes high with the next ball and becomes Gregory's 150th T20 wicket for 50 caught by Tom Abell at 119 for 4. Charlie Allison replaces him. He takes a single off his first ball. 5 runs and the breakthrough of a wicket off the 14th. 6 overs remaining at 121 for 4.
Henry takes the 15th and it looks like the last over gave him some food for thought as he is much tighter in this one, a longer length and only singles as he goes for 4 to move the score to 125 for 4. Green takes the next and Tom Lammonby takes a winderful running and then diving catch on the boundary to remove Allison for 3 from his 5. Benkenstein is the next man in at 125 for 5. He pulls one high straight to Lammonby on the long boundary in the same over and it's 127 for 6 with Green's 'golden arm' doing the job once again.
Harmer faces his first and chips it to Will Smeed. Green has taken 3 in the over and it is 127 for 7. Ben is on a hat-trick having already taken 3 wickets in the over. Snater gets the ball away and it's 128 for 7. ben may have just won this game with 4 overs to go. the objective is to keep Critchley off the strike or get him out. We could ask Riley to buzz through the last 2 bats and starve him of partners of course. The second ball is a beasat of a ball. Snater keeps it down but Critchley looks for a single. He doesn't move and Overton hits the stumps at the non striker's end to remove the main man. 130 for 8 with tailend bats left. Essex will be looking to try and get to 150 after looking as if they would be well past 180 heading towards 200 not 3 overs ago. A somerset fielder hits the stumps when it matters!!!!
Cook and Snater will try to stay in and make runs but with Meredith steaming in it is certainly not a safe environment for Essex bats. Green (3 for 17 from 2) will take the 18th. One would expect Meredith will take the 19th and Ben may bowl out to finish the innings. Snater hits a four and a six off the next two balls to make 150 a realistic target. It is 145 for 8 with 2 overs remaining. Meredith is really steaming in and at 148 Snater gets under one and Craig Overton sends him on his way bringing the last man Amir in. At 148 for 9. Riley finishes with 2 for 18 from his 4. Gregory takes the last one and he bowls Cook with a middle stump yorker with h is first delivery. Essex were 119 for 3 and have been bowled out in 19.1 overs for 148.
A very good comeback from Somerset in the last 4 overs with the Ben Green 's 16th as fundamental to that. The game is most deinfitely in the hands of Somerset here.
The Reply
Amir opens against Smeed and Lammonby. Will takes 12 off the first as Cook, fresh from his England spell takes over,. Lammonby hasn't been in a T20 side for a while but he gets off the mark pulling to the short boundary for six. He then inside edges a boundary to go to 10 and after 2 they have 24.
At the end of 4 overs they have strode to 53 with Smeed on 37 from 18 with Lamminby on 12 from 6. This is an aggressive attack as it makes Essex being in Snater. Will hits a six off Snater to move the total to 61 and that is his 100th six in T20 cricket. At the end of the over it is 65 for 0 as Amir changes ends. At the endof the 'Powerplay' they pass the halfway point and they have 81 from 6 with Lammonby moving up a gear with 28 from 12 while Will needs 1 for his 50 as Critchley comes on with some spin. He takes the single to go to 50 from 25 balls with 8 fours and that 100th six.
Harmer comes into the attack for the 8th. The pair just work him around as they have done the hard work and they move to 90 without too much effort. Then Lammonby goes quite mildly to a critchley caught and bolwed (which he had to try and catch 3 times). He leaves with 36 from 24 at 96 for 1. In comes TKC with 54 needed on a batting pitch with 10 plus overs to go and 9 wickets in hand. The 100 arrives inside 10 overs with Smeed on 59 and TKC with 1. After 10 it is 101 for 1.
Will Smeed has 60 from 36 balls as we start the second half of this inings. It is highly unlikely that this will go for another 10 overs unless something massive happens quite soon to turn the tide. He's not stopping thoough as he drives through the covers for another boundary from Critchley. He takes another four off the next ball. When he is good he really is very very good in white ball cricket. His partner is not going to wait as he sweeps massively to finish Critchley's third over (3 overs 1 for 26). Benkenstein starts in the 12th on a hiding to nothing to be honest as TKC starts to motor hitting 15 from 6 but his final ball goes straight up and he is caught by Harmer at 125 for 2. In comes Tom Abell with 24 needed in 8 overs. Snater takes the 13th keeping Benkenstein going at the other end for the 14th as Somerset move below 20 needed.
The Somerset pair seem happy to get these in singles unless they bowl something loose which is dispatched over the rope. They need 8 at the start of the 15th with Will on 77 from 48 and Abell on 8 at a run a ball. Snater takes this one. At 145 for 2 they need four but the boundary to finish it does not come from Smeed in this one. 146 for 2, 79 to Will Smeed from 50 balls as Harmer starts the 16th . The scores are level with 4 balls to go and they get the single off the 5th ball. They win by 8 wickets and they have 'thrashed' Essex comprehensively. Will Smeed has produced a very good 81 not out but the game hinged on a 3 wicket over from Ben Green which ripped the heart out of the Essex run chase.
Well played guys... two from two and Sussex next Friday.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:06:04:21:34:42 by Grockle.
Essex have recruited experienced Pakistan international bowler Mohammed Amir for their T20 season, and name him alongside fellow seamer Sam Cook, who made his England Test debut against Zimbabwe earlier this month , in their 14-man squad. Between them, Amir and Cook went for 96 runs in their eight overs in a 106-run defeat to Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl last night.
Essex squad: Hamer (c), Atkinson, Amir, Benkenstein, Cook, Critchley, Das, Elgar, Pepper, Richards, Rossington, Snater, Thain, Walter.
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2025:05:31:17:24:03 by cricketjerry-mouse.
(Hopefully not tempting fate, but surely Somerset can't mess it up from here; here being 16 runs needed in 40 balls with eight wickets left!!)
Played 2, won 2 and it must be a healthy NRR, which one hope won't come into play, but it never does any harm.
Somebody said that Green takes a wicket every 13 balls in T20 cricket. Today he took three in 18 - I call that showing off.
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:06:01:22:25:47 by Loyal of Lhasa.
On the Essex Facebook page an Essex supporter quotes the Essex CEO as saying in answer to a question at a Q&A that Elgar has a British passport and does not count as an overseas player and that was one of the factors considered in signing him. I can find no other online reference to that statement. Elgar confirms he has a British passport and says that his mother and brother live in Sussex according to a report on ESPN Cricinfo. On the other hand, in January 2024 ESPN Cricinfo announced that Essex had signed Elgar as an overseas player. Both Sky and Wisden also list him as an overseas player. The Cricketer does not, but does include Mohammed Amir. On the ECB website the only Essex overseas player listed is Simon Harmer.
I trust that clears things up.
Farmer
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:06:01:20:10:03 by Farmer White.
Very encouraging to see Will Smeed back to his very best.
Grizzers
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