Blast Game 5 The away game Derby - Last year's Final Replay?

By Grockle
June 14 2025

The same squad as for Middlesex but with the addition of Jack Leach go up the M5 to Bristol to face the reigning champions in a replay of the Blast Final from 2024. Will Lewis Goldsworthy make way for Leachy or will we leave spin out all together and add the extra bat in Lammonby or an extrra seamer with Davey?

Blast Game 5 v Gloucestershire @ Bristol Friday 13 June 2025

The side stays the same as the one that took on and then took the points from Middlesex earlier in the week.

The side is;

Smeed, Banton, TKC, Dickson, Abell, Gregory, Green, Goldsworthy, Overton, Meredith, Henry

Somerset have won the toss and will field first chasing as they usually do. CraigO and Matt Henry will bowl to Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft in front of a decent Bristol crowd but not the sellout that a return game between the two sides on a Friday might suggest would have been expected. As is normal the two openers tend to do the main proportion of their overs at the start. After 5 overs the home side have got to a very credible 46 for 0 with both new ball men going for 23. Hammond has 20 from 16 and the main man, just, is Bancroft with 25 from 20.

The Somerset skipper comes on, again as usual, for the 7th and the only real change is that Glos move to 50 with a Bancrodt boundary at the end of the over. Nothing changes either in the Somerset game plan as Goldsworthy is called to bowl an over of spin at the start of the Somerset press, though it has not gone to plan to be brutally honest in the last few games as the pitches have given Lewis very little and his slower stuff has been welcomed by opposition bats in most game.

However, tonight might be a little difference he does not become big hit 'fodder and goes for only 3 from his first... maybe there's something in these slower pitches for the slower men?

The formulaic way Somerset go about these things continues as Green takes the 9th and Bancroft falls to the first ball as he goes big but not big enough and is caught on the boundary by Riley Meredith for 28 from 26 at 54 for 1. In comes Darcy Short as his replacement and he helps push the score on by 10 by the halfway point.

Then things change as Golders gets a second, though not to give him a chance to pull it back from his first. This is different and with his third ball it gets more differnt as he has HAmmond for 36 from 29 caught by Henry in the outfield. Price is next in , he helps finish the over at 70 for 2 and Lewis Jr has bowled 2 with 1 wicket for 9. Lewis Snr takes the next and keeps the pressure on as the home side can only move to 73 for 2. The press is most definitely on as we turn to our spinner again.

Goldsworthy gets his second with his second ball as Ollie Price (2 from 6) is caught by Tom Abell looking for the boundary and it is 74 for 3. James Taylor is in but the 5th ball sees Short go caught by Smeed for 6 at 75 for 4. But Lewis isn't finished as he darts across after his delivcery of the last ball and snaffles the ball as Ben Charlesworth tries to drive it past him. 75 for 5 with that caught and bowled, LG jr has 4 for 11 from his 3 and is on a hat-trick ball at the start of his next over. he has also ripped the middle out of the Bristolian order in the process. A much better night for a hard working all rounder who has hardly been asked for anything with the bat over the last few games.

That littel flurry leaves Taylor in with James Bracey and if they are going to push this total on then these are the two who will have to do that, Meredith is called in to try and makew sure that does not happen and he keeps it very tight with only 4 more added before the Goldsworthy hat-trick ball. It's a dot to Bracey and Lewis ends with an excellent 4 overs 4 for 13. He'll feel so much better after tonight's bowling effort and he may have helped his side take the initiative in this game.

81 for 5 as Riley bowls his second andit is 89 for 5 - still some way from 100 at the end of the 15th and the Glos bats have a bit of a job to do to set a competitive total - they are even further away for a 140/150 total with 5 overs to go.

Gregory's third is not a particular run fest for the batting pair. Taylor is hitting at a run a ball and Bracey is becalmed on 3. They do add 9 and are looking at 3 figures which arrive at the start of the 17th from the first ball of Meredith's third in a row. He however takes Bracey out of the equation during teh over for 10 caught behind at 100 for 6 and with Akhtar arriving the total only moves to 105 as Matt Henry comes on to bowl out. His four overs go for 29 without a victim and it is 'Nelson' with 12 balls left.

Taylor goes after our Australian as he bowls out with the penultimate 6 balls. 3 boundaries and 14 from the over moves the score to 125 and Taylor on to 31. Then the captain takes the last and has Akhtar dropped on 12 from his fourth ball but he see him run out by Banton from behind the stumps with the next ball. Matt Taylor comes out for the last ball and James Taylor ends the innings well with a straight six to take his county to 135 for 7 leaving the visitors needing 136 to win.

The impression is that this might be 10/15 runs short of the par score on a pretty slow pitch but one would imagine that Somerset on their present form would bank themselves to geet this and probably would have taken it if offered before a ball was bowled. The weather says the game will complete so it is an intersting half way stage and a good start from Somerset ought to set this up nicely for the last 10 overs.

The Reply

Will Smeed and Tom Banton take up their opening positions some 20 minutes later but Tom is on his way back ball four as he misses a straight one from Payne and leaves without bothering scorers. In comes the next Tom as TKC arrives and he and his partner 'go for it' over the next few overs with 3 fours and 2 sixes in the next few as they move to 30 for 1 one ball into the 5th. They take 5 off Payne and then 16 off Akhtar to move to 48 for 1 after the 'Powerplay'.

Short sees his first ball of the 7th go for four but he doeas then have TKC caught behind for 25 fro 17 just after moving the score over 50 to 52 for 2. The third Tom arrives to replace him but he does not survive Ajeet Dales 8th over as he is caught by Hammond for only 2 at 57 for 3. In comes Sean Dickson still with a definite job to do in the 11 overs remaining. This game is not ver yet.

Short takes the 9th but a Smeed four is the only real highlight as the score moves to 65. Dale's 10th goes for 5 and the halfway point sees Somerset at 70 with Dickson on 3 (from 6) and the more significant contribution from Smeed who is maintining the stability with 38 from the 22 he has faced. Short keeps the pressure with the grip only breaking for a Smeed boundary from the last ball.

With 61 needed from 54 balls M Taylor comes on and nearly has Smeed run out with a quick single from his first ball - he scrapes in. Dickson has had a look and gives it the 'long handle' for six ball 3 which means Short has to keep it tight as the requirement moves to 52 runs from 48. Dickson goes succesfully big again for his second six and Akhtar faces bowling the 14th at 43 runs from 42 at 93 for 3.

Smeed hits a four to bring up the 100, moving himself on to 47. Akhtar fights back by bowling Dickson for 23 at 101 for 4. This brings in Gregory to get off the mark and finsih the over at 102 for 4. The 15th sees the runs need go below the ball s to bowl as the Glosters introduce Jack Taylor who sees his first go to the boundary from the bat of the Somerset skipper who is in some decent form.

Payne is re-introduced to bowl out but the only significance is that Will Smeed goes to 50 from 42 balls with 8 fours and a six. It is 118 for 4 as Payne finishes with excellent figure of 15 for 1 off 4. It is now getting tight as Somerset requiire 18 from 24 and if these two can stay in then it should be their game. However, it is close enough that if one of these two gets out the game can still go the other way.

Taylor sees the start of his next go into the stands from Gregory and although he comes back well and holds the score to 125, the damage of the six is done and Dale has to defen 11 fro 18 at the start of his next. The third ball produce the skipper's third six and effectively kills the defence. A four finishes the game off with Smeed finishing with 51 from 45 while the game is taken over the line by Lewlis Gregory courtesy of 2 fours and 3 sixes in his 33 from 17.

Someret win by 6 wickets with 14 balls left. They go to a 5 game winning streak and move on to a home game versus Kent on Sunday looknig very comfortable against the opposition they have faced up to now. Then again, Kent tend to kick us when we are up so let's not take it all for granted and be very happy with where we are and what we have done so far!!

A really confident and solid win here and some revenge for last year with a really good contribution from both the LGs in the side.