I covered the first match on T20 Blast Finals day, between Essex and Hampshire in yesterday’s post. Today I look briefly at the other two matches.
SOMERSET v SURREY
Things didn’t look especially great for Somerset when they they finished their 20 overs with a mere 142 on the board. However, Surrey, with all their strength in depth, soon found themselves in trouble, a position that they never managed to get out of. A number of batters made promising starts, but none were able to go on and make a major contribution, and nearly all the dismissals were self-inflicted – going for big shots and holing out to deep fielders. In the end Surrey were all out for a paltry 118, losing by 24 runs, giving Somerset a place in the final.
THE FINAL – ESSEX v SOMERSET
Somerset’s recent record in finals did not make pretty reading, and neither did their recent record in matches against Essex. Somerset found themselves batting first, and again they were not hugely impressive in that department, being all out to the last scheduled ball of their innings, with 145 on the board. However, they bowled very well, and although Essex had moments when things were going decently for them they never looked in command, and in the end they mustered 131, falling short by 14 runs. Most toss winning captains in T20 elect to chase, and Somerset twice found themselves setting the target, the less liked option in this format, and twice they produced a moderate batting performance and rescued themselves with the ball and in the field. While Surrey certainly donated plenty of wickets, bad batting played much less of a role in the Essex match. Ben Green of Somerset achieved a notable feat by taking his 30th wicket of the tournament, a rare landmark for single edition of this competition. Many would have expected Surrey and Hampshire to be the ones to make the final, and Surrey to run out winners, so credit to both finalists, and especial credit to Somerset for finally ending a bad run in finals by winning this one.
LINK AND PHOTOGRAPHS
A year ago today I published the second post in what went on to become the longest series on this blog, an all time XI with surnames beginning with B. Although I remain happy with the selection I add one caveat – if the pitch looks very spin friendly (think Ahmedabad!) I would bring Len Braund (leg spinning all rounder) in for Ian Botham, and replace leg spinner who could bat Benaud with Bishan Singh Bedi (left arm orthodox spinner) to balance the attack, with the new ball pair of Barnes and Bumrah now being backed by a spin trio of Bedi, Bates and Braund, the XI in this specific case reading: C Bannerman, SG Barnes, *DG Bradman, KF Barrington, AR Border, LC Braund, +Wasim Bari, *W Bates, SF Barnes, BS Bedi, JJ Bumrah.
Now for my usual sign off…
aspiblog 