Somerset beat Essex by 14 runs to win the 2023 Vitality Blast, their first victory in the competition in 18 years following their Finals Day victory in 2005.
Somerset twice defended modest totals, 142-7 against Surrey in the second semi-final and 145 all out in the final, with an inspired bowling effort from New Zealand pace bowler Matt Henry seeing them winning.
Henry took 4-24 in the final, including the crucial last wicket of Daniel Sams (45 off 26 balls), although he owed a lot to Tom Kohler-Cadmore who took a superb diving catch at backward point to get the victory.
Matt Henry finished with figures of 4-24 as Somerset defended 145 to beat Essex by 14 runs.
Fellow Kiwi Ish Sodhi (3-22) also picked up three vital wickets and captain Lewis Gregory (2-25) took two. Essex, who burst out of the blocks by smashing 27 from the first two overs, then suffered an almighty top-order collapse of five for 28.
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Somerset’s Kasey Aldridge makes a spectacular catch to dismiss Essex’s Adam Rossington
Kasey Aldridge started the collapse by taking a superb reflex catch at point to dismiss Adam Rossington (19) after he had fired three straight boundaries from Henry.
Sams recovered the innings and had a ready partner for a season in Paul Walter (26 off 24), before he became one of three late victims of Sodhi’s leg-spin.
Sams hit three sixes to briefly raise hopes of an Essex comeback win before Kohler-Cadmore’s stunning grab ended proceedings and secured a memorable second Blast victory for to Somerset, who have lost all four of their previous Blasts since their 2005 success.
Earlier, Sean Dickson top-scored with 53 from 35 balls to anchor the Somerset innings. Shane Snater, meanwhile, returned impressive figures of 4-13 from his four overs, while Walter took 3-29 for Essex.
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There was controversy in the Vitality Blast T20 Final between Somerset and Essex as Matt Critchley’s catch to dismiss Lewis Gregory was not awarded after a review
In a somewhat controversial moment, a Matt Critchley who took his own bowling was ruled ‘not out’ by the third umpire, with Critchley not considered to have controlled the catch. Gregory was eventually dismissed at 11 by Snater.
Gregory: We did it the hard way
Somerset captain Lewis Gregory:
“[It feels] great, I’ve been to Finals Day many, many times, and it’s a special feeling to cross the line tonight.
“Everybody looks at Somerset as the closer, and it’s going to be harder every time you come back. I’m just praying we have a couple of guys who have one of those days where you don’t have them. can be prevented.
“We’ve been doing it the hard way all day, these are just rewards.”
Essex captain Simon Harmer:
“I think you can pick a million pieces of the game, at the end of the day we lost. I think they played fantastic. Unfortunately, sometimes someone loses and that was us tonight.
“I can’t fault our guys and the way they played, I think if there’s one thing you don’t take away from Essex it’s how we fought until the end. We just couldn’t finish it with the bat.”
How Somerset reached the final
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Watch the best action from Edgbaston as Somerset beat Surrey by 24 runs to reach the Vitality Blast Final
Craig Overton, Henry and Ben Green took three wickets each as Somerset’s disciplined bowlers defended 143 to beat Surrey by 24 runs in the day’s second semi-final.
Sean Abbott’s 4-23 had earlier restricted Somerset to 142-7 in the rain-reduced 19-overs-a-side clash, with Dickson top-scoring with an unbeaten 30 off 22 balls.
Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith produced a standout moment, taking a superb one-handed catch to dismiss Somerset captain Gregory (9).
But the target proved too big for Surrey as they lost a steady stream of wickets to eventually be bowled out for 118 in 16.5 overs, with Overton (3-24), Henry (3-19) and Green (3-15) shared. the wickets.
Tom Curran top-scored for Surrey with 22, while Jason Roy (13), Smith (19), Jamie Overton (11) and Chris Jordan (16) all got in and out – the only batters to score double figures.
Craig Overton can claim bragging rights over twin and former Somerset team-mate Jamie as he claimed the long-range catch to dismiss him.
How Essex got to the final
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Watch the best action from the first semi-final on Vitality Blast Finals Day as Essex beat Hampshire Hawks by five wickets at DLS
Hampshire’s bid to become the first side to retain the Vitality Blast title was ended by battling cameos from Sams and Critchley to take Essex into the final.
Joe Weatherley’s 63 not out from just 39 balls, including Ben McDermott’s 29 in 12 and Benny Howell’s 22 in 11 overs and the back of the innings lifted Hampshire to a score of 170-7 from their 20 overs.
Essex’s target was reduced to 115 in 12 overs after an hour’s rain delay early in their chase but crashing to 54-4, Sams took 29 off 17 before Critchley played to see off the side of the house.
With 13 needed off the last over, Critchley – the pick of Essex’s bowlers earlier on with 2-22 – smashed Nathan Ellis’ first delivery for six before Simon Harmer also took two balls later to end DLS’s five-wicket win.
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