Morganed
Vitality Blast Somerset v Middlesex
Somerset 226; Middlesex 227/4 in 17 overs. Middlesex win by six wickets
The equation as Somerset go into their final game in the South Group is, for once, simple enough: win and we qualify, lose and we're out. Other results are only of significance in terms of who and where we might play in the quarter finals.
Beating Middlesex will not be easy. They have seven international cricketers in their ranks, including AB de Villiers and Eoin Morgan, with 568 games and 13,653 runs between them in T20 cricket. So I can't say I'm particularly optimistic as I arrive on yet another gloriously sunny afternoon, especially as Somerset have chosen an almost unchanged squad, the inclusion of Lewis Gregory, who hadn't been expected to be fit after his foot injury until the Yorkshire game in the Championship, being the only surprise. So it looks like the same fragile middle-order and the same inconsistent set of bowlers.
Peter Trego is at the ground, but only to given a farewell presentation, Somerset having announced that they won't be renewing his contract. For my money, he should be in the team. Mark Davis and Brian Rose, who drops by the commentary box to snaffle a pre-match Presidential pie, are very much in agreement. Alongside us in the box for what will be, I'm glad to say, a shared commentary is BBC Radio London's Kevin Hand. He appears to be no more confident about Middlesex's chances than we are of Somerset's.
Tom Abell wins the toss and opts to bat first. It's the obvious thing to do on the same batsman-friendly 'hybrid' pitch that was used for the Glamorgan game. But when the team sheets are exchanged, there's a genuine surprise: Lewis Gregory plays in place of Craig Overton. It's a surprise on two counts: first that Gregory is fit enough to be risked and second that it's big Craig who is left out, given that it's only a few hours since he was called up for the England squad for the fourth Ashes Test. Does one detect the hand of the ECB in his omission?
I have been making much of the fact that Babar and Banton have scored more runs in this T20 campaign than the rest of the Somerset batsmen put together, and expectations are running accordingly high as they walk out to bat. Banton takes a single off the third ball of Toby Roland-Jones' opening over and the fourth knocks back Babar's middle stump. A shock wave sweeps across the County Ground (and, no doubt, across large parts of Pakistan, given the millions in the Sub-Continent who are listening or watching on television). Our star player, the main man, GONE for a golden duck. 1/1 very nearly becomes 1/2 the very next ball, as James Hildreth, trapped on the crease, somehow survives a huge appeal for LBW. But survive it he does, and he is just beginning to look like the Hildreth of old, when he runs the ball down to third man, comes haring back for a second and is left high and dry by Banton who, without looking at his partner, has settled for the single. What a waste!
But at least Banton is still there, cutting, pulling, sweeping and driving with that remarkable, almost casual power of his. One back-foot off drive goes to the cover boundary like a bullet from a gun. "That's the best shot I've seen in this entire campaign", I enthuse on commentary. Mark Davis begs to differ. "Good, yes, but not in the same class as that Babar on drive at Sophia Gardens.".
Gradually the two Toms put the shock of the Babar duck and the guilt of the Hildreth run-out behind them. So far from the scoring rate slowing when the fielding restrictions are relaxed, it accelerates, with Abell playing some glorious off-drives and brilliantly executed ramps. Both batsmen are particularly severe on Finn, whose four overs disappear for 57. There's no loss of momentum even when Byrom replaces Banton. This is a less frenetic, more calculating Eddie, even if he is still, as Mark Davis puts it, throwing the kitchen sink at his big shots.
As for Tom Abell, his T20 batting has been a revelation throughout the campaign, and today's innings is the icing on the cake. With three overs to go, he's on 67, his highest T20 score. A flurry of beautifully struck boundaries takes him to 88 as Lewis Gregory faces the first ball of the final over - and holes out to deep square leg, for Somerset's second first-baller. But the batsmen cross, so Abell is on strike. He takes two off the next ball, then consecutive boundaries, then races back for a second run for a push down the ground to bring up his century. He's done it! His first T20 century, and what an occasion on which to do it! Talk about a captain's innings! The crowd rise to Somerset's personable, self-effacing young captain as one man. It is a great moment, and that innings, plus vital contributions from Banton and Byrom, has surely booked Somerset a place in the quarter finals.
That happy assumption does not survive for very long, once Middlesex start to bat. Stirling and Malan come out all guns blazing. The last two balls of Waller's opening over and the first four of the next, bowled by Jerome Taylor, go for 4,4,4,6,4,4. Tom Lammonby is brought on for the third over. "Why not Gregory?" I wonder on commentary. "Do you think he's not fit to bowl?" It was a question that would answer itself. Somerset have gone in with only four senior bowlers - Taylor, Groenewald, Waller and van der Merwe - against probably the most fearsome batting side that can ever have featured in domestic T20 cricket in England. The fifth bowler duties will be shared by 19 year-old Lammonby, with seven T20 wickets to his name at an economy rate of 9.64, and Tom Abell, who has never bowled in T20 cricket.
The consequences of this decision are immediate, predictable and devastating. The Lammonby over goes for 23, Middlesex have 54 on the board from three overs. Even when Malan and Stirling fall to successive Tim Groenewald deliveries, the carnage goes on. AB de Villiers dismisses his first two deliveries from van der Merwe for four and six. By the end of the six over powerplay, Middlesex have 94/2 on the board and the required rate is down from over 11 to 9.5. Mark and I are just about giving up hope, when two remarkable pieces of fielding provide another twist. When de Villiers drives a van der Merwe ball back to the bowler, Roelof flicks the ball between his legs without turning round, it hits the stumps and Mohammed Hafeez is run out, backing up. Two overs later, and the biggest fish of all is reeled in, by a quite brilliant one-handed catch on the deep mid-wicket boundary by Max Waller, leaping and taking a fierce, flat hit, otherwise destined for the Somerset Stand, high above his head. Now, if Somerset could only get rid of Eoin Morgan......!
In the 13th over, bowled by Lammonby, they get their chance. Morgan pulls him massively for six off the first ball, but, in trying to repeat the shot, doesn't quite get hold of it. Babar is waiting on the deep square leg boundary. He takes the catch - and steps back onto the boundary rope, ball in hand. It's not the wicket that Somerset craved, it's another six, a reprieve which Morgan celebrates by taking 10 off the next two balls.
With George Scott joining in the fun, the end comes quickly Eighteen come off the sixteenth over, and after Morgan plunders 18 more off the first five balls of the 17th, it's time for me to pass the microphone to Kevin Hand so that he can describe the winning runs, just in case Morgan should hit the last ball of the over for six. Which is precisely what he does - driving van der Merwe down the ground, a desperate Max Waller dive succeeding only in helping the ball over the boundary. Middlesex have won by six wickets with three full overs to spare. No team in domestic T20 cricket has chased down so large a total to win. Middlesex will go through to the quarters, Somerset are down and out: crushed, shattered, Morganed.
Tom Abell looks shell-shocked when I interview him afterwards. This is no time for aggressive questioning, but I have to ask him about the Gregory decision, which led to poor Tom Lammonby being thrown to the lions. Does he now regret it? No he doesn't, or at least not for the benefit of my recording, he doesn't. Like the good captain he is, he stands by both the selection and his bowlers, and says that disappointment at the defeat far outweighs any pleasure he might have taken from his own performance with the bat, which I can tell from the look on his face is entirely true.
So the dream of the treble has died, and Somerset have got themselves ten days in which to re-group before an absolutely vital home game against Yorkshire in the county championship. On reflection, I conclude that, given the team that they've insisted on choosing, Somerset have done quite well to finish fifth in what is a very strong South Group. With a more effective overseas bowler, a Trego-reinforced middle-order and better use made of Dom Bess, they would surely have gone further, even despite the Gregory injury. And for all the disappointment at the end, this was a T20 campaign made wonderfully memorable by Babar Azam, Tom Banton, Tom Abell and three spectacular Max Waller catches. Between them, they lit up the cricket every bit as vividly as did the new Taunton floodlights.
Somerset 226; Middlesex 227/4 in 17 overs. Middlesex win by six wickets
The equation as Somerset go into their final game in the South Group is, for once, simple enough: win and we qualify, lose and we're out. Other results are only of significance in terms of who and where we might play in the quarter finals.
Beating Middlesex will not be easy. They have seven international cricketers in their ranks, including AB de Villiers and Eoin Morgan, with 568 games and 13,653 runs between them in T20 cricket. So I can't say I'm particularly optimistic as I arrive on yet another gloriously sunny afternoon, especially as Somerset have chosen an almost unchanged squad, the inclusion of Lewis Gregory, who hadn't been expected to be fit after his foot injury until the Yorkshire game in the Championship, being the only surprise. So it looks like the same fragile middle-order and the same inconsistent set of bowlers.
Peter Trego is at the ground, but only to given a farewell presentation, Somerset having announced that they won't be renewing his contract. For my money, he should be in the team. Mark Davis and Brian Rose, who drops by the commentary box to snaffle a pre-match Presidential pie, are very much in agreement. Alongside us in the box for what will be, I'm glad to say, a shared commentary is BBC Radio London's Kevin Hand. He appears to be no more confident about Middlesex's chances than we are of Somerset's.
Tom Abell wins the toss and opts to bat first. It's the obvious thing to do on the same batsman-friendly 'hybrid' pitch that was used for the Glamorgan game. But when the team sheets are exchanged, there's a genuine surprise: Lewis Gregory plays in place of Craig Overton. It's a surprise on two counts: first that Gregory is fit enough to be risked and second that it's big Craig who is left out, given that it's only a few hours since he was called up for the England squad for the fourth Ashes Test. Does one detect the hand of the ECB in his omission?
I have been making much of the fact that Babar and Banton have scored more runs in this T20 campaign than the rest of the Somerset batsmen put together, and expectations are running accordingly high as they walk out to bat. Banton takes a single off the third ball of Toby Roland-Jones' opening over and the fourth knocks back Babar's middle stump. A shock wave sweeps across the County Ground (and, no doubt, across large parts of Pakistan, given the millions in the Sub-Continent who are listening or watching on television). Our star player, the main man, GONE for a golden duck. 1/1 very nearly becomes 1/2 the very next ball, as James Hildreth, trapped on the crease, somehow survives a huge appeal for LBW. But survive it he does, and he is just beginning to look like the Hildreth of old, when he runs the ball down to third man, comes haring back for a second and is left high and dry by Banton who, without looking at his partner, has settled for the single. What a waste!
But at least Banton is still there, cutting, pulling, sweeping and driving with that remarkable, almost casual power of his. One back-foot off drive goes to the cover boundary like a bullet from a gun. "That's the best shot I've seen in this entire campaign", I enthuse on commentary. Mark Davis begs to differ. "Good, yes, but not in the same class as that Babar on drive at Sophia Gardens.".
Gradually the two Toms put the shock of the Babar duck and the guilt of the Hildreth run-out behind them. So far from the scoring rate slowing when the fielding restrictions are relaxed, it accelerates, with Abell playing some glorious off-drives and brilliantly executed ramps. Both batsmen are particularly severe on Finn, whose four overs disappear for 57. There's no loss of momentum even when Byrom replaces Banton. This is a less frenetic, more calculating Eddie, even if he is still, as Mark Davis puts it, throwing the kitchen sink at his big shots.
As for Tom Abell, his T20 batting has been a revelation throughout the campaign, and today's innings is the icing on the cake. With three overs to go, he's on 67, his highest T20 score. A flurry of beautifully struck boundaries takes him to 88 as Lewis Gregory faces the first ball of the final over - and holes out to deep square leg, for Somerset's second first-baller. But the batsmen cross, so Abell is on strike. He takes two off the next ball, then consecutive boundaries, then races back for a second run for a push down the ground to bring up his century. He's done it! His first T20 century, and what an occasion on which to do it! Talk about a captain's innings! The crowd rise to Somerset's personable, self-effacing young captain as one man. It is a great moment, and that innings, plus vital contributions from Banton and Byrom, has surely booked Somerset a place in the quarter finals.
That happy assumption does not survive for very long, once Middlesex start to bat. Stirling and Malan come out all guns blazing. The last two balls of Waller's opening over and the first four of the next, bowled by Jerome Taylor, go for 4,4,4,6,4,4. Tom Lammonby is brought on for the third over. "Why not Gregory?" I wonder on commentary. "Do you think he's not fit to bowl?" It was a question that would answer itself. Somerset have gone in with only four senior bowlers - Taylor, Groenewald, Waller and van der Merwe - against probably the most fearsome batting side that can ever have featured in domestic T20 cricket in England. The fifth bowler duties will be shared by 19 year-old Lammonby, with seven T20 wickets to his name at an economy rate of 9.64, and Tom Abell, who has never bowled in T20 cricket.
The consequences of this decision are immediate, predictable and devastating. The Lammonby over goes for 23, Middlesex have 54 on the board from three overs. Even when Malan and Stirling fall to successive Tim Groenewald deliveries, the carnage goes on. AB de Villiers dismisses his first two deliveries from van der Merwe for four and six. By the end of the six over powerplay, Middlesex have 94/2 on the board and the required rate is down from over 11 to 9.5. Mark and I are just about giving up hope, when two remarkable pieces of fielding provide another twist. When de Villiers drives a van der Merwe ball back to the bowler, Roelof flicks the ball between his legs without turning round, it hits the stumps and Mohammed Hafeez is run out, backing up. Two overs later, and the biggest fish of all is reeled in, by a quite brilliant one-handed catch on the deep mid-wicket boundary by Max Waller, leaping and taking a fierce, flat hit, otherwise destined for the Somerset Stand, high above his head. Now, if Somerset could only get rid of Eoin Morgan......!
In the 13th over, bowled by Lammonby, they get their chance. Morgan pulls him massively for six off the first ball, but, in trying to repeat the shot, doesn't quite get hold of it. Babar is waiting on the deep square leg boundary. He takes the catch - and steps back onto the boundary rope, ball in hand. It's not the wicket that Somerset craved, it's another six, a reprieve which Morgan celebrates by taking 10 off the next two balls.
With George Scott joining in the fun, the end comes quickly Eighteen come off the sixteenth over, and after Morgan plunders 18 more off the first five balls of the 17th, it's time for me to pass the microphone to Kevin Hand so that he can describe the winning runs, just in case Morgan should hit the last ball of the over for six. Which is precisely what he does - driving van der Merwe down the ground, a desperate Max Waller dive succeeding only in helping the ball over the boundary. Middlesex have won by six wickets with three full overs to spare. No team in domestic T20 cricket has chased down so large a total to win. Middlesex will go through to the quarters, Somerset are down and out: crushed, shattered, Morganed.
Tom Abell looks shell-shocked when I interview him afterwards. This is no time for aggressive questioning, but I have to ask him about the Gregory decision, which led to poor Tom Lammonby being thrown to the lions. Does he now regret it? No he doesn't, or at least not for the benefit of my recording, he doesn't. Like the good captain he is, he stands by both the selection and his bowlers, and says that disappointment at the defeat far outweighs any pleasure he might have taken from his own performance with the bat, which I can tell from the look on his face is entirely true.
So the dream of the treble has died, and Somerset have got themselves ten days in which to re-group before an absolutely vital home game against Yorkshire in the county championship. On reflection, I conclude that, given the team that they've insisted on choosing, Somerset have done quite well to finish fifth in what is a very strong South Group. With a more effective overseas bowler, a Trego-reinforced middle-order and better use made of Dom Bess, they would surely have gone further, even despite the Gregory injury. And for all the disappointment at the end, this was a T20 campaign made wonderfully memorable by Babar Azam, Tom Banton, Tom Abell and three spectacular Max Waller catches. Between them, they lit up the cricket every bit as vividly as did the new Taunton floodlights.
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