Essex Eagles v Somerset
Vitality Blast
The Cloudfm County Ground
Team News:
Essex Eagles: Will Buttleman, Adam Wheater (wk), Dan Lawrence, Michael Pepper, Jimmy Neesham, Ryan ten Doeschate, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer (c), Aron Nijjar, Jack Plom, Sam Cook.
Somerset: Tom Banton (wk), Devon Conway, Will Smeed, Lewis Goldsworthy, Lewis Gregory (c), Tom Lammonby, Ben Green, Craig Overton, Marchant de Lange, Jack Brooks, Max Waller.
Match Details:
Umpires: Nicholas Cook & James Middlebrook
Toss: Essex Eagles who elected to field
Result: Essex Eagles win by 6 wickets (DLS Method)
Match Highlights:
Match Reaction:
“It is a proud moment to get my first fifty. It is special and it is always much better when it is in a winning performance. I am thrilled by it.
“Our middle order plan is to run other teams ragged, turning ones into twos. That was our [with Wheater] aim while knowing our boundary options. I always enjoy batting with Adam. We have a very clear mind and it helps relax us both.
“It is up there with our best performances of the season especially after they got off to a decent start. We pulled it back and were very good in the field again and saved a few runs out there.
“Harmer and Nijjar have been phenomenal in this tournament. It is class the way they manage to pull it back.”
Match Report:
Essex Eagles kept their hopes of claiming a place in the knockout stages of the Vitality Blast very much alive when they beat Somerset by 6 wickets under the DLS method.
After bowling the visitors out for 153, the Eagles completed victory with 5 balls to spare, their target having been reduced to 148 from 19 overs because of a short stoppage for rain after 3.3 overs of their reply.
Ryan ten Doeschate struck the winning runs when he cleared the ropes at long-on with the first delivery of the final over off the bowling of Jack Brooks.
But it was Michael Pepper, with his maiden half-century in the competition who emerged the batting hero. With the help of 2 sixes amongst his 6 boundaries, he scored an unbeaten 55 from 35 deliveries.
He shared in a third-wicket partnership of 80 in under 8 overs with opener Adam Wheater, the pair coming together at 35-2 after Will Buttleman and Dan Lawrence had been dismissed for 16 and 2 respectively.
Wheater was removed one run short of his fifty when he was caught in the covers off the spin of Max Waller, his knock spanning 35 balls and containing 4 fours.
Jimmy Neesham followed him back to the Pavilion soon afterwards but Pepper and ten Doeschate (15 not out) saw Essex to their fourth T20 win of the season including the double over Somerset.
But it was superb bowling that paved the way for success after the visitors had laid the foundations for a much bigger total as they reached 77-2 at the halfway stage of their innings.
Tom Banton scored 19 before falling to Jack Plom and Will Sneed contributed 18 before Simon Harmer had him caught at deep square leg.
It was not until the 12th over with the score on 107 that Somerset lost their third wicket when spinner Harmer removed Lewis Goldsworthy for 27 as Jimmy Neesham held on to a fine catch at mid-wicket.
In the same over, Harner got rid of Tom Lammonby and Lewis Gregory in successive deliveries to put the visitors on the slippery slope to leave the opposition.
Harmer later removed Craig Overton on his way to figures of 4/24 while Plom weighed in with career-best T20 figures of 3/31.
With Aron Nijjar and Sam Cook also picking up wickets, the latter getting rid of opener Devon Conway for 53 that spanned 47 deliveries, the West Country side were left reflecting on a collapse that saw them lose 8 wickets for just 46 in the space of 41 balls.
It must have left them shell-shocked after they had thrashed Kent by 10 wickets 24 hours earlier.
Meanwhile, Essex will go into Thursday’s home battle against Glamorgan with renewed confidence and belief.
