Essex Eagles v Somerset
Vitality Blast
The Cloud County Ground
Sunday 19 June, 2:30pm start
The Eagles have named an unchanged squad to face Somerset after a Friday night that will go down in Blast history.
Daniel Sams produced a heroic performance, first with bat and then with the ball to secure victory for the Eagles in the highest-scoring T20 match in English domestic history.
The win inches the Eagles one step closer to a place in the quarter-finals but with more work still to do to be assured of making the knockout stages.
Squad:
Opposition:
Somerset, like Sussex Sharks who the Eagles faced on Friday, have been consistent performers in T20 cricket and this year is no different.
They began the campaign with three successive victories and after a blip against Sussex, resumed winning ways with wins over Glamorgan and Gloucestershire.
They are now sat 2nd in the South Group table with 12 points and 6 wins from 8 games.
Rilee Rossouw has lead the way for Somerset with the bat, and indeed is one of the leading runscorers in this year’s Vitality Blast. His 352 runs have come at a blistering strike rate of 184.29 and he is averaging 58.66.
Despite Somerset’s strong batting, they have been less consistent with the ball with only Lewis Gregory and Roelof van de Merwe going at less than 8 runs per over. Josh Davey has taken the most wickets with 12, however he missed Somerset’s last game through concussion, as did Craig Overton.
Head to Head:
Last time out:
The Eagles last faced Somerset early in the campaign when they journeyed to Taunton two days after their opening game victory over Kent.
Somerset won the toss and chose to field, a decision influenced by a patchy forecast and the chance of a shortened chase.
The weather did indeed intervene and interrupted the flow of Essex’s innings. Despite a brilliant 60 from Matt Critchley and 37 from Michael Pepper, a first contribution from him at his new position of number 3, the Eagles suffered two mini collapses and finished on 139 from their reduced 18-over innings.
Essex started well by taking the wicket of Tom Banton cheaply, however Smeed and Rossouw settled in and both scored half-centuries as Somerset picked off the run chase in 14.4 Overs. Simon Harmer was the pick of the Essex bowlers taking 2-22 off his 4 overs.
How to Watch:
There will be a Live Stream of the match from The Cloud County Ground available. You can watch the game via the Essex Cricket TV YouTube channel or the Essex Cricket Matchzone, which also includes a live scorecard, statistics and key clips of the action.
Access via the Essex Cricket Matchzone is available here.
Tickets:
There are a very limited number of tickets left for the fixture, which is also Essex’s annual Family Day. Click the button below to purchase tickets.
