Somerset v Essex
Vitality Blast
The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton
Sunday 04 June
2:30pm Start
Essex visit Taunton on Sunday afternoon ready to take on Somerset in their fourth game of 2023 Vitality Blast campaign.
Somerset have enjoyed a terrific start to the competition picking up five wins from their opening five games. Their most recent victory came on Friday evening at Taunton with a 9-wicket victory against Middlesex.
The Eagles however suffered a first defeat in the competition against Hampshire Hawks at Chelmsford and will be looking to bounce back on the road after recording two wins from the opening three games.
Sunday’s match continues Essex busy schedule of T20 fixtures, with the team now playing four games in the period of 6 days before these two sides face each other in the LV= Insurance County Championship on Sunday 11 June at Chelmsford.
Squad:
Head Coach Anthony McGrath has been forced to make changes to the squad that faced Hampshire Hawks with Josh Rymell replacing Feroze Khushi.
The 23-year-old batter misses the trip to the West Country with an arm injury sustained after being struck whilst batting against Hampshire Hawks.
Dan Lawrence will also not feature after returning to England Test camp following his release for two Vitality Blast fixtures.
The Opposition: Somerset
Captain: Tom Abell
Overseas players: Matt Henry (New Zealand), Peter Siddle (Australia)
Finals Day appearances: 8 (2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2021, 2022)
Titles: 1 (2005)
2022 finish: Semi-finals
2022 leading run-scorer: Rilee Rossouw (623)
2022 leading wicket-taker: Ben Green (21)
Head-to-Head: Essex 6 wins, Somerset 9 wins
Key winter moves: Big-hitting Tom Kohler-Cadmore joined in the close season from Yorkshire and leads the Somerset run-scoring charts in the Vitality Blast, averaging 65.33 with 196 runs.
New Zealand Test player Matt Henry was recruited as an overseas player to boost the seam attack and has 7 wickets to his name so far in the competition. Henry joins former Eagle, Peter Siddle who takes up the second overseas slot in the side.
Ben Green – Somerset’s One Day Cup captain proved himself with bat and ball in limited overs games last season, smashing 157 in a 50-over game against Durham at Taunton and finishing as the team’s top wicket-taker in the Blast with his seam bowling. Currently, a white ball specialist, Green is one of three leading wicket-takers in the competition so far with 11 wickets after 5 games.
Somerset will be without Sonny Baker with a back injury, whilst there will be late fitness test for Tom Banton who has struggled with a side injury.
Somerset Squad: Lewis Gregory (c), Tom Abell, Kasey Aldridge, Tom Banton, Shoaib Bashir, Josh Davey, Sean Dickson, Ben Green, Matt Henry, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Lammonby, Craig Overton, James Rew, Peter Siddle, Will Smeed and Roelof van der Merwe.
How To Watch:
A free live stream of the match in Taunton will be available courtesy of our hosts on Sunday afternoon. You will be able to access it through the Essex Cricket Matchzone, which includes player stats, scorecards and clips throughout the game.
Secured Your Tickets for the next home match?
Essex take on Sussex Sharks in the Vitality Blast on Tuesday 6 June at The Cloud County Ground. Following Simon Harmer’s unbelievable hat-trick in Hove last week, this is a chance to watch the Eagles in action again with tickets still available to buy.
Play gets underway at 7pm and you can join us by securing your tickets at essexcricket.org.uk or by phone on 01245 254010 from 10am on Monday 5 June.
