Somerset Men v Essex Men
Vitality Blast
Cooper Associates County Ground
Tuesday 08 July 2025 | 6:30pm start
Team News
Somerset Men: Tom Banton, Will Smeed, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Abell, Sean Dickson, Lewis Gregory, Ben Green, Lewis Goldsworthy, Craig Overton, Matt Henry, Riley Meridith
Essex Men: Michael Pepper, Paul Walter, Jordan Cox (wk), Matt Critchley, Luc Benkenstein, Charlie Allison, Matt Critchley, Noah Thain, Simon Harmer (c), Mohammad Amir, Charlie Bennett
Match Details
Umpires: Jack Shantry & Paul Baldwin
Match Referee: Wayne Noon
Toss: Essex Men won the toss and elected to bowl
Result: Somerset Men win by 95 wickets
Match Highlights
Match Report
Tom Kohler-Cadmore smashed a brilliant half century to propel Somerset to a convincing 95-run victory over Essex at the Cooper Associates Ground and guarantee the runaway South Group leaders a place in the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast.
In scintillating form beneath the Taunton floodlights, the 30-year-old right hander staged a breathtaking innings of 90 from just 39 balls, striking 8 fours and 7 sixes and dominating stands of 88 and 55 with Will Smeed and Tom Abell for the second and third wickets respectively as Somerset ran up an imposing 225-6 after Essex had won the toss.
Smeed scored 32, Sean Dickson weighed in with 28 not out and, amid the carnage, Mohammad Amir emerged as the only Essex bowler to escape punishment, the Pakistan international returning stand-out figures of 3-22 from four overs.
Undermined by overseas bowlers Matt Henry and Riley Meredith, who claimed 4-21 and 2-22 respectively, the Essex chase came up well short as the visitors were dismissed for 130 in 14.1 overs, Noah Thain top-scoring with 38. This latest victory moves Somerset 12 points clear of nearest rivals Surrey, while Essex remain rooted to the foot of the South Group after suffering a ninth defeat in 11 games.
Tom Banton looked as though he meant business, plundering three boundaries at the expense of debutant Charlie Bennett to move to 15 in quick time, only to then chip Mohammad Amir to mid-on in the third over as Somerset lost their first wicket with 21 on the board.
There was no loss of momentum though, Kohler-Cadmore and Smeed taking 16 off the next over, sent down by Noah Thain, while Bennett again proved expensive when switching to the River End and Paul Walter conceded 19 off the sixth as Somerset raced to 67-1 by the end of the powerplay.
Essex turned to spin in an attempt to stem the flow, but Kohler-Cadmore continued to trade in boundaries, smiting a brace of sixes off successive deliveries from Matt Critchley and then straight hitting Luc Benkenstein for another to raise a blistering 24-ball half century in the grand manner.
The visitors did little to help themselves, Bennett dropping Smeed on 20 at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Critchley as the 8th over hemorrhaged 20 runs. Smeed had contributed 32 to a stand of 88 from 44 balls when he hit Benkenstein to long-off as the home side reached halfway on 114-2.
There was no let-up in the scoring rate, Kohler-Cadmore applying further pressure by hoisting Benkenstein for a towering six over long-off as the Essex bowling wilted in the face of heavy firepower. Kohler-Cadmore was within 10 runs of what would have been a magnificent hundred when a loss of concentration saw him hit Simon Harmer high to long-off to afford Essex overdue relief.
Critchley removed Abell for 20, but there was precious little breathing space for the visitors, Sean Dickson and Lewis Gregory picking up the cudgels in a stand of 28 from 12 balls. Dickson was still there at the end, unbeaten on 28 made from 17 balls.
Required to score at 12.5 an over, Essex made a decent enough start, Walter taking Craig Overton for a six and a brace of fours in a first over that yielded 15 runs. But Meredith redressed the balance, clean bowling the swinging Michael Pepper with 28 on the board in the third.
Somerset struck another blow in the next over, Ben Green taking a startling diving catch at long-on to send back Jordan Cox and give Henry a wicket on his final appearance before returning to New Zealand, while Meredith accounted for Charlie Allison. Henry then struck twice in three balls, removing Walter for 24 and Benkenstein without scoring to reduce Essex to 48-5, their prospects of pulling off an unlikely victory in tatters before the powerplay had even ended.
Critchley was then run out by Abell’s direct hit and Lewis Goldsworthy had Robin Das held on the deep mid-wicket boundary with the score 81-7 as the home side exerted a vice-like grip on proceedings. Thain attempted to carry the fight to Somerset, the England Under-19 international crashing a four and 4 sixes in a defiant innings of 38 off 17 balls. His dismissal – caught by Henry at long-on off the bowling of Overton – signaled the end of meaningful Essex resistance.
Purchase your England v India tickets!
The England Men under 19s are playing in a four day Test match at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground this summer!
They will face India Men under 19s, including 14-year old IPL superstar Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who became the youngest player bought in an IPL auction after being selected by Rajasthan Royals. He is also the youngest player to score a century in IPL history!
Day one will begin on July 20 with the final day concluding on July 23.
Tickets are still available via our Ticket Site, so have a browse and get yourself down to CM2 to watch the next generation of international cricketers.
