David Payne, Matt Taylor share six wickets before Cameron Bancroft, Miles Hammond romp in simple chase as Gloucestershire wins the Vitality T20 Blast title by eight wickets vs Somerset. Matt Taylor (3-19) and David Payne (3-27), who have shared 61 Blast wickets this season, were again Gloucestershire’s biggest weapons with the ball as they showed themselves masters of the conditions, the county lifting their first silverware for nine years.
Jack Taylor’s team followed their eight-wicket semi-final defeat of Sussex with another superbly professional performance against their west country rivals, who were strong favourites after beating Surrey in the other semi-final but were soundly beaten with 30 balls to spare. Gloucestershire are Vitality Blast champions after their late season surge took them all the way to the first T20 title in the club’s history with a stunning eight-wicket victory over holders Somerset in the final at Edgbaston.
Pitch and Toss
The pitch at Edgbaston, Birmingham is a balanced track that favours both the batters and bowlers, with the average first innings score in the last 10 matches being 176 runs. The weather is expected to be mild, with the temperature hovering around 18-19°C in the evening hours. There is no possibility of rain, with partly cloudy skies and the wind blowing between 9-13 km/h during the match hours.
Since it is the third game of the day at the same venue, the pitch is expected to slow down a touch, but the conditions are expected to improve for batting for teams chasing under lights as the ball skids onto the bat nicely and the dew factor comes into play. Moreover, Somerset prefers chasing totals, regardless of the conditions.
Gloucestershire skipper Jack Taylor won the toss and chose to field with no changes in the squad. Somerset skipper Lewis Gregory batting first with also expressed to win after a resounding semifinal win over Surrey.
Matt Taylor and David Payne superb bowling restricts Somerset to 124 all out.
Gloucestershire were the outsiders on the day, having qualified for the knock-out stages only on net run-rate after winning their last two South Group games, before upsetting Birmingham Bears on this ground in the quarter-finals. Their last trophy success came in 2015 in the One-Day Cup, which Somerset will hope to win in next weekend’s final after seeing their hopes of landing a treble come to an end.
Gloucestershire skipper Jack Taylor’s decision to bowl first was rewarded handsomely by younger brother Matt Taylor as the left-arm seamer matched his three-wicket semi-final haul in the space of two overs as the favourites wobbled at 41 for three in the powerplay. Tom Kohler-Cadmore had lifted Gloucestershire’s bowling talisman David Payne for two sixes in four balls but after Will Smeed had sliced to short third, a slower ball in the same over induced a miscue that had Kohler-Cadmore well taken at deep cover.
The last ball of Matt Taylor’s second over saw James Rew, was brilliantly held by Cameron Bancroft at extra cover and when off-spinner Ollie Price then bowled Sean Dickson first ball attempting a reverse hit, Somerset had lost both their semi-final heroes at 42 for four.
Tom Abell and Lewis Gregory added 44 but boundaries did not come easily and their progress was halted when Abell picked out the fielder at long-on. Gregory timed a couple of super straight sixes but the return of Payne to the attack delivered another jolt as back-to-back slower balls saw Ben Green skew to backward point and Craig Overton spoon to extra cover.
A one-handed diving catch by James Bracey accounted for Roelf van der Merwe. Gregory held things together manfully but, having been dropped on 51, he fell two runs later, hitting Payne straight to long-off, and Josh Shaw claimed Jake Ball as the final wicket via a catch at mid-off as Somerset were dismissed in 19.4 overs.
Somerset were looking not only to make history by winning back-to-back T20 titles, but become the first team since Worcestershire in 2018 to lift the trophy after coming through the first semi-final. Having been inserted, Somerset got off to a decent start – certainly better than the 7 for 3 after 2.1 overs they managed earlier in the day – as Payne’s first two overs cost 19, only to come unstuck against Gloucestershire’s other left-armer.
Matt Taylor is less heralded than Payne but barely less effective, and he struck three times in his first two overs. His first ball induced a slash to backward point from Will Smeed, before a clever change of pace saw Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who had hit Payne for two sixes in the previous over, miscue high into the off side. When James Rew, in the third T20 knock of his professional career, punched uppishly to the diving Bancroft at short cover, Matt Taylor had startling figures of 3 for 7.
Three down at the end of the powerplay, things got worse for Somerset. Sean Dickson had been their matchwinner in the semi – and top-scored in both games at last year’s Finals Day – but departed for a golden duck this time around, missing a reverse-sweep at Ollie Price’s second delivery. Somerset were 42 for 4 and up against it.
In the absence of Dickson, Gregory stepped into the firefighter role. He and Tom Abell ticked over initially, taking the score to 63 for 4 at halfway, before the captain began to play some shots in an attempt to give Somerset something defendable. The left-arm spin of Tom Smith was targeted, Gregory clubbing six straight back down the ground before lofting the next ball over extra cover. Abell was less successful taking the aerial route, however, as he drove Tom Price down the throat of long-on to end a stand worth 44.
Gregory continued to carry a threat, again clearing the ropes off Smith before a swivel-pull off Tom Price took Somerset’s innings into three figures. But the return of Payne to bowl the 16th over tipped the scales in Gloucestershire’s direction again – two consecutive slower deliveries accounting for Ben Green and Craig Overton leaving the defending champions up the River Rea without a paddle at 105 for 7. In the process, Payne overtook Hampshire’s Chris Wood as the most-prolific seamer in the history of English domestic T20.
Gregory lost another partner when van der Merwe sent a flying edge straight into Bracey’s outstretched right glove, but raised a fighting fifty off 33 balls with a nudge for one off Matt Taylor. He was dropped at the start of the 19th, Ben Charlesworth unable to cling on to a diving effort running in from the cover boundary, but became Payne’s third wicket four ball later when he picked out long-off.
Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft completes easy title win for Gloucestershire
Somerset’s wicket-taking prowess was behind their 2023 victory, when they defended 145 in the final against Essex. But they were even lighter on runs this time around and could not conjure the early breakthroughs required to jangle Gloucestershire nerves.
Bancroft drove his third ball, from Craig Overton, through the covers, launched the same bowler over long-on in the third over and then ramped Josh Davey all the way for six at the start of the fourth. Lewis Gregory, whose half-century carried the fight as one of only three Somerset players to reach double-figures, brought himself into the attack for the final over of the powerplay and was promptly dispatched for three boundaries as Gloucestershire raced to 49 for 0.
Gloucestershire had twice beaten Somerset when chasing during the group stage but both of those games were helter-skelter affairs. This was clinical, though not entirely business-like, as Hammond channeled the mood in the Hollies Stand by belting Jake Ball and Roelf van der Merwe for sixes to speed Gloucestershire towards their target.
Bancroft struck van der Merwe for back-to-back fours to raise a 39-ball half-century, before Hammond went to the mark from 36 balls in the following over, clouting Ben Green over long-on for another serene six. No team had ever won the T20 final by a ten-wicket margin and Somerset saved themselves from that ignominy by dismissing Bancroft and James Bracey. But the result was already in the post.
By contrast with Somerset’s, Gloucestershire’s batting powerplay was near-flawless as Hammond and Bancroft put 49 unanswered runs on the board. The latter started things moving with sixes driven and ramped off Overton and Josh Davey respectively before Hammond closed the sixth over with consecutive extra cover boundaries off Gregory.
After Hammond had dispatched Ball for six with a beautiful leg-side pick-up, an eventful 10th over saw Bancroft overturn Green’s lbw on review before almost being run out scrambling back as a ball on the toe left Hammond unable to leave his crease but the over ended with all wickets intact as before at 82 without loss, needing just 43 more.
Bancroft finally departed in the 14th over, pulling Davey to Sneed on the square-leg rope, and James Bracey was caught at mid-off off Jake Ball, before Ollie Price delivered the final blow, hammering Ball for six over long-off to spark ecstatic celebrations among his team-mates, who streamed on to the field to revel in the moment.
Miles Hammond (58 not out from 41 balls, three sixes) and Cameron Bancroft (53 from 42, two sixes), prolific partners at the top of the innings this season, shared their second hundred-plus stand of the campaign, putting on 112 before they were parted as Gloucestershire chased a modest target of 125 on a slow pitch that had yielded runs at a miserly rate for most of the day.
Gloucestershire are Vitality Blast champions after their late season surge took them all the way to the first T20 title in the club’s history with a stunning eight-wicket victory over holders Somerset in the final at Edgbaston.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Somerset’s Tom Kohler-Cadmore said: “We didn’t get enough runs on the board when we batted and we felt the pitch got better as the evening wore on.
“They bowled really well and kept taking wickets. If we had got up to 145 or 150 we would have been in the game but as it was when they came through the powerplay without losing a wicket it was game over really.
“The toss was important but that’s cricket and you have to deal with that and the fact was that we didn’t perform well enough.
“Lewis played beautifully and you hoped that there would be someone who could have supported them a bit better but there wasn’t. Gloucestershire bowled well on the pitch but if someone had been able to stay with Lewis we might be talking about a different result.
“We can sit and dwell on the negative sides of today but the fact that we put ourselves in the position to be here after playing some good cricket over the season is something we can be proud of. Yes, we made some mistakes tonight but we had a great tournament.
“It really hurts tonight but you win and lose games and when it is that comfortable you have to accept that you were nowhere good enough on the night. So fair play to Gloucestershire, congratulations to them – all we can do is move on to the next game.”
Gloucestshire’s David Payne, who took three for 27 in the final and finished the campaign as the Blast’s leading wicket-taker, with 33 wickets, said: “I think we probably won it with the ball in that first half of the match. It was quite a good toss to win, it didn’t perhaps get as dewy as we thought it would but the ball did seem to come on a bit better in the second half.
“It was a pretty good effort by the bowling pack to keep them to 120-odd, although we didn’t think we would chase it down as well as we did. It was pretty clinical in the end.
“We snuck in through the back door really with a few things going our way but you feel that when you get into the knock-outs it is anyone’s to win and there was a real belief and confidence in the side that we could do it.
“It was good to come here in the quarter-finals. It helped us to get familiar with the surroundings and there was a good crowd in that night so it had a kind of finals day vibe. We felt very comfortable here by the final.
“You need your big players to stand up on night like this, which is what happened but all through the campaign there have been players who stood up and delivered performances. I could go through the side and everyone has contributed.
“And Jack Taylor’s captaincy has been brilliant and he deserves to know that he has been outstanding this year. It is not an easy job but he can hold his head up high and be proud of the way he has led the side.
“It’s a strange feeling because a lot of the Somerset guys are my Welsh Fire team-mates but they and Surrey have set the bar high in that T20 format and we will take immense pride from beating them. It is pretty special.”
Matt Taylor Vitality Player of the Match for his 3 wickets said : “Pretty speechless to be honest. I’m over the moon for this group of guys. It has been an amazing day, unbelievable. This is my first finals day. I’ve imagined it in my head, but the way it has panned out today has been unbelievable.”
Together with David Payne, Gloucestershire’s pair of left-armers with Matt Taylor combined for 62 wickets this season, and took 10 for 79 between them on Finals Day. Payne credits his decision to play white ball cricket exclusively as to why he has been able to perform at such a high level, with 33 dismissals – the joint highest in the tournament’s history.
“Coming into the group stages, I was really nervous about that but after the first game, we started so well and the confidence grew. It was probably the best decision I’ve ever made.
Gloucestershire claimed their maiden T20 title, and West Country bragging rights into the bargain, as they crushed defending champions Somerset in a one-sided Blast final at Edgbaston. An eight-wicket margin of victory, sealed by Ollie Price’s six over long-on with 30 balls to spare, told the story as Gloucestershire marched to their first piece of silverware since 2015.
It was a night of many heroes for Gloucestershire. Miles Hammond’s unbeaten 58 from 41 led them home, having put on a raucous century stand with Cameron Bancroft, after the bowlers had blown Somerset away. David Payne, Gloucestershire’s stalwart attack leader, capped a remarkable campaign with 3 for 27 to take his tally to 33 and equal Alfonso Thomas’ longstanding record for an English T20 season. Matt Taylor, with 29 wickets himself, was the catalyst as he picked off three of Somerset’s top four on the way to figures of 3 for 18.
For the second Finals Day running, all four teams came from the South Group.
Gloucestershire arrived as the underdogs, having squeaked through in fourth place on net run-rate – but after seeing off Birmingham Bears on their own patch in the quarter-final, they returned to Edgbaston to demolish Sussex in the second semi, then took apart their cider country rivals with another inspired bowling performance. Somerset’s bid to become the first team to successfully defend the Blast title fell at the final hurdle, hopes of a domestic treble brusquely shelved in the process.
Gloucestershire’s success was made all the more poignant by the presence of club president, David “Syd” Lawrence, the former England fast bowler who was diagnosed earlier this year with motor neuron disease. It was also a rousing performance from a county who have had their struggles, facing financial insecurity and battling in the wrong half of Division Two in the County Championship. But Mark Alleyne, in his first season back as head coach, has steered a side featuring eight homegrown players to a memorable T20 success.