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Vitality Blast Preview | Glos v Somerset

8 June 2023

It’s the big one! West Country rivals Gloucestershire and Somerset will lock horns in the Vitality Blast on Friday night in front of a sell-out crowd in Bristol.

To guarantee a seat and to avoid standing it is vital to arrive at the stadium early. Gates open at 16:30.

T20 partners Thatchers will be giving away a free bucket hat with every pint of a Thatchers product from one of our bars - these are limited to the first 100 people so another reason to get in early to grab yours. 

Gloucestershire v Somerset is now SOLD OUT! To avoid missing out on seeing the Shire push for a quarter-final place, tickets for our final three home matches can be bought using the following links.

Gloucestershire v Kent Spitfires (Saturday 17th June)

Gloucestershire v Hampshire Hawks (Tuesday 20th June)

Gloucestershire v Sussex Sharks (Thursday 22nd June)

Team news

Dale Benkenstein makes one change to the fourteen-player squad with the injury-free Ben Wells replacing Chris Dent, who misses out with a minor knock.

Tom Price, Ajeet Singh Dale and Graeme van Buuren are still recovering from slight muscle injuries, while seamer Marchant de Lange will miss the rest of the season after surgery on a torn quad muscle.

Your 14-player Gloucestershire squad to face Somerset:

Last time out

Gloucestershire made it two wins in two after beating Middlesex last Sunday. A nerveless chase controlled by Ollie Price and Zafar Gohar, who scored 46 and 37*, respectively, meant Shire defeated the London outfit by seven wickets.

Two wickets apiece for Price and David Payne in the first innings had restricted Middlesex to 139/9 before Shire’s victory came under the Bristol lights with ten balls to spare.

Our opponents

Somerset boast an excellent set of results in the first half of their T20 Blast campaign, having lost just one of their opening seven games.

After winning their first six matches, Somerset came unstuck against Hampshire on Wednesday, losing by five runs.

Tom Banton and Will Smeed continued to dominate the powerplay scoring 69 off the first six overs, but Hampshire’s bowling attack did exceptionally well to peg the Taunton side back in the final ten.

The Somerset squad to face Gloucestershire:

Lewis Gregory*, Tom Abell, Kasey Aldridge, Tom Banton, Shoaib Bashir, Josh Davey, Sean Dickson, Ben Green, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Lammonby, Craig Overton, Will Smeed and Roelof van der Merwe.

Last meeting

Gloucestershire lost to Somerset in Bristol last season in a rain-affected encounter, with Roelof van der Merwe smashing 48 off 15 balls as the visitors came from nowhere to win by three wickets.

The DLS method was used after rain interrupted Gloucestershire’s first innings, with James Bracey and Miles Hammond making an electric start. The latter took Tom Lammonby’s first over for 24, clearing the ropes four times in the first six balls.

How to watch

Gloucestershire face Somerset in the Vitality Blast at 18:30 on Friday 9 June at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol.

Friday’s match is sold out, but the match will be free to watch in the Glos Cricket Match Centre.

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