Somerset CCC

After an inconsistent start to their T20 Blast campaign. Glamorgan take on Somerset at Sophia Gardens on Sunday afternoon. This is the second in our series profiling each opponent that Glamorgan will face in this season’s T20 Blast.

Somerset, coached by Jason Kerr and captained by Lewis Gregory, are based at the County Ground in Taunton. Somerset have an excellent recent history in all formats, winning the One-Day Cup in 2019, routinely competing at the top of Division One of the County Championship, and are reigning T20 Blast champions.

Record This Season

After a shaky start, which included winning and losing high scoring encounters with Essex and Kent, and then losing comprehensively against Surrey, Somerset have been dominant in their last two games.

Showing the form that won them the T20 Blast last season, Somerset piled on 241-5 against Hampshire last Sunday before bowling Middlesex out for just 78 on Tuesday.

That ability to perform with bat and ball when required is the hallmark of Somerset’s T20 excellence and they will be a real test for Glamorgan on Sunday.

Key Man

Somerset’s batting is very consistent, with one or two of their line-up stepping up each game. In the bowling ranks, however, one bowler stands out.

Ben Green has an extraordinary T20 bowling strike rate of 12.4 and is the top wicket taker in this year’s competition, with 13 wickets in five games. Green was also among the top wicket takers last season too, taking 30 in 17 games, placing second behind his former teammate Matt Henry.

Green’s standout performance so far this season was is 5-29 against Hampshire.

The 26-year-old is a handy batter too, often coming into bat at 7 or 8 to offer some late-order hitting to supplement the Somerset batting effort.

Overseas Players

After Matt Henry’s excellent season in 2023, Australian quick Riley Meredith had big shoes to fill in this Somerset team.

So far, Meredith has been more than worthy of his place in the line-up, taking nine wickets in four games, with an outstanding economy rate of just 6.13.

Tasmanian bowler is well known for his fast bowling, routinely pushing the speed gun beyond 90mph. He has also represented Australia at international level, making his One-Day International and T20 International debuts in 2021.

Past Glories

Somerset ended 18 years without T20 silverware with last season’s triumph. 2005’s victory may be a distant memory for some, but Somerset were exceptional that year, with South Africa legend Graeme Smith scoring 64* as the west country county comfortably beat Lancashire in the final at The Oval.

Last year, they were even better, losing just two of 17 games on their way to the title. At finals day their bowling attack came to the fore, bowling out two strong batting line-ups: Surrey in the semi-final, and Essex in the final.

Wildcard

Will Smeed is an exciting talent and a controversial figurehead for the development of English county cricket. Smeed, 22, has had a meteoric rise at Somerset and Birmingham Phoenix in the Hundred, scoring the first 100 of the Hundred in 2022.

Just a couple of months after his breakout innings, Smeed signed a white ball only contract at Somerset, attracting criticism from some. His decision kick-started a conversation about the future of cricket, with the rise of T20 cricket and the decline of red ball cricket.

Smeed, though, has maintained his excellent form for Somerset, most recently scoring 68 from just 30 balls against Kent.

Weaknesses

Somerset are not without their flaws. While their batting line-up is formidable, they have been prone to collapse this season, most notably against Surrey. On that day, Surrey’s seam bowlers bowled an excellent attacking line, targeting the stumps and giving little width to the Somerset batters.

With experienced T20 bowlers in the form of Timm ver der Gugten and Jamie McIlroy, Glamorgan will be confident that they can make vital early in-roads into what is a strong batting line-up.

Glamorgan play Somerset on Sunday 16th June, with play starting at 3:00pm. You can get your tickets at shop.ticketing.cm.com/glamorgan-ccc/