Surrey’s Vitality Blast campaign came to an end at the semi-finals stage as familiar foes Somerset were victorious by seven wickets at Edgbaston.
Somerset had looked in big trouble at seven for three chasing 154 but Sean Dickson (76 from 57 balls) and James Rew (62 not out from 44) shared a stand of 144 for the third wicket as Somerset powered into the final with eight balls to spare.
Having been put in, Surrey had fallen from 69 for one to 114 for six before grafting out 153 for nine in their innings. Somerset skipper Lewis Gregory (three for 15) played a superb hand with the ball as well as pulling off an excellent run-out, backed up by Josh Davey’s three for 34 after Dom Sibley had given the innings its only real substance with 48 from 36.
Somerset, who will contest the final of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup next weekend and have their eyes on becoming the first side to complete a domestic treble since Warwickshire in 1994, await the winners of the second semi-final between Sussex and Gloucestershire.
Dan Lawrence departed in the second over of Surrey’s innings when he sliced Davey high in the air on the off-side. Otherwise 62 for one from six was a solid start after being put in. Sibley lifted Davey into the crowd at wide long-on for the first six of the day
A double setback in the eighth over changed the picture somewhat as Gregory struck two massive blows, the canny all-rounder bowling Pope through the gate and nipping one past Smith’s outside edge to clip off stump, removing two England players with consecutive balls. Surrey, slightly shaken, were 86 for three at halfway.
Gregory turned the screw again, running out Rory Burns with a superb throw from extra cover after a poor call by Sibley, then taking his third wicket with the ball as Sibley found the fielder at wide long-on. When Tom Curran played on to Jake Ball, Surrey were 114 for six in the 15th.
Surrey could find no momentum, Gregory conceding just three in his final over. Laurie Evans landed a couple of blows against Ball but then Chris Jordan, Evans and Jordan Clark all perished trying to clear the ropes, Shaw picking up two of those in his final over.
If 153 for nine looked meagre, it must have felt better to Surrey fans as Somerset were stung three times in the opening 13 balls, Dan Worrall pinning Tom Kohler-Cadmore in front of leg stump and having Will Smeed wafting to be caught behind, either side of a leading edge to cover by Tom Abell off Tom Curran.
But from seven for three, Dickson and Rew – in for the sidelined Banton – saw off the storm and turned 29 for three after the powerplay into 71 for three at halfway. They were behind the rate but looked to have the measure of the pitch.
Although they had three players back from Test duty, England’s T20 series against Australia robbed Surrey of four players from their first-choice side in this format and their absence was felt as Somerset turned that momentum into a proper charge over the next five overs.
Dickson, having already cleared the rope with a slog-sweep off Cameron Steel, picked up two more sixes off the leg-spinner, with Rew collecting maximums off Lawrence and Clark. With 30 balls remaining, they were just 26 away from a place in the final.
A couple of tight overs by Clark and Jordan will have set a few Somerset nerves twitching but they were settled as Rew, with his maiden T20 half-century in the bag, pulled Jordan for his third six and followed up by cutting him for four to bring the requirement down to three of the last two overs.
Dickson skewed one in the air to be caught at deep cover but that only invited skipper Gregory to hit the winning runs, which he did by slashing Clark high over third man for six to send Somerset to the final.
