‘Itne saal baad khushi mili hai’ – Fans celebrate as Somerset beats Essex to win T20 Blast after 18 years

South-Western county-based club in England, Somerset has managed to add to the solitary T20 Blast title they won in 2005. That year, the tournament was only two years old and the third season was played. In fact, current England white-ball skipper Jos Buttler didn’t even make his debut for the side. He started playing for the team in 2009 and ended his stint in 2013.

Currently, the two-time World Cup winner is playing for Lancashire, since 2014. Meanwhile, in the 2023 final against Essex, the Chelmsford-based team won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Taunton-based team, Somerset didn’t have the best of times in the middle as seven of their players didn’t even cross the double-digit mark. Thanks to Sean Dickson (53*), the team reached 145 all-out as the wicket was difficult to bat on.

Paul Walter and Shane Snater took three wickets each. On the other hand, Daniel Sams and Matt Critchley took one wicket each.

Somerset wins despite Daniel Sams’ heroics

In reply, Essex openers, Adam Rossington and Dan Lawrence provided explosive starts but failed to carry on. After their wickets inside the powerplay, the Somerset bowlers kept taking wickets. New Zealand international, Matt Henry took the first three wickets inside the powerplay.

England international, Craig Overton took the wicket of Robin Das to make things worse. In no time, Essex was reduced to 117/9. It was looking like an easy win for the eventual winners but Daniel Sams (45) kept things interesting. In the end, Tom-Kohler Cadmore took a left-hander catch at short third man off Sams to win it for the Taunton-based team.

Matt Henry took his fourth wicket in the form fo Sams.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore spoke to Sky Sports Cricket: “I’m just happy we’ve performed as a team. Not a single player in the team hasn’t won us a game, and that’s pretty special. I saw that catch all the way, one of those ones that sticks or doesn’t stick. This year Lewis [Gregory] has been outstanding for us, always taking the attacking option. 15-16 players have contributed to at least one win, it gives us freedom to make a matchwinning contribution. Everyone knows their role and no-one’s bigger than the team.”

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