Lewis Gregory lifts the trophy in part due to his brilliant captaincy. Photo: Getty Images/Alex Davidson
For Somerset, the miracle of the catch was rivaled only by relief. When Tom Kohler-Cadmore dived at full power to the left to pry a Daniel Sams punch out of the air, it marked the end of Somerset's 18-year wait to lift the T20 Blast.
Boston Red Sox 86 The World Series was blamed on the “Curse of the Bambino”: Babe Ruth allegedly placed a curse on the club when it was sold. Since 2005, Somerset fans may have resorted to similar explanations as to why – with the exception of a low-key triumph at the 2019 One-Day Cup – silver has eluded them.
Somerset have since lost four T20 Blast Finals and finished second in five county championships. Because of their considerable and vocal support on the Edgbaston trips, such anguish only made Kohler-Cadmore's catch all the more enjoyable. Their joy could have been even greater when they defeated Essex, who overtook them in the 2019 championship and even the 2020 Bob Willis Cup.
Somerset's first explosion was led by Graham Smith, a renowned South African test captain. This encore could be partly attributed to the captaincy, which was just as remarkable. Defending an average score of 145 against Essex, Lewis Gregory realized – as in the semi-final against Surrey – the need to take wickets with a new ball.
Undeterred that the Essex had gone 27 unbeaten in the first two overs, Gregory continued to trust Craig Overton and Matt Henry, his all-star rookie pair. His reward was that Henry turned the game into seven balls. First, Henry was indebted to Casey Aldridge's excellent catch from cover. He then had only his own brilliance to thank: a magnificent leg cutter uprooted Michael Pepper's stump, and then a serve that darted the other way after Dan Lawrence was caught in a trap. In wet conditions, Henry has adopted an approach that has made him a formidable new bowler in Test cricket for New Zealand.
What a bust 🙌
Seriously impressive bowling by Matt Henry 🔥#Blast23 #FinalsDay pic.twitter.com/aTQkrNnOu6
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) 15 July 2023
Somerset wins Vitality Blast for the first time in 18 years 👏
See highlights of their #FinalsDay victory over Essex 👇#Blast23 @SomersetCCC
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) July 15, 2023
When Henry , this time in the middle, jumped to catch a Robin Das loft drive at Overton, Essex was 44 of 4 after 4.4 overs: a number like a curse. Only this time it wasn't aimed at Somerset.
Essex's rebuilding, largely thanks to Australian Daniel Sams, saw Gregory get more creative. Despite a tempting leg-side border, Gregory trusted spinner Ish Sodhi against southpaw Paul Walter. The batsman properly deployed a heavy swing; Sodi was too fast for him. Showing the eternal value of wrist rotation – especially when it's faster and turns the ball both ways – in T20, Sodhi then served Shane Snaiter and Aaron Beard cleanly. So Sams was faced with having to design 29 runs for the final wicket in 2.4 overs; he landed 12 of them with two strikes before Henry fell to Kohler-Cadmore in the final over.
Nature of the Explosion: Each side played 14 group games and then had to win three knockout matches, meaning the best the team doesn't always win. However, this is clearly not an accusation that can be leveled at the 2023 champions. Somerset won a remarkable 15 out of 17 games in the tournament; Essex, by contrast, won only 10 out of 17.
“Everyone thinks Somerset is almost a man, it gets harder every time you come back,” Gregory said, highlighting the team's aggression on the pitch. “We've knocked teams out 70% of the time and it's useless.”
No team has taken more wickets in any T20 season than Somerset this year: 151 in 17 games. The tally includes 39 – almost 2.5 wickets per game – in the first six overs, with Overton and Henry typically scoring at least five of them between themselves.
Much of their success has been backed by Tom Banton, Will Smead and Kohler-Cadmore, their top three. However, after missing 20 points in the final and slightly better in the semi-final against Surrey, Somerset had to find another way to win. Sean Dixon, in his first season at Somerset since moving from Durham, added 53 points to his undefeated 30 in the semi-finals. At the wicket, which had been slowed down by the downpour, Dixon found the pace of the field and the right pace for the game. , like no other: only two other men passed 30 in the whole day.
The result was a spectacle that didn't always answer broader questions about how the T20 Blast fits into the busy cricket calendar. However, Blast's features, with Finals Day being one of them, are an important part of its appeal.
Because it vies for a role on the T20 leagues smorgasbord, competing in the summer months with Major League Cricket, and carried over to at the start of the 100 season, the very fact that the Blast is not a franchise competition but consists of clubs that play all three formats of the game is at the heart of the tournament. Somerset's joy testified to this. And so while the original T20 competition has never been tighter, its personality has also never been more distinct.
Given their recent history and continued production of high quality cricketers, Somerset's triumph will be popular. England fans in need of Ash's support may also remember what else happened last summer when Somerset won the T20 Blast.
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