Blast Number 14 Last Hurrah with the Welsh
By Gockle
July 19 2024
The last game of the league section of the Blast 2024. Somerset have qualified for the Quarter Finals but need to win against Glamorgan in Cardiff to get a home game. The same side starts in the Welsh capital as Riley Meredith plays his last T20 game
Blast Number 14 v Glamorgan @ Sophia Gardens Friday 19 July 2024
The same side starts this final match as beat Sussex and qualified for the Quarters last night. Glamorgan won the toss and have elected to bat first in Riley Meredth's last game for the county (at the moment)
The side is;
Banton, Thomas, TKC, Abell, Dickson, Gregory, Green, Overton, Ball, Meredith, Leach
Craig starts normally to Smale and Carlson and he goes for 7 mostly from an uncharacteristic error on the boundary by Sean Dickson who mistimes a pickup. Riley also takes the regular second Carlson smacks him into the stands for the first six. 23 for 0 after two and the Welsh are off to a decent start. Another boundary error from George Thomas this time ( the second in two games) gives them four more than they would have got and they add 10 for the third.
Ball starts his evening account with the fourth and is tighter going for just 6. A decent crowd for Cardiff at the start of the school holidays as Glamorgan move into the 40s with the third Overton over. Runs are coming quite easily at the moment and there is little pressure from the top three Somerset bowlers presently. Smale has also started to smack the ball about as he hits a six to take the Welsh over 50 halfway through the 5th over. Looking like a BIG score.
15 from the 5th and 54 for 0 is a good start with one over left in the Powerplay which will be bowled by Jake Ball. After 36 balls the field moves out and Glamorgan have more than 10 an over at 66 without loss Carlson has 41 from 21 and Samle has 24 from his 15. That home QF is looking very far away at the moment.
Gregory comes on for the 7th to try and stem the flow of runs from a rate of 11. He does that in first half but a deft four from Carlson spoils it a little plus another two brings the score to 75 for 0 after 7. Down a little but still going at over 10.
On comes Jack Leach to try and start a 'Press'... this may be more difficult than last night. Smale is sweeping ball one and Carlson goes to 50 off 28 with 7 fours and 1 six. Leachy goes for four to take the score to 79 for no loss. Enter 'Golden Arm from last night Ben Green (Player of the Night) he cant possibly do it twice in two days... can he?
Carlson puts one away in the second half of the over for four and then goes straight for four more next ball. He finishes with 3 in a row and Glamorgan are still going at 10 an over with 93 in 9. This is a 200 score on the predictors and nothing presently attempted seems to be stopping them.
Leach is a hope of putting some kind of brake on this. But Carlson is unimpressed as he brings up the 100 with a six (second boundary of the over. He sixes the spinner next ball as well to go to 75 off 35 with 110 before the end of the 10th. Halfway sees the home side on 113 with Jack going for 20.
This brings Meredith back to try and stem this scoring rate. However Carlson is not going to be denied with another boundaryfrom his first followed by a top edged six ball 2. Less than a 50 ball hundred is really on for the Glamorgan skipper tonight. Riley finally gets a decent ball past the bat but the damage may already have been done and the bat does not get a tickle. It's all gone pear shaped in the first half of this innings as the score moves to 124.
Gregory returns for the 12th with the rate still at 11 an over. Smale is being left behind but all he has to do is get Carlson on strike to be honest as he is seeing everything like a football. He moves to 98 from 46 with another massive six and he goes to the hundred from 47 balls with 11 fours and 5 sixes taking his side to 136 for no loss. Another four takes them to 40 from the 12th and we seem to have no real idea how to cope with this.
Meredith is still flying in for his third and he is showing some serious wheels (which is to his credit with so little in the game for him to be honest. He ties the batting pair down until Sale ramps him for six in the middle of his over. He comes back at them and keeps them under 150at the end of the 13th (149 for 0)
This is not looking good but I now have to leave this as I'm double booked as Smale send Green way back into the stands to take it over 150 and move himself to 48 off 30. The next ball gives another boundary to move himm to 52 from 31 at 159 from 13.2.
We will do damn well to get anywhere near this... well over 200 one would imagine. Enjoy everyone... I'll assess the damage a little later on. Finger crossed it is not as horrendous as it presently suggests it will be.
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:07:20:17:11:59 by Grockle.
Riley apart, this has been an embarrassment so far.
Squad: Carlson (c), Bevan, Cooke, Crane, Douthwaite, Gorvin, Ingram, Hurle, Kellaway, Labuschagne, McIlroy, Smale, van der Gugten and Morris.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024:07:19:12:28:49 by Grockle.
Banton, Thomas, TKC, Abell, Dickson, Gregory, Green, Overton, Meredith, Ball, Pretorius, RvdM, Leach, Rew
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:07:19:18:55:21 by Grockle.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:07:19:19:01:42 by Grockle.
169 off 14 overs? Something a long way past 200 I think people.
Summary at present, we aren't winning this one šš Seems we have a bit of a 'hangover' from yesterday and aren't up.for this one.
Edit - Essex lost so in the end the run rate part didn't matter. Assuming 3rd South plays 2nd North then we're away at Lancs - IF Essex had won well enough to go above us then we would have been away at Birm/Warks
Second Edit - apologies we're away at Northants - the BBC hadn't updated the table after they (Northants) beat Lancs tonight
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024:07:19:22:07:44 by Rod1883.
Mr Hyde made an unwelcome return this evening. A big disappointment for the Club re the potential income from a home 1/4 final.
A great shame. Feel we let ourselves down tbh.
Grizzers
Let's hope we've all long forgotten this evening by then.
Grizzers
We chose not to employ the services of a second overseas player this campaign.
We had one bad night out of 14 games.
Won 8.
With a split of 6/7 at home, and 2/6 away (1 rained)
Yet 10 teams are still less happy than us this morning having not qualified.
Getting Northants by losing rather than Lancs if we had won feels like we have had a little win to me.
Yes we are away but Lancs with Butter Salt Livingstone potentially feels more scary to me.....
Just need to wait 34 days now until we get to watch our "first" team play again!!!
I do feel we have done well in the Blast (which I generally donāt care much about) this year despite the line-ups weāve put out and some of the batting / bowling decisions (yes Green takes wickets but at what cost; Ball ahead of Pretorius; no Lammonby at all; etc).
But seriously, what happened last night? That was so out of character - were they all impostors, or did they party too hard Thursday night, or were they straight off the bus?
Still, we're through to the knock-out stage and it's all in our hands, so I'll be positive about it.
Sometimes, in spite of one's best intentions, things just go pear-shaped.
Have a good weekend, Somerset fans!
[www.espncricinfo.com]
This game - and we all remember how this campaign ended...
Fascinating aspects about the successful Somerset side, too. Star man was the hugely under-rated Keith Parsons - 3 or 24, and batting in the vital final over with 38 not out. And the second most economic bowler, one James Hildreth with four overs for 24 runs. Did he ever bowl his right-arm medium pace so well again?
That said, there are definitely a few alarm bells about our bowling which have been there all season. Meredith has been decent but is no Henry, Craig hasnāt looked the same without Matt at the other end, RVD has lost his edge, Greener has been rumbled, Jack appears to be fodder - a real worry that he didnāt get one ball to deviate even a fraction on that wicket. Only Ball has met my expectations and the absence of Pretorios despite his presence at every game is mystifying
It seems he's about and will play if asked or will go on jaunts around the country if not... it's very strange. But no one can give us any real definitive answer.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:07:20:16:04:53 by Cleavo87.