Somerset v Gloucestershire. 23rd July. Vitality Blast 2023. Taunton.

This was a match which swung both ways and built an exceptional atmosphere. Batting first, Gloucestershire were reduced to 9 for 3 before recovering to 186 for 8. In pursuit of 187 Somerset found themselves 112 for 5, needing a further 75 to win in less than eight overs. From there Ben Green and Kasey Aldridge took them closer but when Green was out for 37 from 25 balls they still needed 27 from 17 balls. They briefly fell further behind before Craig Overton struck 17 from eight balls to get them into a winning position and Aldridge (32 from 20 balls) calmly saw them through the final three balls to an unlikely victory. There is no report on the match, but the atmosphere and crowd scenes were exceptional and reflected the closeness and drama of the match. The paragraph below tries to capture those scenes.

Another case of the will to win generating the means to win. An exceptional innings from Smeed. A fighting one when it was needed from Green. When Green went, Aldridge calmly kept us in the hunt. And the way in which Overton walked to the wicket seemed to remove any doubt. The crowd was behind the team all the way. The noise, applause and cheering built and built, layer on layer, as Green, Aldridge and Overton took Somerset closer and reached a deafening crescendo in response to Overton lifting his arms to rouse the crowd still further as Aldridge faced the final over and calmly picked the places for his shots. By then every part of every stand looked like it had come alive as arms waved and applauded or shook ‘four’ and ‘six’ cards from one end of the ground to the other. And all the while the tension gripped like a vice. As people left they were looking each other in the eye, speechless and shaking their heads in disbelief at how Somerset had won yet another match that had looked to be gone for some time before the end. I have been watching such comebacks since 1958. I should be used to it. I am not.

Result. Gloucestershire 186 for 8 (20 overs). Somerset 187 for 6 (19.3 overs). Somerset 2 points. Gloucestershire 0 points.