S Poddar
All it took was Ollie Price hitting the towering six down the ground to seal the match. Before the final, Gloucestershire had been written off as underdogs, yet with a match of sheer excellence in T20, they emerged victorious to claim their first-ever T20 Blast title. Their cricket from start to finish in T20 was a masterclass.
Gloucestershire’s bowlers proved the template for the day. They rebuffed Somerset to two relatively small totals, thus making the chases something of a formality. And it was almost a surprise when, having waited nine years for a new trophy, Gloucestershire won it so comfortably.
Of course, Lewis Gregory of Somerset was a lone bright star, making 53 from 37 balls. His innings was the only real substantial contribution to their total. The team Gloucestershire put out was not too dissimilar from the one that did well under noughties leader Mark Alleyne-now their coach—who showed they might not have massed fire power but excelled in creative bowling and lively fielding. Under the leadership of Jack Taylor, the team reflected unity and spiritedness far higher than the sum of their parts.
The final was just the antidote to any unhappiness with the place of T20 Blast in English cricket. For these West Country rivals, it would be the first time they would clash at the peak of the tournament. Come the last throws of sunlight on this sublime late summer’s day at Edgbaston, the public—the ebullient and in blooming fancy dress—was electric.
Battling it out to win the toss, Taylor has chosen early fielding, a tactic, he discovered, had served in the semi-final. Though, initial breakthroughs were not easy. Tom Kohler-Cadmore hit two massive sixes in the third over and put Gloucestershire on their back foot. Taylor turned to his brother Matt in retaliation. With that, the Englishman’s introduction was instant, as he picked up two quick wickets within one over and Bancroft’s catch in the same over squared the game in Gloucestershire’s favor. Gloucestershire were in control by the end of the powerplay.
Their bowlers continued to pressure and did not let the Somerset score run free. The first delivery by Ollie Price dismissed Sean Dickson for duck, mounting pressure on Tom Abell and Lewis Gregory as they have to rebuild the innings cautiously again. The boundaries dried up, and from the last ball of the third over until the beginning of 14th, it was really tough for Somerset to score freely.
Abell was then pulled out of this attempt to get free, and in walked David Payne, who brought even more misery. The slower balls of Payne accounted for the wickets of Ben Green and Craig Overton, which put Somerset in a tight hole. Roelof van der Merwe soon followed, leaving Somerset eight wickets down with only two balls remaining in their innings.
Then Gregory, with a half-century off 33, was the sole bright spot for Somerset, who lost their final wicket when Jake Ball went two overs too early.
Openers from Gloucestershire went out to bat with confidence and ease, having set a modest target. Somerset’s bowling was unable to exert any impact. Two sixes off Bancroft in the third and fourth overs gave an impression that the result was a formality. Hammond came out to bat, and at the ninth over Gloucestershire was cruising 76 without loss. Chances of Somerset to turn the game around were slipping away.
Though Somerset were able to send back Bancroft and James Bracey, it was an exercise in futility. Gloucestershire had played near-flawless cricket all day long, so they very comfortably finished off their win. It was a performance that said a lot for their skill and cohesion, promising many more successes to come in the future. Today, they celebrated an entirely deserving victory, something their coach and county will look back on for years to come.
