Vitality Blast Preview: Gloucestershire v Somerset
THE MATCH
Somerset travel up the M5 to take on local rivals Gloucestershire in the Vitality Blast at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol today.
Tickets for this match are still available:
Somerset are currently 4th in the Central & West Group with eight points from four matches whilst Gloucestershire are second with 12 points from the same number of fixtures
HOW CAN I KEEP UP TO DATE?
You can keep up to date using the dedicated Match Centre on this website.
There will be a live stream of this match provided by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.
In-play updates will also appear on our X feed (formerly Twitter).
In addition to this, a report on the day’s play along with quotes will be posted on this website.
THE OPPOSITION
Captain:Â Jack Taylor
Overseas players: D’Arcy Short (Australia, all), Liam Scott (Australia, five group matches), Cameron Bancroft (Australia, all)
Finals Day appearances:Â Four (2003, 2007, 2020, 2024)
Titles:Â One (2024)
2025 finish: 7th in South Group
2025 leading run-scorer: D’Arcy Short (515)
2025Â leading wicket-taker:Â David Payne (17)
Key winter moves: News that D’Arcy Short would return for the 2026 Blast came as a huge boost after the Australian’s impact on the competition last season. After a slow start, Short scored five half-centuries, with a top score of 83 off just 48 balls against Middlesex at Bristol. His tally of 515 runs was 239 more than Gloucestershire’s next highest scorer.
The big question: How will Gloucestershire’s bowling attack fare following the loss of Josh Shaw, Ajeet Singh Dale and Zaman Akhter to rival counties and the retirement of left-arm spinner Tom Smith, now on the coaching staff? They will also be without overseas signing Liam Scott for the first six group games following his selection for Australia’s ODI tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Wildcard watch:Â Ben Charlesworth. The 25-year-old left-hander, who began the season by announcing his intention to leave Gloucestershire at the end of it, had a disappointing Blast campaign last year, registering eight scores below 20 in 13 innings. But he has the power and talent to mark his last T20 campaign at Bristol with a much better return.
Final thought: Momentum is a powerful force in Blast cricket and Gloucestershire’s last campaign was a perfect illustration. As reigning champions, they made a disastrous start, losing their first five group matches. Four successive victories were then chalked up before hopes of qualifying from the group were dashed by four defeats in the last five games. A good start this season would build confidence and could make the team the force they were in 2024.
TEAM NEWS
Somerset are without Will Smeed (hand), Tom Kohler Cadmore (thumb) and Riley Meredith (international duty). James Rew is also unavailable for selection (England Lions).
A starting XI will be named from the following squad:
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the match, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “We need to bounce back. We need to put in an improved performance because we know that Gloucestershire will be up for it. We need to make sure that mentally and physically we’re ready to go.
“The beauty about the competition is that the fixtures come thick and fast. It’s a local derby and we know what the atmosphere will be like.
“We’ve qualified for the knockout stages in the past after losing the first three games, so it’s certainly not panic stations yet. There are still definitely positives to take. Bants is playing incredibly well and is showing that he’s world-class. Abes has showed his quality and Lewis has been exceptional. Josh Shaw’s last two overs were excellent last night as well, so there’s a lot of good things happening, but we’re not doing it for long enough and we need to try and do that against Gloucestershire.”
TRADE NATION STATS
CLASSIC MATCH
We go back to 2023 for the classic T20 clash between the two sides at Bristol.
It was a match that saw Somerset score our highest ever away total in the format, thanks in no small part to Will Smeed who smashed his way 94 from only 35 deliveries.
Josh Davey, Shoaib Bashir and Roelof van der Merwe also impressed, claiming three wickets each as Somerset eased to an 80-run victory.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
If you are planning to attend the match, all the information you need can be found on the official Gloucestershire CCC Website.
NEXT MATCH
Somerset Men and Women are next in action on Sunday (June 7th) when we take on our Warwickshire Bears counterparts at the Cooper Associates County Ground.
Tickets for this match are available now:
