Vitality Blast Preview: Kent Spitfires v Somerset

Vitality Blast Preview: Kent Spitfires v Somerset

THE MATCH

Somerset travel to the Spitfire Ground, Canterbury tomorrow (June 7th) to take on Kent Spitfires in the Vitality Blast.

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HOW CAN I KEEP UP TO DATE?

You can keep up to date with a live blog via our dedicated Match Centre and also on our X feed.

MATCH CENTRE

A live stream will be available courtesy of Kent CCC. However, there will be a charge for this service.

LIVE STREAM INFORMATION

In addition to this, a report on the day’s play along with quotes will be posted on this website.

THE OPPOSITION

Captain: Sam Billings
Overseas players: Xavier Bartlett (Australia), Wes Agar (Australia), Charlie Stobo (Australia), Beyers Swanepoel (South Africa)
Finals Day appearances: Four (2007, 2008, 2009, 2021)
Titles: Two (2007, 2021)
2023 finish: Fifth (South Group)
2023 leading run-scorer: Daniel Bell-Drummond (600)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Grant Stewart (24)

Key winter moves: Jordan Cox may have defected to Essex, but Matt Parkinson’s arrival from Lancashire provides the frontline spin option that George Linde conspicuously didn’t last year. The overseas players will be rotated, with Bartlett limited to eight appearances and Swanepoel expected to provide some lower-order pyrotechnics.

The big question: Will the rotation policy actually work? At the very least it has to be an improvement on the negligible contributions provided by Linde and an injured Kane Richardson last season. The Spitfires’ form improved significantly after Agar was drafted in from the red-ball squad.

Wildcard watch: The obvious choice is Jack Leaning, but Grant Stewart and Joey Evison can also bat and bowl, as can Joe Denly. A real wildcard choice as a specialist spinner would be Parkinson. He has 139 Blast wickets at 18.96 and has significantly improved his batting over the winter.

Final thought: The Blast brings first-class sport to an area 50 miles from the nearest Premier League football and rugby grounds, and 55 from the nearest franchise. The Spitfire Ground is a sold-out bearpit on Blast nights and the Spitfires are a genuine title chance.

TEAM NEWS

Josh Davey is unavailable due to illness and Riley Meredith is being rested. Jack Leach and Sonny Baker have been added to the squad.

Somerset have named the following squad for this fixture: Lewis Gregory, Will Smeed, Tom Banton, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Abell, Sean Dickson, Tom Lammonby, Roelof van der Merwe, Ben Green, Craig Overton, Jack Leach, Jake Ball and Sonny Baker

VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM

Ahead of the match, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “We need to put in a better performance than we did on Sunday. We started the campaign brilliantly against Essex, so it was disappointing not to replicate that against Surrey. We need to bounce back. We’ve practiced brilliantly this week and the lads are still in really good spirits.

“We’ve had some great games against Kent over the years in T20 cricket and we need to go there and bring our A game. We need to focus on what we’ve done well over a long period of time in this format. A defeat can act as a good kick up the backside, and this week everyone turned up and practiced really well and we’re clear on what we’re looking to do come Friday.

“We’ve made a couple of changes to the squad for this game. We’re going to rest Riley. He’s come in and bowled at the speed of light for us, but it’s important that we look after him because we’ve got a lot of games coming up in a short space of time. Josh Davey is also unavailable through illness, so Sonny Baker comes into the squad after some impressive performances for the Second XI. Jack Leach is included so that we have the option to play two spinners if necessary.”

CLASSIC MATCH

Somerset made it four wins in a row to maintain top spot in the South Group of the 2023 Vitality Blast with victory under lights at Canterbury last summer.

It was certainly a game to remember for Ben Green!