Vitality Blast Preview: Northants Steelbacks v Somerset
THE MATCH
Somerset take on Northants Steelbacks at the cinch County Ground, Northampton in the Vitality Blast tomorrow.
This match is part of a double header.
Tickets for this match are still available:
Somerset are currently sixth in the Central & West Group with 12 points from eight Blast matches whilst Northants Steelbacks are top of the table with 32 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 Northamptonshire 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 David Willey
Overseas players:Â Chris Lynn (Australia, all), Nathan McSweeney (Australia, all)
Finals Day appearances:Â Five (2009, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2025)
Titles:Â Two (2013, 2016)
2025 finish:Â Semi-finals
2025Â leading run-scorer:Â Ravi Bopara (462)
2025Â leading wicket-taker:Â Ben Sanderson & George Scrimshaw (26)
Key winter moves: Northamptonshire are glad to have big-hitting Australian opener Chris Lynn back for a third season at Wantage Road after his match-winning century for Hampshire in last season’s semi-final ended the Steelbacks’ cup dreams. Northamptonshire will miss Ravi Bopara following his retirement, but welcome Big Bash-winning captain Nathan McSweeney who has been scoring heavily in the Championship.
The big question: David Willey has proved an inspirational leader, taking the Steelbacks to a quarter-final and a semi-final in his first two years in charge. Last season’s campaign began with a run of six victories before the Steelbacks stuttered in the second half of the group stages before rallying. Can the Steelbacks learn from that and maintain any early momentum?
Wildcard watch: Opener Ricardo Vasconcelos has returned to his best and is striking the ball hard, but few would bet against Ben Sanderson staking a claim again after his Hundred wildcard pick-up last year. The 37-year-old seamer is among county cricket’s leading wicket-takers in the Championship with four five-wicket hauls to his name and proving as effective as ever.
Final thought: Chris Lynn brings added firepower at the top of the order, while Willey will also be able to draw on McSweeney’s experience, as he looks to guide the Steelbacks to a second consecutive Finals Day appearance under charismatic head coach Darren Lehmann. Sanderson’s accuracy and Scrimshaw’s pace will again prove pivotal. Northamptonshire hope all-rounder Justin Broad, appointed vice-captain for the Blast, recovers from the back injury that ruled him out of the start of the season.
TEAM NEWS
Somerset are without Tom Abell (hand), Lewis Gregory (hamstring), Migael Pretorius (pectoral) and Tom Banton (international duty).
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’re at that point where every game’s a cup final. That slim chance that we’ve still got to qualify for the quarterfinals means that we need to win every game that’s in front of us.
We’re coming into the game off a poor performance at Worcestershire, so we need to make sure that we put in a really strong performance at the weekend. We had some strong conversations after the game, which, again, is testament to the character that’s in the dressing room but ultimately, we’ve got to improve performance significantly.
Despite people being away and having injuries, there’s been great opportunity for guys to cement places and to showcase their skills and what they can do within the environment.
There’s a huge amount for us still to play for but ultimately, we need to put some pride back in the performance and demonstrate what we can do.
CLASSIC MATCH
We head back to 2009 for the classic T20 match between the two sides at Northampton.
It was a game that Somerset won by 30 runs thanks to standout performances from Zander de Bruyn and Charl Willoughby.
After winning the toss, Somerset Captain, Justin Langer elected to bat first but the visitors lost Marcus Trescothick in the second over.
That brought de Bruyn to the crease and he shared a second wicket stand of 42 with Craig Kieswetter and 44-run partnership for the third wicket with James Hildreth as Somerset fought back strongly from that early setback.
De Bruyn went on to make a career-best 83 not out from just 52 balls as his 74-run fourth wicket stand with Peter Trego (34*) took the visitors to 163 from their allotted overs.
The Northants reply was limited to 133 for nine from their 20 overs as Willoughby claimed his best T20 figures of four for 29 as the visitors sealed a comfortable victory.
TRADE NATION STAT
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
If you are planning to attend the match, all the information you need can be found on the official Northamptonshire CCC Website.
NEXT MATCH
Somerset are next in action on Wednesday July 8th when we take on the Derbyshire Falcons at the Central Co-Op County Ground, Derby.
This match is part of a double header.
Tickets for this match are available now:
