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Vitality Blast Preview: Somerset v Kent Spitfires
THE MATCH
Somerset welcome Kent Spitfires to the Cooper Associates County Ground in the Vitality Blast tomorrow (Friday June 14th).
Gates open at 4:30pm with play due to start at 6:30pm.
A limited number of tickets for this match are still available.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Bag searches will be in operation and spectators are reminded that no glass or sharp implements will be permitted within the Cooper Associates County Ground.
For full Ground Regulations please visit the link below:
Members and supporters are not permitted to bring alcohol into Vitality Blast fixtures.
Ticket buyers can download their online tickets via their SCCC account.
All ticket or Membership collections and enquiries will be at the Jack White Gates (St James Street).
Please note that due to the location of the match pitch, a number of seats within the Lord Botham Stand and Marcus Trescothick Pavilion (Lower) have been relocated. Those affected by this have been emailed, and updated tickets will appear in the ticketing app or within the online account depending on the selected preferences.
The Club Enquiries Desk will be based in the Reception of the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion and not in the Andrew Caddick Pavilion on matchdays.
Due to the busy nature of a matchday, our telephone lines will reopen at 10am on Monday June 10th.
Information on everything that you will need for a matchday at SCCC, including how to download your e-tickets and how to use the SCCC Ticket App can all be found in our Visiting Guide.
Scorecards will be available from Reception in the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion. Completed scorecards can now be downloaded after the match via the Membership section of this website.
FAN VILLAGE & CATERING
We will once again be hosting our fan village in the St James Street side of the Cooper Associates County Ground.
The fan village will once again feature a wide range of food and drink plus live music before the match, during the interval and after the match.
Matchday food and drink will be available from the SCCC concessions and bars around the ground.
There will be £1 off drinks and hot food from SCCC-owned concessions between 4:30pm and 5:30pm.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP TO DATE?
Our live stream will once again be available for fans to watch via this website and at our YouTube channel.
You can also keep up to date using our dedicated matchday blog via this website’s Match Centre and on our X feed.
In association with Vertu Motors, Somerset County Cricket Club will be providing radio ear pieces to enable Members and supporters to enjoy our live ball-by-ball match commentary. These will be available to purchase from Reception in the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion at a cost of £12 and these will last all season.
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
Jake Ball returns to the squad for this match.
Somerset have named the following squad for this fixture: Lewis Gregory, Will Smeed, Tom Banton, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Abell, Sean Dickson, Roelof van der Merwe, Ben Green, Craig Overton, Kasey Aldridge, Josh Davey, Riley Meredith and Jake Ball.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the match, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “We’re playing some really good cricket and confidence is high. I thought we played well against Kent at Canterbury and were unfortunate not to get a result. Hopefully, it will be another entertaining game but with a different result this time.
“We’ve got two home games back to back now. The two games we’ve played at the Cooper Associates County Ground so far have been spectacular. I’ve said many times before that we are very fortunate to play in front of the crowds that we get here, so hopefully tomorrow night will be another great occasion.
“It’s a long competition and the thing that matters most is the game that’s in front of you. It’s important that we maintain the standard of cricket that we’ve been playing and continue to deliver our skills.”
TRADE NATION STATS
THE COOPER ASSOCIATES KEY PLAYER MATCH UP
CLASSIC MATCH
The two sides have been involved in some titanic battles in T20 cricket over the years.
Today’s classic match sees us travel back to last season’s clash at Taunton, where Somerset came out on top by 15 runs!
MATCH SPONSOR – WOLLENS
One of Somerset County Cricket Club’s Preferred Legal Partners, Wollens have strong links to the region and are one of the largest independent law firms in the South West, employing over 160 people with exceptional specialists across private client matters as well as company and commercial law.
With offices across Devon, the award-winning and carbon-neutral organisation has teams who specialise in their field of law, and with a mantra of ‘Full Spectrum Law’ they are able to offer a comprehensive and full array of legal services, including a Sports Law Division.
THE VERTU MOTORS CROWD CATCH!
In partnership with Vertu Motors, we have launched a new competition for the 2024 Vitality Blast season.
As well as enjoying the spectacular action of this season’s Blast, you can be a part of it with the Vertu Motors Crowd Catch!
If you take a clean catch in the crowd during any of our Home Vitality Blast matches, you will win hospitality for two to our Metro Bank One Day Cup match against Kent Spitfires at the Cooper Associates County Ground on Friday July 26th.
In order to qualify for the prize, the official in-play match ball must be caught by the winner straight from the air without having touched any object or person before being caught by the winner. Evidence of identity, ticket and age may be required.
NEXT MATCH
Our next match is on Sunday June 16th when we take on Glamorgan in the Vitality Blast at The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.
Tickets for this match are still available.
Following the Vitality Blast clash between Somerset and Glamorgan, we will be screening England’s Euro 2024 match against Serbia in the fan village.
Tickets for the screening of the football cost just £5 and that includes a free drink!
Tickets for the Somerset v Glamorgan match will NOT give you access to the England screening. Tickets for the football must be bought separately.
