T20 Blast: Somerset race to victory against Glamorgan

England wicket-keeper batsman Tom Banton is due to play for Welsh Fire in the Hundred

Somerset raced to a four-wicket victory over Glamorgan as they chased down a modest target of 154 in just 14.5 overs.

Tom Banton, the England wicket-keeper/batter top-scored with 54 as he demolished the visitors' attack.

It was Somerset's third victory in three to go top of the South Group after two opening wins.

Glamorgan fell away badly to 153 all out with Roelof van der Merwe taking 3-24.

They had made a bright start, Eddie Byrom top scoring with 42 against his old side.

Byrom's runs came off just 28 balls as he hit effectively in a 50-run stand for the second wicket with Kiran Carlson (31).

But from 71-1, wickets fell regularly as veteran spinner Van Der Merwe squeezed the run-rate and prevented thoughts of a competitive total.

Chris Cooke and Billy Root made 18 apiece, but Glamorgan kept hitting the ball down the throats of deep fielders with Tom Abell and Craig Overton taking three catches apiece.

Lewis Gregory (2-24) and Peter Siddle (2-29) helped accelerate the slide as Glamorgan lost nine wickets between the ninth and 20th overs.

Carlson tried an unorthodox gambit of opening the bowling himself, but Banton and Will Smeed (28) smashed their way to 69 for the first wicket inside the six power-play overs.

Banton's 54 came off just 28 balls, including nine fours and a six.

It was an unhappy debut for Australian spinner Peter Hatzoglou, who made 15, but was hit for 23 off his first over and 50 in his spell.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore (19) kept the momentum going before holing out off Ruaidhri Smith, while Dan Douthwaite (3-26) got a couple of wickets to peg back the Somerset charge.

Captain Abell made 22 before becoming the first player to be bowled on the night, Smith (2-34) the man to strike the stumps.

But Glamorgan's fightback came too late to salvage more than pride.

The match was decided by Somerset's fine performance in the second half of the Welsh innings, followed by their own flying start.

Meanwhile Glamorgan all-rounder Michael Neser has not been included in the official Australian 15-man squad to face India in the World Test Championship final after taking part in training, though his availability for Glamorgan remains to be seen.

Somerset's Tom Banton said:

"I've not been around the boys for the first six or seven weeks but it's awesome to be back and there's a great buzz around the group at the moment.

"It's great batting with Will at the top of the order, he's one of my best mates, he doesn't say much but it's good fun.

"Everything is coming according to plan at the moment, but I'm sure there's going to be circumstances when it doesn't and it's about adapting to that.

"The main message is, let's not get bored of winning, we're on a roll and let's continue it."

Glamorgan coach Mark Alleyne told BBC Sport Wales:

"We had a really good start in the power-play with some nice choices by the top order, Ed Byrom and Kiran, but our execution wasn't on point for the second half and we fell a bit short with lots of boundary catches.

"Banton and Smeed are here to get them off to a flyer, we tried to counter that with a slightly different shape. Dan came in and bowled well, Jamie McIlroy also did quite well and I thought Ruaidhri Smith was unlucky too, we had to try everything but it was a below-par (Glamorgan) score.

"We've got to be smarter through that latter middle phase of our innings and accelerate with as little risk as possible which is the jeopardy of T20 cricket.

"But this game is high-risk at times and my job is to keep the guys trusting their skills and keep practising the execution.

"(Opening bowler) Timm van der Gugten woke up a bit sore after the Bristol game, and with so much cricket we aren't in a position to risk it, so it was a precaution (leaving him out)."