Somerset overpower Essex to reach Blast quarter-finals

Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored a century against Nottinghamshire in the County Championship last week

Tom Kohler-Cadmore smashed a brilliant half century to propel Somerset to a convincing 95-run victory over Essex Eagles and guarantee the runaway South Group leaders a place in the T20 Blast quarter-finals.

In scintillating form beneath the Taunton floodlights, the 30-year-old right hander played a breathtaking innings of 90 from just 39 balls, striking eight fours and seven sixes and dominating stands of 88 and 55 with Will Smeed and Tom Abell.

Somerset ran up an imposing 225-6 and, amid the carnage, Mohammad Amir emerged as the only Essex bowler to escape punishment, the Pakistan left-armer returning stand-out figures of 3-22 from four overs.

Undermined by overseas bowlers Matt Henry and Riley Meredith, who claimed 4-21 and 2-22 respectively, the Essex chase came up well short as the visitors were dismissed for 130 in 14.1 overs, Noah Thain top-scoring with 38.

The victory moved Somerset 12 points clear of nearest rivals Surrey, while Essex remain rooted to the foot of the table after a ninth defeat in 11 games.

Tom Banton looked as though he meant business, plundering three boundaries at the expense of debutant Charlie Bennett to move to 15 in quick time, only to then chip Amir to mid-on in the third over as Somerset lost their first wicket with 21 on the board.

There was no loss of momentum though, with Kohler-Cadmore and Smeed taking 16 off the next over, sent down by Thain, while Bennett again proved expensive when switching to the River End and Paul Walter conceded 19 off the sixth as Somerset raced to 67-1 by the end of the powerplay.

Essex turned to spin in an attempt to stem the flow, but Kohler-Cadmore struck a brace of sixes off successive deliveries from Matt Critchley and hit Luc Benkenstein straight for another to raise a blistering 24-ball half century in the grand manner.

The visitors did little to help themselves, Bennett dropping Smeed on 20 at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Critchley.

Smeed had contributed 32 to a stand of 88 from 44 balls when he hit Benkenstein to long-off as the home side reached halfway on 114-2.

There was no let-up in the scoring rate, Kohler-Cadmore applying further pressure by hoisting Benkenstein for a towering six over long-off as the Essex bowling wilted in the face of heavy firepower.

Kohler-Cadmore was within 10 runs of what would have been a magnificent hundred when a loss of concentration saw him hit Simon Harmer high to long-off to afford Essex overdue relief.

Critchley removed Abell for 20, but there was precious little breathing space for the visitors, Sean Dickson and Lewis Gregory picking up the cudgels in a stand of 28 from 12 balls.

Required to score at 12.5 an over, Essex made a decent enough start, Walter taking Craig Overton for a six and two fours in a first over that yielded 15 runs.

But Meredith redressed the balance, clean bowling Michael Pepper with 28 on the board in the third.

Somerset struck another blow in the next over, Ben Green taking a startling diving catch at long-on to send back Jordan Cox and give Henry a wicket on his final appearance before returning to New Zealand, while Meredith accounted for Charlie Allison.

Henry then struck twice in three balls, removing Walter for 24 and Benkenstein without scoring to reduce Essex to 48-5, their prospects of pulling off an unlikely victory in tatters before the powerplay had even ended.

Critchley was run out by Abell's direct hit and Lewis Goldsworthy had Robin Das held on the deep mid-wicket boundary with the score 81-7.

Only Thain attempted to carry the fight to Somerset, crashing a four and four sixes in a defiant 17-ball innings of 38, but his dismissal - caught by Henry at long-on off the bowling of Overton - signalled the end of meaningful Essex resistance.

Report by ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay

Somerset batsman Tom Kohler-Cadmore:

"That was a real team performance and a great win for us. We had partnerships all the way down and then did really well with the ball and produced a nice fielding display.

The groundsmen produce absolutely belting pitches here week in and week out. I'm lucky to be able to bat on these surfaces and the wind helped me as well in this game.

"Will Smeed has taken his game to a different level this year and the partnership we put together was a really important one. He puts the bowlers under so much pressure when he's on strike, that it seems like they're giving me easier balls. H

"You look to bring in world class overseas stars and Matt Henry and Riley Meredith have raised standards this season. They add a lot both on and off the pitch and their experience has helped us win so many games."

Essex skipper Simon Harmer:

"That's the story of our season - we just weren't able to put together the performance we wanted to. We produced some of the best fielding I've seen against Surrey in the last match, but were pretty dismal today.

"The only way you stop teams like Somerset from building momentum is to take wickets, but it makes it even more difficult when you're not taking your catches.

"When your chasing a total of more than 200, you have to go for it from the off. Matt Henry and Riley Meredith are class players and they made it very difficult for us to do that.

"We've tried several different combinations at the top of the order this season, but none of them have really worked for us. I was happy with the way the boys further down the order kept going, but this was not our day."

Wednesday T20 Blast fixtures

North Group

Edgbaston: Bears v Lancashire Lightning (19:00 BST start)

South Group

Northwood: Middlesex v Hampshire Hawks (17:00 BST)

Bristol: Gloucestershire v Surrey (19:00 BST)

Hove: Sussex Sharks v Kent Spitfires (19:00 BST)