Somerset stun Surrey again to win first T20 semi

When Somerset slumped to 7-3, it was left to James Rew and Sean Dickson to put on the after-burners

Vitality Blast Finals Day, Edgbaston - First semi-final

Surrey 153-9: Sibley 48; Gregory 3-15, Davey 3-34

Somerset 159-4: Dickson 78, Rew 62*; Worrall 2-15

Somerset win by six wickets

Scorecard

Somerset produced one of the great T20 Finals Day comebacks as they recovered from 7-3 to beat Surrey in comfort by six wickets and reach their third final in four years.

Just two days after Somerset beat Surrey in dramatic style in the County Championship, it looked like the Brown Caps might get their revenge.

Defending a total of 153-9, Surrey quickly took the wickets of Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Abell and Will Smeed in the space of just 13 balls.

But James Rew and Sean Dickson both hit half-centuries as they posted a highest-ever Finals Day partnership of 144 for the fourth wicket to see their side to a record seventh final with eight balls to spare.

The Cider Boys have only won two of their previous six finals - in 2005 against Lancashire at The Oval, and then again at Edgbaston 14 months ago, when they also beat Surrey en route to overcoming Essex.

They will become the first county to defend the T20 title if they can now also go on to beat the winners of the second semi-final between Sussex and Gloucestershire.

After being put into bat, Dan Lawrence made a blistering start for the south London side, hitting three fours as he raced to 19 off 10 balls - but then he went for one big shot too many off his 11th and hoisted a skier to Abell off Josh Davey.

Two more of Surrey's England contingent, Ollie Pope and Dom Sibley, who hit the first six of the match, then added 43 in four and a half overs before two wickets went down in as many balls.

Gregory bowled both stand-in England Test captain Pope and England Test keeper Jamie Smith - and was then involved again when he ran out Rory Burns.

Gregory took his third wicket when Sibley lofted a catch to the deep mid-wicket boundary on 48, before Jake Ball got in on the act when he bowled Tom Curran.

But it was left to Laurie Evans - the only non-England international in Surrey's top eight - to bludgeon a few late blows, including the only other six of the innings, to see his side past the 150 mark.

After not playing any T20 cricket in four years until this summer, Dom Sibley has now hit 67 and 48 in his last two innings

Somerset got off to a nightmare start in reply when they lost Kohler-Cadmore first ball to Dan Worrall.

It then got worse in the next over when Curran got rid of Abell before Worrall made it 7-3 four balls later, when he had opener Smeed caught behind.

But 20-year-old Rew, only playing because of the cruel midweek ankle injury to quarter-final match-winner Tom Banton, was having none of that - as he came together with Dickson to forge a fabulous partnership.

Dickson hit three sixes and eight fours in his 78, his highest score in T20 cricket, before holing out just before the end, while Rew stayed to see it across the line on 62 not out as Gregory finished it all off with a six over third man.

'One of the best partnerships I've seen'

Somerset fast bowler Josh Davey:

“What a partnership that was between Sean and James. There was definitely a few of us wondering of it might be a recurrence of what happened to us in the 2021 final but that partnership was one of the best I’ve ever seen.

"Playing under that kind of pressure on Finals Day, and for Rewy on his Finals day debut to put in a performance like that it shows the talent that he has.

“It definitely felt like a new-ball pitch. Dan Worrall managed to swing the ball, which is one of the best assets you can have in the powerplay, but as the ball became softer it became harder to score and we bowled brilliantly through the middle part of their innings to haul them back.

“When Lewis Gregory got their two England boys out it completely changed the momentum of the game."

Surrey skipper Chris Jordan:

“We would have bowled first on that pitch as well but we got off to a pretty good start with the bat and, with the wicket being a little bit tacky we felt it was a score we would have taken if you’d offered it to us.

“The way the boys started in the powerplay, to knock over three of their key players, we were in a good position but you have to give credit to Dickson especially. It would have been easy to come out and rebuild in a more conventional fashion but he took a punt and it came off.

"After that it was tough to stop them. In between boundaries, he was rotating the strike really well. The way they played the spin made it tough for me in particular.

“I don’t want to make any excuses because we had players missing. Any eleven that we put out as a club we would back 100% and I fully trusted the players that we put out. It has been a tough week but that’s part of cricket.”