With the British summer coming to an end, there is still one massive event in the cricketing calendar to look forward to. That is of course the Vitality Blast Finals Day, taking place at Edgbaston on Saturday 14th September. For the second year running, all four semi-finalists are South Group teams, Sussex Sharks, Gloucestershire, Surrey and last year’s champions Somerset. The day begins at 11:00 with Surrey vs Somerset, before the Sharks take on Gloucestershire at 14:30, with the main event following at 18:45 to decide the champions. Let’s dive straight into a preview of the first semi-final.
Surrey vs Somerset
2023 Blast victors Somerset finished 3rd in the South Group with 8 wins from their 14 group games, before defeating Northamptonshire Steelbacks in a high scoring quarter final last Thursday. Many of their squad is likely to be the same as the team who tasted glory last year, an experience which will no doubt prove invaluable for the West Country side, not least since they beat the same opposition in the semi-final on that day. Meanwhile, Surrey topped the South Group with 9 wins and a tie from their 14 matches and on Tuesday they comfortably beat Durham in their quarter final. They will be without their England white-ball stars, Sam Curran, Reece Topley, Will Jacks and Jamie Overton, which will no doubt have an impact on the London-based side, but they will be hoping to call on the experience of players such as Laurie Evans and Chris Jordan. It is also possible that they will regain their test match players, most notably Jamie Smith and Ollie Pope, though this is yet to be confirmed. Smith has been an England revelation this year with the red ball and is clearly no slouch in the coloured kits either, recording the highest strike rate of this year tournament to date at 205.03 across his seven innings. Pope, fresh of test captaincy also hit a career best 99* in the group stages and so if either or both of them were available for selection it would provide a huge boost for Surrey. Captain Chris Jordan has something to prove to England selectors after being dropped from both white ball sides and will be hoping to lead his sides attack along with Dan Worrall, Jordan Clark and Tom Curran in what could potentially be an all seam attack.
Players to watch out for in the Somerset side include Tom Banton who is having the season of his life in the longer format and has also hit 4 half centuries already in this years tournament, destructive opening batter Will Smeed, who was his sides star batter last year, he hasn’t been able to recreate his 2023 form yet but Edgbaston would be the perfect place to find it, and Ben Green with the ball, who has proved expensive but has that X factor and is a true wicket taker.
The two sides have already faced off twice in this format in 2024 with victories shared between them. At the Oval it was Jamie Smith who took the game away from the visitors with 87 off 38 balls as his side posted 163 before Tom Curran and Sean Abbott took 3 wickets apiece to bowl Surrey to a 57 run victory. At Taunton, it was a far different outcome as Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s 51 helped the hosts chase 182 with an over to spare, after half centuries from Rory Burns and Sam Curran had set up a difficult chase. As for the sides finals day records, Surrey won the first ever edition of the competition back in 2003 but haven’t lifted the trophy since, coming runners-up on 3 occasions, most recently in 2020. I have a feeling this year may just be their year. Somerset are as already mentioned the reigning champions and also won the title back in 2005, reaching the final on another 4 occasions, including 3 in a row between 2009 and 2011. It will be Surrey’s 9th Finals Day appearance and Somerset’s 10th, placing them both amongst the top 4 sides with the most appearances at the lucrative event.
My Prediction - Surrey to win a high scoring encounter.
Sussex vs Gloucestershire
Sussex Sharks have been a powerhouse in the t20 Blast in recent years, boasting names such as Luke Wright, Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan and Alex Carey, however they have largely been without any big star names this year and have still found their way into the semi-finals. One star name in the team is captain Tymal Mills, a World Cup winner in the format with England, and he has played a starring role with 24 wickets in the competition already. This has included 3 match winning 4-wicket hauls and, with an economy of less than 8, Mills is one of the best domestic white ball bowlers in the country. Fronting up the bowling attack alongside Mills is Ollie Robinson, a bowler who has gone largely unnoticed with the white ball in hand before this year. He has been able to find notable movement with the new ball and regularly takes early wickets for Sussex. With bat in hand, overseas signing Dan Hughes has been a revelation for the south coast side. He leads the run totals for the competition with 560 and with a strike rate just a touch under 170 he has been truly destructive. He also comes in to the match in blistering form scoring a century last week in the red ball format. James Coles and Tom Alsop are unlikely to steal the headlines but have both been key performers for Sussex throughout the tournament, resulting in them both making their Hundred debuts as wildcards earlier this year. The Sharks finished close behind Surrey in 2nd place with 9 wins from 14, before thrashing Lancashire in the quarter-finals.
Gloucestershire come in to Finals Day as somewhat of a surprise entity, having struggled in the shortest form of the county game since qualifying in 2020. Also a team lacking in superstar quality, Gloucestershire have relied on consistent all round team performances to finish the group in 4th place with 7 wins and a tie, before they produced the upset of the quarter-finals as they defended just 138 against the Birmingham Bears. David Payne was the star of that match with 4 wickets and is the joint-highest wicket taker in the competition with 29 at an economy of just 6.54, often bowling in the powerplay. The left-armer will attack the stumps early on and is very difficult to get away. The batting doesn’t posses the same firepower that other line ups do but with Cameron Bancroft and Miles Hammond consistently getting their side of to good starts, Gloucestershire will back themselves to get enough runs for their miserly bowling attack to defend. Ollie Price has provided a few valuable quick cameos as well as a few overs of handy off spin and is another player who will be hoping to produce the goods on Saturday.
In the two sides previous meetings, Sussex have come out on top on both occasions. In the Sharks’ first t20 match of the season, some brilliant death bowling had pulled the game back for the visitors before a huge Jack Carson 6 and a scampered bye off the last ball of the match secured a Sussex victory. The game at Bristol was a far more one sided encounter. Sussex posted 208 thanks to half centuries from Hughes and Coles and Gloucestershire never threatened, ending up 48 runs short. It will be a tall order for Gloucestershire to topple their South Group compatriots, however they have a minor advantage in that their quarter-final was played at Edgbaston so they will have a greater understanding of conditions. This is probably balanced out however by the fact that it is Sussex’s 6th appearance at Finals Day compared to just 3 previous for Gloucestershire. The Sharks will be looking to raise the trophy for the second time, having won in 2009, a feat their opponents have never achieved.
Prediction: Sussex to win relatively comfortably.
Final Prediction
Surrey vs Sussex. As much as it pains me to say as a Sussex fan, I think Surrey have too much strength in depth, and particularly if they are able to call open their test match players, they will emerge victorious and lift the trophy to add to their constantly growing cabinet of silverware.
Whatever the outcome it’s bound to be a great day, with the Hollies Stand packed and with runs and wickets flowing. Don’t forget to tune in for the Mascot Race as well which is an iconic Finals Day moment, to see if Lanky the Giraffe can defend his crown.
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