Johann Myburgh scored his maiden T20 hundred, cruising Somerset to a 10-wicket win after just 11.2 overs of the second innings! A marvellous, memorable, magnificent Myburgh knock that took Somerset to possibly their most convincing ever white-ball victory!
Myburgh went 4,6,4,4 off Zampa’s first four balls, then took Coles for 4,4,4 off his first three deliveries, before Siddle was taken for 22 off his second over!
10 fours and one six from the Myburgh blade meant that after 5.3 overs he had his 50 off just 22 balls!
After five overs Somerset were 55-0 whilst at the same point Essex had been 38-2. After the six powerplay overs Somerset were 77-0 and Banton was happily going along with just 12 off 12 balls!
Essex must have known it wasn’t their day when a fielder desperately diving for a catch ended up heading the ball over the boundary!
No bowlers were spared. Myburgh merrily meandered through to a sensational century, the bowling may have been poor and the Essex heads down, but still this would be the best T20 knock seen at Taunton by most observers. 16 fours, three sixes, 42 balls, but still the stats don’t tell the story of quite how the diminutive opener dispatched whatever Essex threw at him to all areas of the ground with consummate ease.
He finished 103* off just 44 balls! Banton played the easiest of support roles from the best seat in the house, neither offered a chance, 8.4 overs were remaining, one dreads to think what Somerset may have scored had they batted like this first.
Earlier Varun Chopra had batted through the powerplay, scoring well over half his side’s 48 runs, as his opening partner Wheater and number three Paul Walter both fell cheaply to Jamie Overton’s first two overs from the River end.
The two spinners bowling in tandem in the middle overs kept things tight, 77-2 after 10. Van der Merwe was then swapped to the Pavilion End with instant success, having Ten Doeschate caught at fly slip for 26 off 21 balls.
Having got away with a Gregory direct hit thanks to good running of his bat into the crease, Chopra was sold down the river by young Essex batsman Michael Pepper and calmly run out by Tom Abell at the non-strikers end. This was an early final blow in the Essex coffin – Chopra the only batsman who’d looked comfortable and was gluing the Essex innings together.
Waller finished four wicketless overs in the 14th, but only going for 30 encapsulated Essex’s slow-scoring at the small ground of Taunton. Van der Merwe finished with far better figures than two nights previously in the Hampshire win, returning 1-22 off his four.
Having been debating with Bob Willis and Charles Colville on Sky Sports just two nights previously, Ravi Bopara came in surprisingly late at six. The former England man struggled to 12 off 13 balls before spooning a top edge high into the air for Jamie Overton to catch for his third wicket.
Michael Pepper’s 27 off 30 balls was the only other score worthy of note, but so poor was his running between the wickets and low was his strike-rate, you could argue it was not really worthy of note – perhaps he was too terrified to get out and feel the brunt of Chopra’s wrath in the changing room.
Having taken 5-15 just two nights previously, Jerome Taylor joined Jamie Overton in taking three wickets tonight, forcing mistimed slogs to be caught well. Superb Somerset fielding from a predominantly young, athletic outfit was clear for all to see, Essex recording one of the worst team displays of this year’s Blast.
Essex cannot use the third use of the same pitch in five days as an excuse, they were quite simply extraordinarily outplayed by Somerset.
