There is just one day’s gap between the end of the last round of Championship games and the restart of the Vitality Blast, but teams will need to get straight back into white ball mode if they are going to secure a quarter final spot. Somerset currently sit at the top of the South Group, and look to be a strong contender for the title. Meanwhile Glamorgan are in a battle for one of the top four positions, and will want to put their poor display at Taunton, in their last T20 match, behind them.
In that game they were restricted to 130/9, with only Asa Tribe (38) getting past 16. Riley Meredith led the way with the ball for Somerset, taking 4/21, and Somerset needed just 16.4 overs to reach their target.
Glamorgan’s four wins have come against the bottom three sides in the group, and they have struggled against the stronger opposition. Their hopes might also have been dealt a blow this week, with an injury to leg-spinner Mason Crane during their Championship match against Gloucestershire. He is currently the third placed wicket-taker in the competition with 17, and a reported side strain may sideline him for a while. Glamorgan have brought in Pakistan slow left armer Imad Wasim as a replacement for the injured Hayden Kerr, although it is reported that Kerr is still with the squad.
Matt Henry is due to be with Somerset until the 9th July, and he is part of a formidable overseas bowling duo alongside Meredith. In the last game against Glamorgan, Craig Overton was rested, but he was back in the Championship side and skipper Lewis Gregory has plenty of bowling options available to him. Interestingly the spin component of the attack has been provided by Lewis Goldsworthy rather than Jack Leach.
On the batting front, Will Smeed leads the way for Somerset, having scored 299 runs so far, at a strike rate of 148.01. Tom Kohler-Cadmore has 253 at 168.66, while the two best Glamorgan batters are Kiran Carlson with 208 runs at a strike rate of 136.84 and Tribe with 201 at 155.81. Colin Ingram has struggled with just 141 runs so far, and if Kerr was fit, it might be that he would make way. However Ingram has scored 306 runs at an average of 153 in the last two Championship matches.
Everything points towards a Somerset win, but Glamorgan supporters will be quick to recount their 120 run victory at Sophia Gardens at the end of last year’s group matches.
Key players
Will Smeed is half of a formidable opening partnership alongside Tom Banton, epitomised by their slaying of the Glamorgan attack back in 2022, when Somerset chased down 174 in just over 14 overs, Banton making 45 and Smeed 94 not out from just 41 balls. Smeed was similarly destructive in last year’s fixture at Taunton, where he made 86 from 48 balls. Glamorgan will want to get his wicket cheaply if they hope to restrict Somerset.
Glamorgan’s Ben Kellaway has been making people sit up and take note in both red and white ball cricket, not just because he has the ability of bowling his spin from both his right and left arms, but with the runs and wickets he has been collecting. In the last Championship match he scored a century and took six wickets in the Gloucestershire second innings, and with Crane potentially sidelined, even more will be resting on the shoulders of the 21-year-old.
Team news:
Somerset have plenty of options with bat and ball.
Somerset squad (from): Lewis Gregory (c), Tom Abell, Tom Banton, Josh Davey, Sean Dickson, Lewis Goldsworthy, Ben Green, Matt Henry, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Lammonby, Jack Leach, Riley Meredith, Craig Overton, Will Smeed
It is unclear whether Hayden Kerr is recovered from his injury, while Mason Crane is a doubt. Billy Root is pushing for selection having scored 102 from 54 balls in a 2nd team game this week, and he has been taking wickets with his off spin.
Glamorgan squad (from): Kiran Carlson (c), Tom Bevan, Chris Cooke (wk), Mason Crane, Dan Douthwaite, Andy Gorvin, Colin Ingram, Ben Kellaway, Ned Leonard, Jamie McIlroy, Billy Root, Will Smale, Asa Tribe, Timm van der Gugten, Imad Wasim
Weather and Conditions
The weather is set fair.
With the dry weather we have had their might be something for the spinners, but the likelihood is plenty of runs.
Date: 4th July 2025
Time: 18:30
Ground: The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton
