)}})
Vitality Blast Preview: Somerset v Kent Spitfires
THE MATCH
Somerset welcome Kent Spitfires to the Cooper Associates County Ground tomorrow (Sunday July 2nd) in the Vitality Blast.
Play is due to get underway at 6:30pm.
Tickets for this match are still available.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Gates will open at 4:30pm.
Bag searches will be in operation and spectators are reminded that no glass or alcohol will be permitted within the Cooper Associates County Ground.
Ticket buyers can print and download their online tickets via their SCCC account.
All ticket or Membership collections will be from the Jack White Gates (St James Street).
The Cooper Associates County Ground operates a no re-entry policy on Vitality Blast matchdays. If you leave the venue, re-admittance will not be granted.
The Club Enquiries Desk will be based in the Reception of the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion and not in the Andrew Caddick Pavilion on matchdays.
Due to the busy nature of a matchday, our telephone lines will closed for the duration of the game and will reopen at 10am on Monday June 26th.
Information on everything that you will need for a matchday at SCCC, including how to redeem your guest passes, how to download your e-tickets and how to use the SCCC Ticket App can all be found in our Visitor Guide:
Children under 14 should be accompanied by a responsible adult when participating in the Somerset Cricket Foundation activities.
Scorecards will be available from the SCS Shop and Reception in the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP TO DATE?
You can also keep up to date with a live blog via our dedicated Match Centre and on our Twitter feed.
In addition to this, a report on the day’s play along with quotes will be posted on this website.
This match is being broadcast live on Sky Sports so there will be no live stream. This also means that spectators won’t be able to follow the live stream commentary on our matchday radios.
FAN VILLAGE
In association with Jurassic Fibre, Somerset County Cricket Club will be launching a brand-new fan village at this match. The new and improved Jurassic Fibre Fan Village will still be situated at the St James Street side of the Cooper Associates County Ground and will feature more space and a much wider range of entertainment, food and drink offerings.
The Jurassic Fibre Fan Village will host a large selection of varied food and drink options and a large self-pouring bar. There will also be live music before the match.
In addition to this, there will be all manner of entertainment throughout, including a special virtual reality cricket game plus giveaways, competitions and much more!
Don’t forget our ‘buy one get one free’ happy hour from 4:30pm to 5:30pm on Thatchers, Carlsberg, the Coca Cola range, spirit & mixer cans, wine and water before each match.
THE OPPOSITION
Kent Spitfires
Captain: Sam Billings
Overseas players: Kane Richardson (Australia), George Linde (South Africa)
Finals Day appearances: 4
Titles: 2 (2007, 2021)
2022 finish: Ninth (South Group)
2022 leading run scorer: Joe Denly (423)
2022 leading wicket taker: Qais Ahmad and Grant Stewart (both 14)
2023 season so far
2023 leading run scorer: Daniel Bell-Drummond (587)
2023 leading wicket taker: Michael Hogan (21)
TEAM NEWS
Somerset are without Peter Siddle and Roelof van der Merwe (both hand) and Sonny Baker (back), but Lewis Gregory has been added to the squad
The starting XI will be picked from the following squad: Lewis Gregory, Tom Abell, Will Smeed, Tom Banton, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Lammonby, Sean Dickson, Ben Green, Kasey Aldridge, Craig Overton, Lewis Goldsworthy, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Josh Davey and Shoaib Bashir.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the game, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “It was another high-class performance in front of a full house at the Oval last night. A lot of credit has to go to the guys because we had already qualified for the quarter-final. It would have been easy for them to take their eye off the ball, but they were all incredibly focused.
“We’ll be looking to finish the group stage as strongly as we can at home tomorrow. We want to win this last game because we want to win every game that we play. We want to get another positive result ahead of the quarter-final. Confidence is incredibly high within the group at the moment and the perfect scenario is that you enter the knockout stages on the back of another convincing win.”
CLASSIC MATCH
For today’s classic match we head back to 2019 and a game that Somerset won by 55 runs.
It was also a match that saw Tom Banton make his maiden T20 hundred for the Club.
MATCH SPONSOR – MOULDEX
Mouldex are a nationwide specialist mould and condensation control company, offering an end-to-end solution including site surveys, installation of intelligent ventilation systems and mould treatment with a five-year guarantee. Please contact them to find out how they can improve the indoor air quality in your home.
You can make your business grow by aligning yourself with Somerset County Cricket Club!
We are the UK’s best followed county and the South West’s most followed professional sports club on social media!
There are a wide range of opportunities available which are designed to meet any business need or budget, so harness the power of sport sponsorship now!
RAINBOW LACES
Rainbow Laces is an annual event in the cricketing calendar that invites players, officials, fans, employees and volunteers to celebrate inclusion with the UK’s LGBTQ+ community.
Started by the charity Stonewall in 2013, it began with asking players to lace their boots with rainbow-coloured laces to heighten LGBTQ+ awareness, and has since grown into an annual national event across many sports.
In cricket, it is taking place from July 2nd to July 9th, 2023.
A number of elite games are taking place across the week, including Vitality Blast and Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy matches taking place on July 2nd; the second Metro Bank Women’s Ashes T20 international against Australia at The Oval on July 5th; and the third Ashes LV= Insurance Men’s Test match against Australia at Headingley on July 6th.
NEXT MATCH
Somerset’s next match is the Vitality Blast quarter-final at the Cooper Associates County Ground on Friday July 7th.
Tickets for this fixture will go on sale as follows:
