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Vitality Blast Preview: Somerset v Gloucestershire
THE MATCH
Somerset welcome Gloucestershire to the Cooper Associates County Ground tomorrow (Friday June 23rd) in the Vitality Blast.
Play is due to get underway at 6:30pm.
THIS MATCH IS SOLD OUT!
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 and after each match.
This match will see the Haus Band performing before the game and during the interval, with a live DJ after 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
Gloucestershire
Captain: Miles Hammond
Overseas players: Grant Roelofsen (South Africa), Zafar Gohar (Pakistan)
Finals Day appearances: 3 (2003, 2007, 2020)
Titles: 0
2022 finish: Fifth (South Group)
2022 leading run-scorer: Glenn Phillips (340)
2022 leading wicket taker: David Payne (18)
2023 season so far
2023 leading run scorer: Ben Charlesworth (259 runs)
2023 leading wicket taker: Tom Smith (13 wickets)
TEAM NEWS
Somerset will be without Peter Siddle (hand), Roelof van der Merwe (hand), Lewis Gregory (hand), Lewis Goldsworthy (rib) and Sonny Baker (back).
Matt Henry returns to the squad in place of Jack Brooks after being rested against Glamorgan, and Tom Abell will continue to captain the side in Lewis Gregory’s absence.
The full squad for this match is: Tom Abell*, Will Smeed, Tom Banton, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sean Dickson, Ben Green, Craig Overton, Josh Davey, Matt Henry, Tom Lammonby, Shoaib Bashir, Kasey Aldridge and James Rew.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the big local derby, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “We’re all looking forward to the game. We’re playing some fantastic cricket at the moment and even with the personnel changes we’re performing really well.
“Our motivation is winning games of cricket. The consequences of that are a potential quarter-final or potentially beating your local rivals. We just need to keep performing and playing to the best of our ability. We need to focus on what’s in front of us because other things can be a distraction. If we win our last three games, the rest takes care of itself.
“The skill level within this group is phenomenal, and that’s what’s really exciting. We’re playing well as a team and as a unit. Everybody is contributing. We’ve got some outstanding individuals who are making significant contributions and long may that continue.”
CLASSIC MATCH
For today’s classic match we head back to the summer of 2018.
It was a game that Somerset won by six wickets, thanks in no small part to destructive innings from Steve Davies and Peter Trego.
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NEXT MATCH
Somerset’s next match begins on Sunday (June 25th) when we take on Nottinghamshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship at the Cooper Associates County Ground
