Wilson, Wellington combine for Somerset's first win

Amanda-Jade Wellington played a match-winning innings under pressure as Somerset beat Essex by four wickets at Taunton's Cooper Associates Ground to register their first win of the Vitality Blast T20 campaign in their tenth game.

The Australian international raised 29 from 23 balls, struck four fours and shared in a crucial stand of 45 off 29 balls for the fourth wicket with Fran Wilson, who contributed 41, as the home side chased down a victory target of 156 with three balls to spare.

Esmae MacGregor claimed 3 for 19 to keep Essex in the hunt, but Wellington and Alex Griffiths, required to score 16 runs off the final 17 balls, held their nerve to carry the cider county to their first win of the season at headquarters.

Returning from England A duty, Jodi Grewcock top-scored with 45 from 34 balls and shared in a stand of 58 for the third wicket with Cordelia Griffith, who contributed 31, as Essex posted 155 for 5 after being put into bat. The pick of the Somerset bowlers, Wellington returned figures of 1 for 25 from four overs.

Deputising for the injured Sophie Luff, stand-in Somerset captain Niamh Holland won the toss, inserted the opposition and watched her bowlers reduce the visitors to 30 for 2 in 4.1 overs. Lauren Winfield-Hill plundered three boundaries in moving effortlessly to 19 from 14 balls, only to be cut down in her pomp by an Olivia Barnes delivery that pinned her in the crease. Three balls later, fellow opener Grace Scrivens followed the former England batter back to the pavilion after pulling a shortish ball from Erin Vukusic to midwicket for 6.

Charged with the task of repairing the damage, Griffith and Grewcock advanced the score to 40 for 2 at the end of the powerplay and 66 for 2 at the halfway stage, despite finding boundaries hard to come by. The 50 partnership occupied 45 balls and Griffith, having raised 31 from 29 balls, was beginning to accelerate when she attempted to pull Mollie Robbins to the deep midwicket boundary and succeeded only in finding Griffiths with the score 88 for 3.

That was the cue for Grewcock to take centre stage, the England A batter opening her shoulders to harvest three successive fours in an over from Barnes as the fielding side came under real pressure for the first time. Grewcock had made 45 from 34 balls and was eyeing a half-century when she gave the charge to Wellington's legspin and holed out to Vukusic at long-on. Essex were 115 for 4 in the 16th over with work still to do as Jo Gardner joined Maddie Penna in the middle. These two staged a useful stand of 40 from 27 balls, Australian Penna scoring 21 at a run a ball and the forthright Gardner 22 from 12 deliveries, to hoist Essex to a competitive total.

Somerset required the reassurance of a good start and Bex Odgers and Holland provided exactly that, adding 41 in five overs before the former blotted her copybook and top-edged to short third for 20 off the bowling of Eva Gray. Holland had also scored 20 when she surrendered her wicket in similar fashion next over, skying a catch behind off MacGregor as the home side slipped to 41 for 2.

Buoyed by her half-century against Hampshire last time out, Wilson hit the ground running as Somerset passed 50 in the seventh, while debutant Ruby Davis calmed any nerves by straight-hitting Gray for four as the third-wicket partnership began to profit. These two added 46 in 36 balls and were threatening to take the contest by the scruff of the neck when Davis, having raised 19 from 16 balls, attempted to reverse sweep MacGregor and was adjudged lbw with the score 87 for 3 in the 12th.

Wellington drove Grewcock down the ground and pulled Sophia Smale for four to serve notice of her intentions, but Abtaha Maqsood and MacGregor kept things tight to push the asking rate above eight. Somerset's fourth wicket pair took 15 off the 15th, bowled by Smale, at which point they required 35 off the last five.

Victory looked to be a formality, only for Wilson to dance down the wicket and lose off stump to MacGregor with 24 needed off 22 balls. Wellington then hit Scrivens to long-on in the final over, but Griffiths and Chloe Skelton saw the job through.