Somerset fire with bat and ball to close in on knockouts

Somerset went clear at the top of the South Group thanks to a comprehensive win in their Vitality Blast fixture against Glamorgan in Cardiff.

Despite career best batting performances from Kiran Carlson and Timm van der Gugten, Glamorgan's total of 171 all was not enough as Somerset won by eight wickets with 17 balls to spare.

Three wickets each for Craig Overton and Jack Brooks pegged back Glamorgan's batting efforts before fifties from Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Will Smeed took the visiting team to victory.

This win puts Somerset clear of Surrey at the top of the Blast table with 18 points. Glamorgan currently sit outside the quarter-final qualification spots and will most likely need to win all three of their remaining fixtures to make the knockout stages.

It was a lacklustre start from Glamorgan who struggled in the opening overs having been put into bat. The early wickets of Will Smale, Billy Root and Sam Northeast reduced them to 14 for 3 with Brooks claiming two wickets and Overton one.

There was a 40-run stand between Carlson and Chris Cooke that took the home team past the 50 mark, but it was Carlson who was doing all the scoring. Cooke had made seven runs when he attempted to carve Overton over the extra cover boundary for six. The ball looked as it was going to clear the rope before a superb one-handed grab at full stretch from Kasey Aldridge sent Glamorgan's leading run-scorer in this competition back to the dugout.

When recently arrived overseas signing Cam Fletcher was out for a duck two balls later when he pulled a ball to Sean Dickson at midwicket Glamorgan were 53 for 5 and in danger of crumbling.

What followed was a record stand for the sixth wicket between these two teams as Carlson and van der Gugten put on 91 runs to give the home side some hope.

Carlson's 71 took him past 300 runs for the first time in a Blast season and was his first innings over over fifty in the format since 2018. Van der Gugten made 48, his fourth important contribution with the bat in his six Blast matches this season as he continues to show off his all-round ability.

The Somerset chase got off to a roaring start thanks to Smeed, but he should have been dimissed in the second over when he was on just 17. He pulled a ball from van der Gugten straight to Billy Root on the deep square leg boundary but the chance wasn't taken. It was parried over the rope for six and Smeed took full advantage of the life he was given.

Tom Banton was the one wicket to fall inside the Somerset powerplay when he was caught at fine leg by Andy Gorvin when he tried to scoop Ruaidhri Smith but that was the only success for Glamorgan until the 13th over as Smeed and Kohler-Cadmore took the game away from them. Smeed crashed eight fours and three sixes in an innings of 66 that lasted just 36 balls. By the time he was dismissed by Smith the required rate was down to less than a run a ball.

Smeed's dismissal slowed things down a little bit with the support of Tom Abell, Kohler-Cadmore guided Somerset home with 62 not out. The only moment of further alarm for the visitors came when Gorvin had Kohler-Cadmore caught on the midwicket boundary but it was off a no ball.

This comprehensive victory is the ninth of Somerset's Blast campaign and they are closing in on a home quarter-final.