Dickson and Rew turned on Surrey as Somerset romped into the Blast final

Somerset 159 for 4 (Dickson 78, Rew 62*) bat Surrey 153 for 9 (Sibley 48, Gregory 3-15, Davey 3-34) by six wickets

But Dickson and 20-year-old Rew, playing their first game of the campaign – and the second T20 of their professional career – turned the innings on its head with an all-time Finals Day partnership. Between them, they allowed the Somerset supporters who made the pilgrimage to Edgbaston to enjoy the closing stages in relative comfort.

Both Dickson and Rew, who was only called into the squad on Friday as a replacement for the injured Tom Banton, produced career-best T20 innings to dispatch the defending champions. Dickson fell with three needed on 78 off 57, while Rew finished unbeaten on 62 off 44 to keep Somerset’s pursuit of an unprecedented domestic treble – having already reached the final of the One-Day Cup – on track.

Frankie punk tickles Surrey
It was stuttering batting from Surrey but at least they put a score on the board. Chasing 152 would not normally deter a team of Somerset’s highest fitness, although the absence of leading scorer Banton – injured during the Championship heist at Taunton – reduced their firepower. They were then ripped off by Worrall’s very first ball, which swung hard down the line onto the off-stump and trapped Tom Kohler-Cadmore plumb in front (at least this time it was a quick kill for Kohler-Cadmore, who Worrall hit for 10 consecutive scores in his hundred last month ).

At the other end, Tom Curran had to wait until his third delivery for success, straightening by one length to get on the leading edge of Tom Abell. Worrall then removed the idle Will Smeed, hitting the wicket to leave Somerset 7 for 3 in the third over and already faced a mountain to climb to defend their title.

Dickson to the rescue (again)
Somerset won two low scorers in 2023, defending 142 and 145 – with Dickson top-scoring in both games. He once again seized the opportunity to direct a partnership with Rew that went from being a minor stumbling block to Surrey’s chances of a first T20 title since the inaugural edition in 2003.

Dickson was the first to hit his stride when he lined Jordan Clarke for a four at the end of the over as Somerset reached 29 for 3. They were behind the pace but soon caught up with Surrey’s spinners: Dickson ripped Cameron Steel off Hollies for the first six of the innings, then Rew shot Dan Lawrence high into the same area of ​​the ground, clearing the man. in deep midwicket. The follow-up was chained over extra cover for another four, Chris Jordan left face down on the turf after diving in vain for a catch.

Dickson lifted Steele for another six, just outside the reach of a diving Sibley at deep mid-wicket, and then hit the next ball over long-on en route to his 31-ball half-century. Rew added another six when he spun Clarke over deep backward square leg and the required rate fell under a run a ball in the following over, thanks to two more boundaries off Jordan.

Sibley throws some shapes
When Surrey were asked to bat in potentially brisk September conditions, the initial impetus came from Dan Lawrence, one of three England Test players (balanced by four members of the quarter-final XI being away on T20I duty). Lawrence hacked and flicked merrily – much like his last Test innings of the series in Sri Lanka – to reach 19 off 11 in the first two overs before skipping Josh Davey to cover.

Facing just one delivery at that point, Sibley poked and prodded for 4 off 6 before showing some of the improved T20 chops that underpinned his most productive Blast season since 2017. Davey was unceremoniously bowled into the crowd at long-on, before the arrival of Jake Balla into the attack was greeted with a cheeky drive into fine leg. With Ollie Pope cutting, pulling and driving three of his first ten balls for four, Surrey were in good form at 62 for 1 at the end of the over.

Gregory goes bang-bang
Gregory’s first noticeable contribution – apart from winning the toss – was to run one over at mid-off as Lawrence picked up his third boundary. At the age of 32, with the prospect of a long day ahead, Gregory may have realized that diving was not the best option; and he certainly proved he knew what he was doing when he came eighth in the competition. Gregory’s artful media was a perfect fit for this late season Edgbaston deck, although there was a lot of skill involved as Pope was executed with a full legcutter that brought down the stump. Jamie Smith then bowled a bit fuller to the same effect and Surrey’s solid start was replaced with a scorecard of 69 for 3.

Surrey scrap for a score
Surrey’s rebuild began with a Test match graft partnership between two former England partners, Sibley and Rory Burns. When Burns, the only left-hander in the line-up, pushed Laurie Evans out to bat at No. 5, a partnership of 36 off 28 steadied the ship for Surrey. Although both departed in the space of eight balls, Sibley became the third wicket for Gregory when he picked out deep mid-wicket, Evans helped drag the innings to 150.

There were few cleanly hit attacking shots, with Surrey managing just six boundaries off the power play – the pick of which saw Evans knock Ball into the Hollies Stand for the second and final six of the innings.