SAM DALLING AT TAUNTON: Rossouw has been a revelation; 600 runs in 15 innings with seven fifty-plus scores tells half the story. For those runs have taken him just 304 balls at a strike rate of 197
Win the toss and bowl. Somerset would have: Tom Abell always does. Luis Reece did likewise and regretted it.
Not instantly. George Scrimshaw’s opening over cost just four runs. But thereafter it was a precession of Somerset six striking. 18 in total. Seven of them from Rilee Rossouw, six from Tom Banton, three from Tom Lammonby and a pair from Ben Green.
That gave the home side 265. Yes, 265. The highest in English domestic T20, Birmingham Bears’ record-breaking 261 for 2 standing for just 22 days. Only four times in T20 world-wide has it been bettered. Chase that. Naturally, Derbyshire couldn’t.
Banton has been the lesser light of Somerset’s top four this season. But there was plenty of fluency in his 41-ball 73. True, he was dropped cutting Mark Watt on 29. Ben Aitchison’s gaze avoided both skipper and bowler: it should have been taken. It enabled Banton to add a further 44, the only surprise being his holing out having struck back-to-back sixes off Alex Hughes.
But it was Rossouw’s 93 that was the standout. 36 balls it took him, having started with a relatively sedate 14 off nine. Quick but unlikely to cause the yellow camera to flash. Then the fury was unleashed. A six and two fours came off Reece, before Mattie McKiernan suffered two sixes and a four. And that was just the warm-up act for the poor Derbyshire leg-spinner.
Rilee Rossouw salutes the crowd following his dismissal [Harry Trump/Getty Images]
His fourth went for 36, Rossouw clearing the leg-side boundary five times. The other went for four, with a no-ball notching it up to the equivalent of six sixes. 0 for 82 off four is not an evening any bowler will remember fondly.
When Rossouw eventually fell seven shy of what would have been Somerset’s first century of the tournament, the ovation warmer than the early evening sunshine. Later, Hey Jude was once again re-appropriated by those well-oiled in the Somerset Stand.
Rossouw has been a revelation; 600 runs in 15 innings with seven fifty-plus scores tells half the story. For those runs have taken him just 304 balls at a strike rate of 197. To score at that lick across the odd innings is some going. To do it consistently across a tournament is, well, pick your adjective. Little wonder that, with the abolishment of Kolpak players, South Africa have come calling again.
After him, Lammonby bludgeoned 31 off just 9 to cries of "Lammonby la-la-la". Green then came in for the final over, immediately clearing the Sky Cricket Pod and then smoting one into the top tier of the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion. Merciless.
Scrimshaw by the way, was exceptional. Having once spent more than 1,300 days without a first team appearance, it is wonderful to just see him out there. But his performances have warranted England Lions’ selection.
His four overs cost just 16, with both Will Smeed and Banton swooshing unsuccessfully at balls too sharp for them up top. Abell is skippering the Lions on Tuesday on this ground and will have been impressed. The remaining 14 overs went at steady 15.5s.
George Scrimshaw was Derbyshire's standout bowler, picking up 2 for 16 [Harry Trump/Getty Images]
Chasing 266 for a Finals’ Day spot was never likely, even at Taunton with the shortest of straight boundaries. For context, only a dozen times in more than a thousand List A games have Derbyshire chased 266. And that is in twice, if not, thrice the overs.
Craig Overton nicked Harry Came off in the first over and Peter Siddle came up with what has quickly become one of his trademark multi-wicket overs. From 26 for 3 there was little hope. They ended up 191 short, Green also finishing with three.
It is a shame for Derbyshire. They have enjoyed a fine season so far and qualified despite winning just two of their opening six matches. Even Shan Masood’s absence, huge as it was, was not terminal.
As the sun set across Taunton, thoughts turned to a trip to Edgbaston next Saturday. Little time to prepare and, being the last side to secure passage, supporters will struggle to find a place to kip for below £200. But still, they will go.
Saturday nights are never ideal atmosphere-wise. Club cricketers make up a sizeable chunk of Blast crowds and they were largely absent, on duty elsewhere. The unwritten code of amateur cricket is that one does not miss a match even for a wedding, let alone to watch cricket.
However, that didn't diminish the occasion. Mickey Arthur sung the virtues of the Blast, and he was spot on. The crowd, amongst them a small pocket from Sweden, had a blast.
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