Assault by Tom Kohler-Cadmore helps Somerset in defeating Sussex

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Tom Kohler-Cadmore 72 from 42 got Somerset home

Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored 72 to help Somerset defeat Sussex Sharks at the 1st Central County Ground by five wickets while chasing down a target of 184. Somerset now has two victories in a row in the Vitality Blast.

When Nathan McAndrew and debutant Shadab Khan clashed on the Hove outfield while going for a high catch offered by Kohler-Cadmore, the Somerset reply’s seventh over, and the game was delayed for over ten minutes.

Before being assisted to their feet, both players were treated by Sussex’s medical team for a period of time while lying on the ground. Khan, the Pakistani leg spinner who was making his Sussex debut, had to leave the field while McAndrew was permitted to bowl his four overs after completing a concussion protocol.

Sussex coach Paul Farbrace said,

“Shadab is okay, although he’s got a bit of a sore neck. The doctor felt it was best to take him out of the game. We tried to replace him with Henry Crocombe but the match referee said it had to be like-for-like which is why Harrison Ward came on. It could have been a lot worse but that can happen when you’ve got two committed players going for the same ball in a swirling wind. The good thing is they are both okay.”

Ravi Bopara, the captain of Sussex, who had earlier struck an unbeaten 88, was left without one of his important bowlers, while Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s 2.3 overs, which cost 51 runs, were also affected. Bopara had little room for maneuver, particularly as Kohler-Cadmore began shifting through the gears.

Having recently transferred from Yorkshire to Somerset, Kohler-Cadmore benefited from a flat ground and a quick outfield as he and captain Tom Abell enjoyed a game-winning partnership of 104 runs off 63 balls. The target was 22 from four overs when Kohler-Cadmore was caught off Tymal Mills while attempting to steer the ball over third. He had struck five sixes and five fours from 42 deliveries.

Lewis Gregory and Abell were both left stranded at the same end when Abell was run out for 42 on the final ball of the penultimate over, but Gregory scored four runs on the first ball of the final over to secure the victory for Somerset.

Bopara must have believed his innings would have made the difference before losing one of his key bowlers. The 38-year-old got 144 runs from 49 balls in a second team match against Middlesex on Tuesday to prepare up for the Blast, and even though there was never any chance of a repeat performance against a seasoned Somerset attack, he performed beautifully.

Bopara entered the fray in his 440th game in the format after Sussex had lost Tom Clark and Tom Alsop in Craig Overton’s first two overs, and he hardly played a false shot until Abell dropped a challenging diving catch at midwicket in the last over.

Bopara smashed seven sixes and three fours, with Ali Orr providing the most of his support with a score of 33 that included three consecutive boundaries off Matt Henry before he was expertly collected by Gregory in the follow through.

The total increased when Henry was dismissed for 16 off the final four deliveries of the innings after Bopara chopped him over midwicket for six off a no-ball and guided the free shot to the backward point boundary. Michael Burgess had assisted Bopara in adding 57 in 42 balls for the fifth wicket.

Somerset had 50 on the board after four thanks to Tom Banton’s onslaught on Hudson-Prentice, whose over went for 29, including back-to-back sixes, despite losing Will Smeed in the second over.

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