Northamptonshire Steelbacks head to Taunton tomorrow to face Somerset for their final away Vitality Blast fixture.
On Wednesday, the Steelbacks bounced back in style with a comfortable 53-run win over Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens. The win helped secure a home quarter-final on Wednesday 15th July, with the opponent yet to be confirmed.
Tickets for the fixture can be bought here.
Somerset were the side that handed the Steelbacks their first defeat of the competition and with a win against Derbyshire, they look like they’re making a late qualification push. Dependent on other results, and if Somerset win their remaining games, they’ll qualify for the knockout stages of the Blast.
Play at The Cooper Associates County Ground is set to start at 6:30pm with the host county providing a livestream. You can follow all of the action with live match updates on our social media platforms.
It’s an unchanged squad of 16 that are making the trip to Taunton.
Steelbacks squad to face Somerset:
David Willey (c), George Bartlett, Justin Broad, Calvin Harrison, Louis Kimber, Chris Lynn, Lewis McManus (wk), Nathan McSweeney, Gus Miller, Luke Procter, James Sales, Ben Sanderson, George Scrimshaw, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Raphy Weatherall, Saif Zaib
Opponent Preview:
Somerset
Previewed by Richard Latham, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Lewis Gregory
Overseas players: Riley Meredith (Australia, seventh group game onwards), Daniel Sams (Australia, all)
Finals Day appearances: 11 (2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)
Titles: Three (2005, 2023, 2025)
2025 finish: Winners
2025 leading run-scorer: Will Smeed (620)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Riley Meredith (28)
Key winter moves: Josh Shaw was recruited from Gloucestershire, but the other main moves concerned departures from last year’s successful squad, with Sean Dickson, Ben Green and Kasey Aldridge leaving for Glamorgan, Leicestershire and Durham respectively and overseas signing Matt Henry not returning.
The big question: What impact will new overseas signing Daniel Sams have on Somerset’s exciting T20 squad? The 33-year-old all-rounder boasts more than 2,000 runs and 250 wickets in T20 cricket around the world, impressing in the IPL, Big Bash, CPL and PSL, while also gaining experience of English conditions with Essex and Nottinghamshire.
Wildcard watch: Thomas Rew. There is a school of thought that, while James Rew is a natural red-ball cricketer keen to improve his white-ball skills, the opposite applies to younger brother Thomas, who made three Blast appearances for Somerset as a 17-year-old last season. The England Under-19 captain has been busy completing his A Levels, but should be free from studies to add his aggressive batting qualities to the middle order, while also offering a wicketkeeping option.