Tom Abell 68 from 33 helps see off Kent as Somerset claim first win

Somerset earned their first Vitality Blast win of the season at the third attempt with a 47-run success against Kent Spitfires at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.

Having been 53 for 3, the hosts did well to post 204 for 7, Tom Abell leading the way with 68 off 33 balls and 20-year-old Lewis Goldsworthy making a career-best 48. Grant Stewart claimed 3 for 33.

Despite an impressive 48 off 23 deliveries from Zak Crawley, Kent never looked likely to reach their target and were bowled out for 157 in the 18th over, Marchant de Lange finishing with 3 for 18.

Tom Banton's disappointing start to the Blast continued after Somerset had been invited to bat, the opener caught at deep square off Stewart for 9 with the score on 33 in the fourth over. Will Smeed followed in the next over and when James Hildreth was caught at long-off for 27 to give Joe Denly his only wicket, Somerset looked to be heading for their third below-par total in three Blast games.

Abell had other ideas, reverse sweeping Qais Ahmad for successive fours in the ninth over before unleashing sixes off Ahmad and Darren Stevens as the scoring rate accelerated.

With Goldsworthy lending excellent support, Abell moved to his second Blast fifty of the season off 26 balls, with five fours and two sixes. He claimed another maximum off Stewart over deep square before falling in the same over, having added 90 with Goldsworthy off 45 balls.

Goldsworthy hit Fredrick Klaassen for a straight six before Stewart had him caught at deep cover. He had faced 29 balls and hit six fours.

Kent's reply got off to a bad start when the fourth ball saw Daniel Bell-Drummond caught at backward point off Craig Overton. Denly fell to Josh Davey with the score on 14, but Crawley collected two sixes off Overton in the fifth over and the Powerplay finished with the Spitfires 56 for 2.

Goldsworthy's left-arm spin was greeted with a four and a six by Crawley as he and Sam Billings brought up a fifty stand in 27 balls. But the latter fell to a catch at wide long-on in the same over.

Legspinner Max Waller bowled Crawley in his first over and followed up by having Jack Leaning stumped as Kent reached halfway at 89 for 5. With Goldsworthy showing great maturity to recover from conceding ten off his first two overs, Somerset controlled the middle of the innings. The youngster had figures of 1 for 30 at the end of his four-over stint.

Stevens, Stewart and Ahmad all fell cheaply and Jordan Cox's battling 33 was nowhere near sufficient to prevent a convincing Somerset win.