Somersets 14-runs victory in the Vitality Blast 2023 final, capped off a day of exciting, swashbuckling cricket that befitted the tournament – at large – and the final itself – in particular - as Essex pushed them hard in a game that was full of thrills, spills, tension and first-class cricket, at the Edgbaston Stadium, in Birmingham.
This was their second time in winning the competition, which, as it turned out, was the very feat the losing finalists were, themselves, trying to achieve. Somerset last won the championship in 2005, when they beat Lancashire Lightning in the final at The Oval.
Defending a total of 145, Somerset edged out Essex by 14 runs to win the 2023 Vitality Blast, having already defended a reachable total of 142-7 against Surrey in the second semi-final. But, with some inspired bowling by New Zealanders, pace bowler Matt Henry and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi, Essex suffered a top-order collapse of five for 28, after smashing 27 runs from the first two overs of their innings.
As tension grew, and Essex were chasing a target of 146, Henry’s 4 wickets for 24 runs in the final, including the crucial last wicket of Daniel Sams, and wicketkeeper Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who took a spectacular diving catch at backward point, clinched the victory for Somerset, and heartbreak for Essex.
