Craig Overton hit a blistering 79* off 30 balls in the T20 Blast quarter-finals yesterday, rescuing Somerset from a huge collapse to power them to their sixth consecutive Finals Day.
Playing in an away quarter-final at Headingley, Somerset restricted Yorkshire to 161-9 with Overton making crucial inroads with the ball. He dismissed Moeen Ali for a golden duck in the first over, and later removed other opener Adam Lyth, the only batter who made in excess of 19 for Yorkshire. Jake Ball also took three wickets, while Riley Meredith and Daniel Sams took two each.
However, Somerset collapsed quickly in response. Opener Thomas Rew, No.3 Tom Banton and keeper James Rew were dismissed for one apiece, while Tom Kohler-Cadmore made two off eight balls to leave Somerset 38-5. After a 20-run partnership between Lewis Goldsworthy and Lewis Gregory, the former was dismissed for 19 off 18 balls, before Daniel Sams became Logan van Beek's second victim in the following over. That wicket brought Overton to the crease, with Gregory following the rest back to the dug out shortly after.
From the most unlikely of positions, Craig Overton has pulled off something SPECTACULAR and sent Somerset to Finals Day 😱 pic.twitter.com/EcYh6pgQT5
— Vitality T20 Blast (@VitalityBlast) July 15, 2026
With Gregory's wicket, Somerset were 82-8, still needing still needing 80 runs to win from 33 balls. From there, Overton took it on himself to see his side over the line. He smashed Andrew Tye for a six in the next over, before hitting van Beek for three consecutive fours in the next. Two more fours came off Overton's blade from Hasan Ali's 18th over, and a second six came from Tye's 19th. Having made sure he got a single from the final ball of that over, Overton was on strike for the last over of the game, with 22 required for victory.
A first ball full toss from Matthew Revis was pulled into the leg side for six by Overton, before a leg-side wide meant added another run to the score. Overton flicked the re-bowl for a behind square six, bringing the equation down to nine off four balls. A hoick over deep-midwicket next ball took another six off the target, before the scores were drawn level after a sharp piece of work by Will Luxton in the deep saved a boundary. The effort was in vain, however, as Overton ran the penultimate ball of the game past midwicket to take Somerset to a memorable win.
The result ensured Somerset's streak of reaching Men's T20 Blast Finals Day remained unbroken. The last time they failed to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament was in 2020, and they've won two out of the last three titles.
*Photo credit @SomersetCCC
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
