Somerset CCC suffer first defeat in five in West Country derby with Gloucestershire

-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)
-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)


A superb display of clean hitting from Ollie Price and Ben Charlesworth propelled Gloucestershire to a thrilling five-wicket triumph over rivals Somerset in a Vitality Blast derby encounter to remember at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol.
Coming together with the score on 108 for five in the 14th over, Gloucestershire's young guns staged a blistering unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 82 in 32 balls as the home side chased down a target of 189 with eight balls to spare, Price top-scoring with 43 from 15 deliveries and Charlesworth contributing a 19-ball 36.
Somerset had no answer as Price accrued four sixes and three fours, while Charlesworth mustered two sixes and a quartet of fours to bring a sell-out crowd of 7,000 to their feet.
Tom Banton had earlier posted a high-octane 79 from 53 balls, smashing eight fours and three sixes and dominating crucial stands of 66 and 76 with Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Tom Abell for the second and third wickets respectively as the defending champions ran up 188 for four after losing the toss.
A first defeat in five games saw Somerset miss out on a chance to take over leadership of the South Group, while Gloucestershire's third win on the bounce improved their prospects of reaching the knockout stages.