Cricket Green's runs made the difference, says Somerset's Kerr

BEN Green conjured up an incisive performance with bat and ball as Somerset beat Gloucestershire by 16 runs in a hard-fought Vitality Blast encounter beneath the Cooper Associates Ground floodlights.

- By ANDY STOCKHAUSEN

So often an unsung hero in the short format, Green top-scored with 36 not out from 22 balls with three sixes and dominated a crucial unbeaten stand of 42 for the eighth wicket with Craig Overton as Somerset posted 164-7 on a spin-friendly pitch after winning the toss. He then returned 1-27 from four overs as Gloucestershire, buoyed by another half-century from overseas star D'Arcy Short, were restricted to 148-8, much to the delight of a sellout Taunton crowd.

Gloucestershire skipper Jack Taylor claimed 3-19 with his off-breaks and his brother, Matt, 2-11 as the visitors made Somerset graft on a used surface. In the final analysis, Green's heroics at the death made the difference in an uncharacteristically low-scoring Taunton contest.

Short finished unbeaten on 71 from 52 balls, with five fours and three sixes, for Gloucestershire, while Jake Ball took 2-20 in four overs as Somerset finished their qualification campaign with 11 wins in 14 outings.

Somerset head coach Jason Kerr said: “I thought it was a really good performance. This was not the kind of wicket we are used to playing on here, but we showed that we are learning different ways to win games.

“We knew the surface had been used and it was something we wanted to experiment with here at Taunton. We needed to adapt and Ben Green and Craig Overton played really well at the end to get us up to a decent score.