D’Arcy Short’s destructive 63 powers Gloucestershire to emphatic seven-wicket win over Somerset

Gloucestershire won by 7 wickets (with 35 balls remaining) against Somerset at the County Ground, Bristol in Match 41 of 112 in the T20 Blast 2026. A clinical bowling display followed by D’Arcy Short‘s brutal 63 off 34 balls saw Gloucestershire cruise to victory with almost six overs to spare.

Somerset collapse after Banton first-ball duck

Somerset’s innings never got going. Tom Banton was bowled first ball by Matthew Taylor, and the visitors were 14/2 after 2.3 overs when Jordan Hermann fell lbw to Duan Jansen for 3 off 9 balls.

Joshua Thomas counter-attacked with 21 off 12 (3 fours, 1 six) but was caught off Marchant de Lange at 30/3. Captain Tom Abell managed just 5 off 10 before falling at 33/4, and Somerset were deep in trouble.

Thomas Rew injected some urgency with 27 off 17 (4 fours, SR 159) but his dismissal at 78/6 – followed immediately by Daniel Sams‘s first-ball lbw to Jack Taylor at 79/7 – left Somerset staring at a sub-100 total.

Lewis Gregory (33 off 28, 2 fours, 1 six) and Craig Overton (28* off 19, 1 four, 2 sixes) rescued the innings with a 49-run stand for the eighth wicket, dragging Somerset to 137/8. Without that partnership, this would have been truly ugly.

Gloucestershire’s bowlers shared the wickets superbly. Jansen (4-1-25-2) and Taylor (3-0-20-2) were the pick, while de Lange (4-0-31-2), Craig Miles (3-0-19-1) and Jack Taylor (3-0-18-1) all contributed. The economy rates across the board were excellent – D’Arcy Short‘s two overs of spin went for just 5.5 an over.

Short smashes Gloucestershire home with ease

The chase was never in doubt. Miles Hammond fell for 12 at 18/1, but Short took control from ball one. The Australian left-hander smashed 63 off just 34 deliveries, cracking 8 fours and 3 sixes at a strike rate of 185.

Short put on 56 with Joe Phillips for the second wicket before Phillips was caught for 6 off Sams. That brought Jack Taylor to the crease, and the Gloucestershire skipper was in no mood to hang around – he blasted 34* off 21 balls (3 fours, 2 sixes, SR 162).

Short eventually fell caught off Sams for 63 at 121/3, but Ben Charlesworth came in and finished the job alongside Taylor. Charlesworth’s unbeaten 15 off 10 (1 four, 1 six) helped seal the win in just 14.1 overs.

Only Overton (4-0-21-1, economy 5.25) and Sams (3-0-21-2, economy 7) offered any resistance with the ball for Somerset. Jake Ball went for 39 off his 3 overs, Josh Shaw conceded 27 off 2.1, and Gregory leaked 25 off 2.

Statz MVP – Craig Overton (110.4)

Despite ending up on the losing side, Craig Overton takes the Statz MVP award with a rating of 110.4. His unbeaten 28 off 19 balls rescued Somerset’s innings from a potential sub-100 total, and he was comfortably the most economical Somerset bowler with figures of 4-0-21-1. The Statz rating calculates impact based on match context – and Overton’s contributions with both bat and ball came at the moments Somerset needed them most.

Top 5 Statz Ratings

View the full scorecard and all Statz ratings on statz.ai.

Turning point

Somerset were already in trouble at 33/4 after 5.6 overs, but the key sequence was the double blow at 78/6 and 79/7. Thomas Rew’s dismissal at 78/6 in the 13th over ended a promising 14-run stand, and Daniel Sams followed immediately – lbw first ball to Jack Taylor at 79/7 (over 13.2). In the space of four deliveries, Somerset went from rebuilding to scrambling. Without Gregory and Overton’s eighth-wicket stand of 49, the total would not have reached three figures.

Match context

This win lifts Gloucestershire to 4th in the T20 Blast standings with 4 wins from 5 matches (16 points, NRR +1.26). They are building serious momentum and this emphatic victory will only boost that net run rate further.

Somerset drop to 13th with just 2 wins from 5 (8 points, NRR -0.691). Early-order collapses have been a recurring issue, and losing Banton first ball set the tone for a difficult evening in Bristol. They need to find consistency at the top of the order quickly if they are going to climb back into contention.