SOMERSET CCC travel to Edgbaston on Saturday where they will set out to become the first county to retain the Vitality Blast trophy since the competition was introduced to the domestic calendar in 2003.
Somerset first lifted the T20 Cup in 2005 under the leadership of Graeme Smith, but it was to be another 18 years before they lifted the trophy again by beating Essex in last July’s final.
Lewis Gregory, who led the Cidermen to victory on a day that will live long in the memory of those who were there, is hoping that the Vitality Blast Trophy will be returning to Taunton on Saturday evening.
Gregory is still only 32 years old but made his first appearance in T20 cricket for Somerset back in 2011. Since then, he has played in 142 matches - more than anyone else in the team - scored 1,625 runs at an average of 20,56, including six half-centuries, held onto 63 catches and taken 147 wickets: a club record at 25.51.
The Somerset skipper made his first appearance at the T20 Finals Day back in 2012 when it was hosted at the SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff, and Somerset lost to Hampshire in the semi-final.
Gregory is no stranger to Finals Day and this will be his sixth appearance at the finale of the T20 competition.
Looking ahead to the match the skipper said: “The mood in the camp is really good.
“We are playing some brilliant cricket across all formats, and we will go into Finals Day with a lot of confidence.
“We are all looking forward to what is the best day to be a part of as a county cricketer, and hopefully we can repeat what we did last year.
“We spoke about getting back to back wins in the Blast at the start of the season and for us its all about creating history.
“To be the first team to do that would be unbelievable and it would be a pretty special moment that’s for sure.”
Lewis is now in his 15th season at Somerset, so does the T20 still hold that magic for him?
“Somerset is where I came through the system and you want to perform and you want to win trophies for that club,” he said.
“In the time that I have been here we maybe should have won a lot more silverware than we have, but this is another opportunity to do that and fingers crossed we will be able to.”
Finally Lewis paid tribute to the Cidermen’s supporters.
He said: “We are unbelievably lucky with the support that we get across all formats and it will be really special to be able to bring something home for the loyal fans that we have and we are very fortunate here in the west country with the backing that we get.
“There were a lot of people up at Northants to see our quarter final on a pretty miserable day and we look forward to putting in another performance at Edgbaston on Saturday.”
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