Having won the trophy in only its third year of existence when they beat Lancashire at The Oval in 2005, this was their first T20 Blast triumph at Edgbaston.
And they did it in remarkable fashion, twice defending scores of 145 or less, to beat 2003 inaugural winners Surrey in the second semi-final and then 2019 winners Essex to crown themselves Kings of the South.
In the second all-Southern Finals Day in three years, after Kent's triumph in 2021, and Hampshire's a year ago, this time it was the West Country who came out on top as Somerset closed out a campaign in which they had already set a record for most wins in a qualification group.
Despite losing three wickets in six deliveries as they fell to 50 for four, Essex reached the target with three balls to spare, thanks to cameos from Matt Critchley (26* off 14) and Daniel Sams (29 off 17).
Joe Weatherley, who top-scored for Hampshire with 63 off 39 balls, said the dressing room were ‘bitterly disappointed’.
‘With Duckworth-Lewis, it only takes a couple of guys to hit a couple of sixes and that’s what happened,’ said Weatherley.
The beauty in their side is its depth. There is stardust aplenty but also match winners throughout. Take their hard-hitting top-order: Will Smeed, Tom Banton and Kohler-Cadmore arrived at finals day with a combined 1,374 runs at a strike rate of 166 – but could manage only starts all day. It mattered not.
Somerset’s inaugural Blast came under the leadership of Graeme Smith, the lauded South Africa Test captain. This encore could partly be attributed to captaincy every bit as admirable. Defending a middling score of 145 against Essex, Lewis Gregory recognised — just as he had in the semi-final against Surrey — the need to take wickets with the new ball.
In the other semi-final, Essex knocked out holders Hampshire by five wickets as all-rounder Matt Critchley played a starring role by taking two wickets and hitting an unbeaten 26.
But they fell short at the final hurdle, leaving captain Simon Harmer in a reflective mood.
"I think you can pick apart a million pieces of the game, at the end of the day we were outplayed. I think they bowled exceptionally. Unfortunately, sometimes there's a loser and that's us tonight," said Harmer.
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