'We can win a game from anywhere' warns Overton as champs Somerset target more Blast glory
Craig Overton has warned Northants Steelbacks that Somerset have proved they 'can win a game from anywhere' ahead of their huge Vitality Blast Finals Day showdown on Saturday morning (start 11am).
The England all-rounder was the west country side's unlikely match winner in their dramatic quarter-final win over Yorkshire at Headingley on Wednesday night.
Chasing the home side's 161 for nine, Somerset looked as good as out as they slumped 59 for seven and then 82 for eight in reply.
But Overton had other ideas, hammering eight fours and five sixes in a brilliant 79 not out as he and Riley Meredith (6no) put on 80 for the ninth wicket in just 5.2 overs to see their side home with a ball to spare.
Reigning champions Somerset have seemingly been living on borrowed time for a while now after a disastrous start to their Central & West Group campaign.
But five wins out of their last six, with two of those against the Steelbacks, saw them squeeze into the last eight on the final day, and they then produced that miraculous comeback to claim a place at a sixth straight Finals Day.
They will now be confident of securing a third win over Northants in the space of more than two weeks, and Overton says he and his team-mates simply don't know when they are beaten.
"It gives us great confidence to know that we can win a game from anywhere," said Overton, who last played for his country in 2022.
"I don't think any team is going to want to play us, knowing that we can bat all the way down.
"We can win games from literally any position, with the bat and with the ball.
"We know we are going to have to turn up on Finals Day and perform, because it is not going to be given to us.
"We are happy we are still in with a chance of retaining our title."
And looking back on his incredible knock against the White Rose, Overton admitted: "I've never played a more important innings in T20 cricket.
"I have probably played more important ones in the Championship, but that is by far my best in T20, and hopefully I am hitting the groove for Saturday."
Somerset are actually on a four-match winning streak against the Steelbacks in T20 cricket.
The most recent occasion when Northants beat the west country side was in the covid-hit summer of 2020, when Josh Cobb led Northants to a nine-run win at the County Ground.
Overall, the two sides have met 23 times in T20 cricket, with Somerset winning 13 and the Steelbacks seven, while one match was tied and two ended in no results due to rain.