Aussie speedster claims four wickets to help Somerset demolish Middlesex to go top of their T20 Blast pool
Tasmanian and Hobart Hurricanes speedster Riley Meredith has claimed his career-best T20 figures in his first ever visit to Lord’s to lead Somerset’s rout of Middlesex for a record low of 78.
Meredith, playing his fourth match of the season for the southwest county, ripped through the Middlesex top order with 4-12 to help dismiss the hosts for their lowest ever total in the T20 Blast.
The 27-year-old express quick and new ball partner Craig Overton both sent down their four overs consecutively as they reduced Middlesex to 6-34 at the end of the eighth over after skipper Lewis Gregory elected to field first.
Meredith was the first to strike in the second over when Martin Andersson skied an attempted heave to the short boundary on the leg side.
Overton (2-21) and Meredith traded wickets across the next few overs as the Australian’s pace proved too much to handle for Max Holden, Ryan Higgins and Joe Cracknell, who could do little but edge a searing delivery on its way through to keeper Tom Banton.
It was Meredith’s second four-wicket haul in T20 cricket, bettering his 4-21 for the Hurricanes against Melbourne Stars in January 2019.
“We just kept it really simple,” he said post-match. “Obviously there was a bit of bounce in the pitch and me and Craig at the top just bashed our length and (some) shot selection from them really helped us out with a few wickets.
“We were bowling well and taking wickets and Lewis (Gregory) thought we’d just keep going even though we were a little bit tired after the four (overs straight), but it worked out well.
“It was definitely a little bit spicy (but) I don’t think it was a 9-50 wicket.”
Josh Davey and Ben Green then took two wickets each as Middlesex lasted just 16.3 overs before Banton (49no) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (30no) ensured there were no hiccups in reply as Somerset romped to a nine-wicket victory to go top of the South Group with three wins from their five matches.
Meredith, in his first stint in the county T20 competition after missing the Indian Premier League for the first time in four years, is among the top wicket-takers this season with nine and a superb economy rate of 6.12 in his four appearances so far.
He said he was loving his time at Somerset with it nice to “tick off” a career milestone with his best return and equal second most economical four over spell.
“Just a really good day for us which is really pleasing,” Meredith said. “It’s a great group of guys, they’ve been really welcoming and they’ve made it super easy for me.
“That’s probably the first thing I noticed when I first got here is it’s really calm and composed and everyone knows what they need to do. Even though we had a couple of losses, it definitely didn’t get us down.”
Meredith’s Somerset next face Xavier Bartlett’s Kent and Marnus Labuschagne’s Glamorgan at home in Taunton this weekend where they will be looking to cement their spot at the top of their pool.
Bartlett also enjoyed a day out against Middlesex last Sunday with 3-34 off four overs, but it couldn’t get his side over the line as the north London county chased down Kent’s 8-173 with four balls to spare.
T20 Blast standings
Australians in the 2024 County Championship
Durham: Ben Dwarshuis, Ashton Turner (both T20s only)
Essex: Daniel Sams (T20s only)
Glamorgan: Marnus Labuschagne
Gloucestershire: Cameron Bancroft, Beau Webster
Hampshire: Michael Neser, Ben McDermott (T20s only)
Kent: Wes Agar, Charlie Stobo, Xavier Bartlett (T20s only)
Lancashire: Nathan Lyon, Chris Green (T20s only)
Leicestershire: Peter Handscomb, Marcus Harris
Northamptonshire: Chris Tremain (first four matches only), Ashton Agar (T20s only)
Somerset: Matthew Renshaw, Riley Meredith
Surrey: Sean Abbott, Spencer Johnson (T20s only)
Sussex: Nathan McAndrew, Daniel Hughes