Match overview
Somerset beat Birmingham Bears by 4 wickets in a T20 Blast match at The Cooper Associates County Ground on 6 September 2025. Chasing 191, Somerset reached their target finishing on 191/6, with SR Dickson earning the Player of the Match award. Birmingham Bears had won the toss and batted first, posting 190/6 on the back of a 82-run powerplay. Somerset's chase was built primarily through the middle overs, where they scored 83 runs for 2 wickets, before a tense death phase of 59 runs from the final overs settled the match in the home side's favour.
The result was a notable one in context. The venue's chase success rate across 76 T20 matches sits at 43%, and the average second-innings score is 167 runs. Somerset's chase of 191 was 24 runs above that average, placing this among the more demanding successful run chases the ground has seen.
Venue and conditions
The Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton has a well-established record as a batters' venue in the powerplay. The average powerplay contribution across all T20 matches here is 52 runs, and Birmingham Bears' 82-run, 1-wicket powerplay on this occasion demonstrates the kind of ceiling possible when conditions allow. The average first-innings score of 182 from 76 matches tells you teams regularly press past 180; anything under that total tends to leave a side vulnerable.
The toss data is significant at this venue. Teams winning the toss have chosen to field first in 79% of matches, suggesting captains generally prefer chasing here. Birmingham Bears' decision to bat first was therefore against the usual grain, and while 190/6 is a competitive total, the ground's history shows chasing sides succeed just 43% of the time. Somerset defied those odds, making their own death-over scoring rate of 59 runs from the final phase the decisive factor.
Dew and evening conditions in September can influence how the pitch behaves in the second innings. The ball tends to skid on more as the surface softens, which generally assists boundary-hitting later in a chase and can dull the effectiveness of spin.
How to watch
T20 Blast coverage in the UK is broadcast on Sky Sports Cricket for selected fixtures. Matches can be streamed live via Sky Go for existing subscribers, or accessed through a NOW TV Sports membership on a day-pass or monthly basis. It is worth checking the Sky Sports schedule directly for specific match coverage, as not every group-stage Blast fixture receives live broadcast treatment.
Recent form
Somerset arrived at this match in strong condition. Four wins from their last five Blast fixtures in 2025, against Gloucestershire, Kent, Essex, and Hampshire, gave them clear momentum. Their only loss in that run was against Surrey. Birmingham Bears came in with a more mixed record: three wins and two defeats from their previous five matches, with victories over Derbyshire, Worcestershire, and Lancashire offset by losses to Northamptonshire and Durham.
On that five-match comparison, Somerset's run of form carried more weight coming into the fixture, and the result here broadly reflected it. With the head-to-head series now level at 1-1, any future meeting between these sides at Cooper Associates will carry the added interest of a deciding encounter in what remains a very short bilateral record.
