The Bears head to Taunton looking to qualify for Finals Day for the first time since 2017.
They have won eight games in the group stage, including a resounding 127-run victory over Derbyshire, which secured their qualification to the knockout stages.
The Bears' Blast campaign has seen some key highlights from players such as Tom Latham and Alex Davies, who shared the highest partnership (187) in the 2025 Vitality Blast and the joint-fifth highest in the history of the competition, with Latham scoring the second T20 century of his career off 49 balls.
They went on to make light work of Derbyshire’s batting lineup, skittling them for 106, with Jake Lintott (3/27) the pick of the bowlers.
The Bears, who have previously topped the North Group stages for three years in a row, have battled to qualify for the quarter-finals, with several crunch matches where players needed to stand up in high-pressure moments.
None has stood up more than Hassan Ali, who was sensational in the group stage. The fourth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, Ali claimed 25 wickets during his stint at an average of 15 and an absurd strike rate of 10.40.
He also took career-best figures of 6/23, including a memorable hat-trick against Derbyshire in another mammoth victory.
Another player who has continued his consistent run of form in the competition is Sam Hain.
His haul of 439 runs puts him inside the top 10 run-scorers, and he is the leading run-scorer for the Bears for the third year in a row, and for the seventh time in his career.
The Bears' last outing at Somerset in a T20 was in 2020 in the Central Group. Hain hit a typically dynamic 55* off 31 balls in a rain-affected game to help lift the Bears to 107/4 off 12 overs.
Tim Bresnan then removed Pakistan international Babar Azam in the first over to put Somerset behind the game.
Which is where they remained with Henry Brookes closing out the final over to give the Bears victory by 4 runs on DLS.
The Bears will be looking to replicate this victory on Saturday and take one step closer to Finals Day and repeat their triumph at Edgbaston from 2014.
SquadAlex Davies (C)Ed BarnardDanny BriggsGeorge GartonRichard GleesonSam HainOlly Hannon-DalbyJake LintottZen MalikCraig MilesDan MousleyHamza ShaikhKai SmithRob Yates
.png?clxf=t_general_medium)
