Defending a modest total of 145, Somerset’s paceman Henry led the charge with figures of 4/24 from 3.3 overs, while leg-spinner Sodhi contributed with 3/22 from his allotted four overs. Essex was ultimately dismissed for 131 with nine balls remaining.

Essex’s Adam Rossington and Dan Lawrence provided a rapid start to their pursuit of Somerset’s target. However, Henry intervened, dismissing both batsmen before clean bowling Michael Pepper with an excellent delivery. With Essex struggling at 55/5, Sodhi further dented their hopes by dismissing Paul Walter at 80/6.

Despite the challenge, Daniel Sams posed a threat to Somerset with a blistering 45 off just 26 balls. However, just as Essex was eyeing a remarkable victory, Sams’ attempt to add another boundary was thwarted by a brilliant one-handed diving catch from Somerset’s Tom Kohler-Cadmore. With that catch, Somerset clinched their first Blast title in 18 years.

Reflecting on the win, Somerset captain Lewis Gregory expressed his delight, stating, “[It feels] pretty damn good. I’ve been to finals day many, many times, and this is a special feeling to get over the line tonight.”

Essex skipper Simon Harmer conceded that Somerset outplayed them, acknowledging the exceptional bowling performance by Somerset’s bowlers.

In the earlier semi-finals of the day, Somerset secured a 24-run victory over Surrey, while Essex defeated defending champions Hampshire by five wickets in a rain-affected match decided by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

Overall, it was an enthralling day of cricket, culminating in Somerset’s well-deserved victory and the end of their 18-year wait for the T20 Blast title.

Zaman’s first breakthrough came with the dismissal of Emilio Gay, who had been Northamptonshire’s top scorer with 47 runs off 34 deliveries. Showcasing his proficiency in death bowling, Zaman further displayed his skills in the 18th over by removing Saif Zaib, who had contributed a rapid 25 from just 16 balls. Not content with that, he concluded his excellent spell by clean bowling Andrew Tye in the final over of the innings, effectively restricting Northamptonshire to a total of 156/8.

In addition, the right-arm pacer has also established himself as the fourth-highest wicket-taker in T20 matches this year, amassing an impressive tally of 38 wickets. The current leaders in this category are Rashid Khan with 64 wickets, followed by Shaheen Shah Afridi with 41 wickets and Nathan Ellis with 40 wickets.

Zaman’s commendable performance in the T20 Blast has seen him feature in 11 matches, where he has taken 19 wickets at an average of 17.5, with an economy rate of 8.3. His consistent contributions have made him a valuable asset for Derbyshire throughout the tournament.

Due to an unfortunate Achilles injury sidelining Michael Bracewell for the next six to eight months, Usama will now assume the position of Worcestershire’s other overseas player. Paul Pridgeon, Chairman of the Worcestershire Cricket Steering Group, expressed satisfaction with Usama’s performance and confirmed that he has signed on for the remaining seven group games of the Blast.

“We are confident Usama will do a good job,” said Pridgeon. “We are disappointed for Michael and hope he is back on the cricket field sooner rather than later.”

Usama himself expressed his joy at fulfilling his dream of playing county cricket and being available for the rest of the tournament. He looks forward to contributing to the team’s success and maintaining a strong position in the competition.

In addition to his involvement in the Vitality Blast, Usama made his debut in the LV=Insurance County Championship for Worcestershire during their match against Sussex at the 1st Central County Ground, where he took two wickets.

Representing Nottinghamshire Outlaws, Afridi has played seven matches in just ten days, amassing impressive statistics of 10 wickets from 27 overs, with an average of 24.5 and an economy rate of 9.1.

Arthur took to Twitter to address the concern and offer an explanation for Afridi’s workload. He highlighted that Afridi had only bowled 28 overs in ten days, which he considered to be a manageable workload.

In fact, Arthur suggested that Afridi needed to increase his workload in preparation for Test cricket, indicating that the team management was actively monitoring his progress.

“He has bowled 28 overs in 10 days!! If anything, he needs to increase his workload to play Test cricket. It is being monitored all the time,” Arthur commented on Twitter.

Pakistan is scheduled to play a two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in July of this year.