Jamaica's Reggae Girlz defeated Morocco 1-0 in a friendly match at Galvin Park in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday, but the victory came at a cost as star forward Jody Brown suffered an injury that could keep her out for a few days ahead of their opening match against France in the FIFA Women's World Cup.
The Jamaicans were dominant for most of the match and should have gone ahead early after Khadija Shaw was fouled inside the box and was awarded a penalty. However, the Reggae Girlz leading striker fluffed her lines.
Jamaica made amends shortly after when Atlanta Primus scored in the 18th minute to give her team a 1-0 lead. The Jamaicans continued to create chances, but they were unable to add to their lead.
In the second half, Morocco came out with more urgency and put the Jamaican defense under pressure. However, the Reggae Girlz held firm and were able to see out the victory. After the match, Reggae Girlz head coach Lorne Donaldson was pleased with the team's performance, but he expressed concern about Brown's injury.
"Jody picked up a good knock," Donaldson said. "I thought she was done for the game, but she wanted to go on. I'm sure she's going to be out for a few days because it looked like it's a deep contusion. So we don't know yet. I'm not a doctor, but she might be hobbling around for the next couple days."
Despite the injury, Donaldson was encouraged by the team's performance overall.
"We did some good stuff," Donaldson said. "We moved the ball around well and we connected a lot more passes than I really expected. I thought we defended very well in the last 15 minutes, and that's something we've been working on. Overall, it was a good warm-up game."
The Reggae Girlz will now turn their attention to their opening match against France, which will be played on July 20. Donaldson is confident that his team will be ready for the challenge.
The victory over Morocco is a good confidence boost for the Reggae Girlz as they prepare for the World Cup but they will need to be at their best if they want to upset France on Sunday.
Hukum remains on target for what looks set to be a mouthwatering edition of the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot on July 29.
Owen Burrows’ stable star was forced to miss the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot due to the prevailing quick ground given he had only recently come back from a serious injury.
He clearly retains all his ability, though, as on his first outing for 356 days he toppled the hitherto unbeaten Desert Crown in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown.
The Hardwicke was ultimately won by William Muir and Chris Grassick’s Pyledriver, last year’s King George victor, and he will be lying in wait again. Hukum already has one verdict over him in last year’s Coronation Cup.
Also on course for the King George at present are this year’s Derby one-two Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel, plus Coronation Cup winner Emily Upjohn, with the possibility of Desert Crown, Luxembourg and Westover running, too.
“Touch wood, everything is going well and he’ll be running in the King George,” said Burrows.
“We’d like to see some rain, of course, we’d never want to go on rattling quick.
“It was frustrating to miss the Hardwicke with him, but the King George is the big one for him.
“The King George has always been about the clash of the generations and this year that looks especially the case. We’ll see what turns up, but it looks like this year it is going to be a proper race.
“We were really pleased with him at Sandown, we’ve been happy with how he’s been since, so we’re really looking forward to running him.”
Ankle surgery has ruled out 15-time major winner Tiger Woods from playing in The Open at Royal Liverpool but there will be a new Tiger in town for the week, with a German amateur carrying the name at Hoylake.
Tiger Christensen came through final qualifying at West Lancashire Golf Club in Crosby, near Liverpool, earlier this month to book his major debut.
But the United States-based 19-year-old accepts the similarities end with sharing the same name, country of residence and preference for an orange-and-black striped animal driver headcover.
“He’s a pretty big inspiration. To me he’s the greatest of all time,” said the Arizona University student
“I think it’s really special what he’s done for the game, changed the entire game and made it more popular, and his achievements are just unbelievable.
“It’s something you could look up to.”
Referring to how he got his name he added: “It’s not only named after Tiger Woods – my dad has a very good friend who’s a retired boxer and his ring name was Tiger so it’s 50/50.”
“For me it’s never been (a burden) because it’s just my birth name. I’m glad to be called Tiger.
“I understand everything I’m ever going to do they are going to compare me to him straightaway but at the end of the day it’s a different time, I don’t have any connection to him. It’s just a name.”
View this post on InstagramBut with a name like Tiger surely he was destined to become a golfer?“I played a lot of football when I was younger and I always wanted to be a football pro until I was about 10 and then I started playing US kids tournaments and that is when I transitioned to wanting to become a golf professional,” added the Hamburg-born golfer, whose world ranking is above 3,700.
Christensen was the only amateur to make it through final qualifying across four venues, only three days after almost securing a place via the European Amateur Championship in Estonia.
A month earlier the teenager made his DP World Tour debut with an appearance in the Porsche European Open held in the city of his birth, although rounds of 80 and 79 saw him miss the cut by some distance on 13 over.
“I cope with pressure pretty good, although at the DP World Tour event there was a new pressure I hadn’t had in playing with spectators,” he said of his imminent Open appearance.
“Usually in amateur events only the final couple of groups, if you are playing well, get spectators but I think the DP World Tour event really helped me going into the Open.
“I’ve now had those couple of crowd experiences, the seriousness of everyone around the tournament and how professional it is, so I think that will help me a lot.
“I don’t want to sound cocky but I was pretty certain of qualifying. I played the US Open qualifying and fell just short. I felt it wasn’t far away.
“It’s going to be a great experience. I’m going to go with zero expectations and take it all in.
“But my final goal, which is supported by smaller goals, is to win as many majors as I can.”
Kim Clijsters has advised Ons Jabeur to “fake it until you make it” after another heartbreaking grand slam final defeat.
The popular Tunisian could not overcome her nerves in a 6-4 6-4 loss to Marketa Vondrousova that made it back-to-back Wimbledon final losses.
A US Open final defeat to Iga Swiatek was sandwiched in between and Jabeur now joins an unwanted club of players who have lost their first three grand slam finals.
Like Andy Murray, it took Belgian Clijsters five attempts before she finally won one, and she shared tears with Jabeur in the locker room
“Just watching her in her interview and seeing the emotions afterwards, it brings back a lot of memories and thoughts of how you go about it,” said Belgian Clijsters.
“There’s no secret, it’s just trying to give yourself the opportunity to get to that stage again. The unfortunate thing is you cannot practise these things, you cannot practise being in a grand slam final, you can only do it within the occasion.
“The biggest thing she has to maybe learn is to fake it, fake it until you make it. You could see it really clearly that the negative emotions were taking over.
“If she missed a shot, there was the natural kind of reaction that was negative. When she made a great point, there was nothing a lot of the time. That just showed the doubt was overpowering everything.”
Clijsters lost twice in French Open finals and once each at the Australian Open and US Open before her maiden success in New York in 2005.
“It’s tough,” said the 40-year-old, who went on to win four major titles. “But there shouldn’t be any question in her mind about whether she can do it or not. She can beat all these players, there’s no doubt about that.
“For me the most disappointing is not so much the loss, it’s the fact that you weren’t able to bring your best tennis to the biggest occasion, and that’s the most frustrating and that’s why you start to worry – why am I not able to do it? Why am I so overwhelmed with emotions on the big stage?
“But it does feel good eventually when you get it. It’s definitely a process. I just know looking back I wasn’t ready to win and I’m very happy I didn’t win my first.”
Jabeur was grateful for Clijsters’ support and is encouraged that many other players have been through similar adversity before eventually getting their hands on a winners’ trophy.
“I love Kim so much,” said Jabeur. “She’s a great inspiration for me. I grew up watching her a bit. The fact that she takes the time to give me advice and to really hug me, always be there for me, I think it’s priceless.
“She was telling me all the time she lost four. That’s the positive out of it. You cannot force things. It wasn’t meant to be.”
England have no concerns about their attacking ability despite failing to score in each of their last two matches, midfielder Ella Toone insists.
The Lionesses, fourth in the FIFA world rankings, kick off their World Cup quest on Saturday against Haiti in Brisbane, just over a week after playing out a goalless draw in a behind-closed-doors training fixture with Canada on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
It was the same result as their pre-tournament home send-off against Portugal in Milton Keynes on July 1, but Toone has barely heard the subject raised during team training sessions in Australia.
She said: “I don’t think it’s been spoken about as much as other people have. We’ve had a lot of games under Sarina (Wiegman), we’ve had a lot of different goalscorers who have scored so many goals, so I don’t think it’s anything that we’re worried about.
“Like I say, we’ve had time off, we’ve come back together, we’re learning how to play with each other again, we’re finding those connections on the pitch and we’re having those chances.
“I think I’d be more worried if the chances weren’t coming. It’s now about us putting them away, but I don’t think that’s had a massive effect on us. I don’t think that we’re dwelling on that.
“We’re very confident and we know we’ve got a lot of goalscorers in the group as well, so we’re definitely creating those chances. It’s now about making sure we put them in the back of the net.”
Friday’s match-up against seventh-ranked Canada was not for official records and not a formal fixture.
Almost all of Wiegman’s 23-woman squad saw some action, save goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck and forward Bethany England.
The decision not to play England, who was in Wiegman’s European Championship-winning squad but did not see any game time – started the social media rumour mill swirling, but the Tottenham striker appeared to be in good health as she fully trained with the squad on Saturday.
A total of 19 Lionesses were out on the pitch at the Sunshine Coast Stadium session, while Millie Bright, Lotte Wubben-Moy, Lauren James, Rachel Daly, Esme Morgan and Keira Walsh had a recovery day.
On Monday the team will swap seaside for city when they move into their Brisbane hotel ahead of their meeting with Haiti, who sit 53rd in the world rankings.
It seems Toone, who scored the first of England’s two goals in the 2-1 Euro 2022 final, will be especially sorry to say goodbye to the Sunshine Coast after a personally transformative time here.
She added: “I’ve been doing amazing things in Australia. I’ve really found myself here. I never normally wake up early, I’m a proper sleeper.
“But I woke up early the other day – six o’clock – I went and saw the sunrise. I absolutely love walking along the beach. And the other day I went into the sea as well. Luckily the girls got me some goggles as I can’t go in with my eyelashes (on).
“I was under the waves every single day and I thought, ‘Wow, this is me’. Going in the sea has definitely, really made me a changed woman. It’s got me trying different things.
“I always say (I’d do) it, but I’ve actually started reading so that’s nice. I’m reading Jamie Vardy’s autobiography at the minute. I don’t actually read novels, just autobiographies and they’ve got a few pictures in, so that helps!”
The Foxes will return to Europe for his next outing following his narrow defeat in the Belmont Derby.
Andrew Balding’s colt won the Dante before finishing fifth in the Derby at Epsom and was dropping back to 10 furlongs when making his first visit Stateside earlier this month.
He performed with real credit when sent off favourite for the Grade One contest, going down by a length in the hands of Oisin Murphy behind Todd Pletcher’s Far Bridge.
Being slowly away from a wide draw took its toll on the son of Churchill at the business end, compromising his chances of scooping the £343,750 first-prize, but connections were thrilled with his performance and now have their eyes on further big-race assignments closer to home.
He has returned to Balding’s Kingsclere base in rude health and could now be set for a return to the scene of his Dante triumph in York’s Juddmonte International Stakes on August 23 or a drop further back in trip to a mile for the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville (August 13) depending on conditions.
“I think if he had missed the break from a good draw he would have still won, but I think a combination of the bad draw and missing the break just got him beat,” explained Alastair Donald, racing manager for owners King Power.
“He ran huge and it’s another step in the right direction for him, I think.”
Donald went on: “He’s back in England and he will next run in either the Juddmonte or the Jacques Le Marois. He definitely has the speed to go back to a mile and he was the last off the bridle in the Craven.
“Obviously it is stallion enhancing winning over a mile and we will probably be determined by the weather where we will run. If it was soft ground in France we wouldn’t go there and if it was soft at York we would give that a miss, so we’re just keeping our options open between those two races.”
Shohei Ohtani’s solo shot keyed a three-run rally in the ninth inning, Trey Cabbage scored the walk-off run on a throwing error in the 10th and the Los Angeles Angels edged the Houston Astros 13-12 in a wild game Saturday.
Ohtani led off the home half of the ninth with his MLB-leading 33rd home run of the season, taking Houston closer Ryan Pressly deep. Taylor Ward scored on a passed ball later in the inning, and Hunter Renfroe’s RBI single tied the game.
After Ohtani was intentionally walked in the 10th, Astros rookie shortstop Grae Kessinger threw wide of first base while attempting to turn an inning-ending double play, allowing Cabbage to cross home plate and trigger a massive celebration.
The Angels, who had won just once in their previous 11 games, overcame deficits of six runs in the seventh inning and three runs in the ninth.
Both teams’ starters – Reid Detmers for the Angels and Framber Valdez of the Astros – pitched at least six innings, with 18 of the game’s 25 total runs coming in the seventh inning or later.
Brewers blank Reds again, take NL Central lead
Freddie Peralta and three relievers combined to allow just one hit and the Milwaukee Brewers shut out the Cincinnati Reds for the third consecutive game, giving them sole possession of first place in the National League Central.
Christian Yelich homered on the first pitch of the game, and William Contreras and Owen Miller added solo shots later to secure the 3-0 win Saturday.
Peralta (6-7) got his first win since May 21 by throwing six strong innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out six.
Elvis Peguero and Joel Payamps pitched an inning each, and Devin Williams shut the door with his 22nd save of the season.
Milwaukee earned 1-0 victories over Cincinnati on July 9 – the last game before the All-Star break – and in the teams’ first game back on Friday. The Reds managed a total of just seven hits over those three games.
Orioles rally from 4 down, win 7th straight game
Gunnar Henderson hit a game-tying solo shot in the seventh inning, helping the Baltimore Orioles complete a four-run comeback and win collect their seventh straight win by beating the Miami Marlins 6-5.
The winning streak ties the Orioles’ season high and is the longest active run in the majors.
Baltimore (56-35) fell behind 4-0 in the second inning but entered the seventh trailing 5-4. Henderson led off the frame and hit a first pitch home run to tie the game, and Anthony Santander plated the go-ahead run with a one-out single.
Miami squandered a 4-for-5 night from Luis Arraez, who raised his batting average to .386 this season.
Republic of Ireland defender Louise Quinn is confident the Girls in Green have a plan in place to shut down prolific Australia striker Sam Kerr when they face the hosts in their World Cup opener.
Quinn’s side, after all, have done it before, spoiling the Chelsea forward’s 100th appearance for the Matildas with a 3-2 victory when they met for the first time in history at Tallaght Stadium in September 2021.
Dublin native Quinn powered in a second-half header to break the deadlock and memorably hand the Republic their biggest win over a higher-ranked opponent in over two decades.
“It’s rare but I felt like I got one up on her with the Irish team in Tallaght and that is something that I will carry forward with me,” said Quinn, speaking during a team training session at Brisbane’s Meakin Park.
“But she’s very impressive, she’s very strong, easily one of the best strikers in the world now. For me, you concentrate on the whole thing but I definitely have an individual battle on my hands that is essentially what I want.
“What I want to so is to not let her score essentially. Keep her out of the game. She really creates moments out of nothing but it has to be 100 per cent for the 90 minutes.
“Yeah, she runs off the back shoulders a lot. She is so nippy that she can come around the front and come off your blindside and make runs in behind. I can’t wait for the challenge to be honest, this is what you play for, to play against the very best in the world. And she is one of the best.
“We’ve proved before against Australia that we can put something up against her and she was on the pitch that day and had her chances.”
Matildas captain Kerr, Australia’s top goal-scorer of either gender with 63 from 121 caps, was named the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Women’s Footballer of the Year for a second straight season after a 2022/23 campaign that saw her score 17 goals and pick up six assists across the Women’s Super League and Champions League.
She was largely shut down at Tallaght, where Mary Fowler netted two to keep Australia in a game Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson would later tell media he felt was “some kind of record” for the number of technical mistakes he observed in his side.
They will have to do better to impress the 80,000-plus crowd who have sold out Sydney’s Stadium Australia on Thursday night, the second contest on a two-match opening day beginning with co-hosts New Zealand’s meeting with Norway in Auckland.
Sunday was a recovery day for the Republic, who are hoping midfielder Denise O’Sullivan will be fit in time for the biggest day in team history after she was injured in their aborted friendly with Colombia.
An initial X-ray and CT scan encouragingly showed no fracture to O’Sullivan’s shin, and she will be assessed again on Monday afternoon.
Quinn’s name will forever go down in history as one of 23 selected to represent her country in their first World Cup. It is an astonishing accomplishment that has struck her sharply and sporadically, often when she has least expected it.
She said: “I had a really random one after the Zambia game and we had a weekend off.
“I was just chatting to my girlfriend about something, and I was saying ‘I’ll do that after I get back from the World Cup.’ And I actually stopped for a second and realised that yes, I am going to a World Cup.
“And I had to stop for a moment. I got emotional. Because we’ve been talking about this all along but now it’s really confirmed. It hit me. We were just getting the dinner ready and chatting, ‘We’ll do this after the World Cup. It was really bizarre, a really emotional moment and I didn’t think that was going to happen.”
France midfielder N’Golo Kante joined Chelsea from Premier League champions Leicester for a reported £32million, on this day in 2016.
Kante’s only season with the Foxes, following his arrival from Caen the previous summer, saw him play a pivotal role in their title-winning campaign.
He was offered a bumper new contract at the King Power Stadium but opted to leave for Chelsea.
“Despite the offer of a substantially-improved, long-term contract, it became apparent that N’Golo’s wish was to join Chelsea,” said a Leicester statement.
Kante cited the opportunity to work under then-Blues boss Antonio Conte as a major reason for moving to Stamford Bridge.
“I am so happy to have signed for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. It’s adream come true for me,” he said.
“The opportunity to work with a brilliant coach and some of the best players in the world was simply too good to turn down.”
Chelsea won the Premier League during Kante’s first season in London as the now 32-year-old became the first player since Eric Cantona in 1993 to win back-to-back top-flight titles in England with two clubs.
Kante also won the FA Cup, Europa League and Champions League before leaving Stamford Bridge this summer for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad.
Novak Djokovic is going for his eighth Wimbledon title and Carlos Alcaraz his first in a final billed as the ultimate generation game.
Djokovic, 36, is bidding to become the oldest man to take the SW19 crown while 20-year-old Alcaraz is the youngest finalist since fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in 2006.
The winner will also claim the world number one spot.
Elsewhere, there is British interest in the juniors competition, with Henry Searle reaching the final of the boys’ singles, while Alfie Hewett looks to finally win an elusive wheelchair singles title in SW19.
Here, the PA news agency looks ahead to the final day of the Championships.
Will it be Novak the gr-eight?
Djokovic is making history with virtually every victory and a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (4) win over Jannik Sinner in his record-equalling 46th grand slam semi-final earned him a record-breaking 35th final, taking him past American great Chris Evert.
The Serbian is now only one victory away from matching Roger Federer by winning an eighth Wimbledon title, and Federer and Bjorn Borg by claiming five in a row.
He would also move level with Margaret Court with a record 24th grand slam crown.
It is 10 years since Djokovic lost a match on Centre Court, an extraordinary run of 45 matches going back to the 2013 final against Andy Murray.
Or king Carlos the first?
Standing in Djokovic’s way is swashbuckling Spaniard Alcaraz in what will, incredibly, be only the 18th match of his career on grass.
The world number one proved he has got the hang of the surface by winning at Queen’s Club last month and he dismantled third seed Daniil Medvedev in three sets in their semi-final.
Alcaraz already has a grand slam title to his name having won last year’s US Open, and he reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
There he was beaten by Djokovic, but only after cramping up following two evenly-contested sets.
Next stop, Searle’s court
Wolverhampton’s Searle is one match away from becoming Britain’s first boys’ singles champion at Wimbledon for 61 years.
The 17-year-old defeated American fourth seed Cooper Williams 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Backed by his noisy fan club consisting of family members and friends from his tennis club, Searle is on the brink of emulating Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, who triumphed in 1962.
Jack Draper was the last British player to make the final five years ago, while Liam Broady also reached it in 2011, but both were beaten.
Searle will face 17-year-old Yaroslav Demin of Russia in the final.
There is also British interest in the junior doubles after Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy reached the final, while Alfie Hewett goes for his maiden wheelchair singles title against world number one Tokito Oda of Japan.
Order of play
Centre Court (from 2pm)
Carlos Alcaraz v Novak Djokovic
Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens v Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova
Court One (from 11am)
Alfie Hewett v Tokito Oda
Henry Searle v Yaroslav Demin
Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan v James Blake/Lleyton Hewitt
Weather
Sunny changing to cloudy by late morning.
On what was an action-packed opening day at the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Junior Championships on Saturday, most of the medal favourites safely progressed to the next round, setting up even more mouth-watering prospects for sports enthusiast, heading into Sunday’s second day of action in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
In boys’ Under-17 action, Jamaica’s Thomas Overton defeated Barbadian Armaan Suleman in straight sets, 11-3, 11-3, 11-8; Shiloh Asregado of Guyana bettered Trinidad and Tobago's Yohann Marchock 3-0, after posting 11-1, 11-6 and 11-7 scores in the three games.
Luke Wilson of Barbados also came out tops 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 in his contest against Trinidad and Tobago’s Sanjiv Mungal, while Guyana’s Demetri Lowe got the better of Trinidad and Tobago’s Marcus Camps-Campins 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8 in a hard-fought contest.
However, when it came down to second round action, it was Guyana’s Louis da Silva, who earlier had a bye, Daniel Henderson, Luke Wilson, Vincentian Jaydon Williams, Andrew Cox, Elias Carpol, Jamaica’s Lucas Thomson and Mohryan Baksh, also of Guyana, that will contest the third round.
Da Silva will square off against Henderson, Wilson against Williams, Cox against Carpol, while Thomson and Baksh, will lock horns.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Christophe Bovell is among those that secured their spots in the next round in the boys’ Under-15 category, following a 11-13, 11-6, 11-12 and 14-12 win over Bermuda’s William Frith.
Guyana’s Richard Rodrigues also progressed after bettering Vincentian Dru Sanuel 12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 11-1 in a match that lasted 24 minutes, while Bermuda’s Charlie Makin scored an 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 win over Avian Wade of Guyana in a 16-minute contest.
Blake Edwards ensured will have another representative in the next round, as he easily brushed aside De’ron Lewis 11-6, 11-2, 11-3.
Jayden George of St Vincent and the Grenadines was given a bye, along with Barbadian Daniel Sealy, Bermuda’s Owen Rosorea and Zevieh Abraham of British Virgin Island.
Meanwhile, byes were the order of the day in the opening round of the boys’ Under-19 category, but when they got to the second round is where the true quality came to light.
Nicholas Verwey of Guyana outclassed Barbadian Aidan Parris 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-3 in a four-set match that lasted a half-hour. Verwey will next tackle Jamaica’s Alex Chin, who defeated British Virgin Islands Louis Day in straight sets, 11-6, 11-6, 11-1.
Barbadian Alex Stewart and Jamaica’s Tobias Levy are also set to lock horns after both registered comfortable three-set wins over Russell Forrester and Neil McComb respectively, while another Jamaican Arjan Trehan and Guyana’s Michael Alphonso, will meet in the other contest.
On the girls’ side of action, Jamaica’s Katherine Risden defeated Darci Reich of US Virgin Island 11-3,11-3, 11-2 in a 14-minute match, to book her spot in the next round of the Under-19 category. She is set to face Sumairaa Suleman of Barbados, who was given a bye.
Another Jamaican Savannah Thomson bettered Vincentian Nadira Morgan 11-5, 11-9 and 11-1 in a 17-minute match. She awaits her opponent which will either be Trinidad and Tobago’s Sigourney Williams or Guyana’s Kirsten Gomes.
In Under-17 category, the Barbados pair of Eboni Atherley and Sarrayah Yearwood and Jamaica’s trio of Elle Wilson, Mehar Trehan and Sanjana Nallapati, are those who were safely through to the next round at the time of writing.
Captain Lewis Gregory savoured Somerset shedding their “nearly men” tag as they claimed a first Vitality Blast crown in 18 years.
While they won the competition in 2005, Somerset had been unrewarded on their previous seven visits to Finals Day, finishing runners-up in three successive years in 2009, 2010 and 2011 then again in 2021.
But a couple of accomplished bowling displays – in which they defended sub-150 totals against both Surrey in the semi-final then Essex in the Edgbaston showpiece – saw them belatedly end their hoodoo.
Gregory was beaming after Matt Henry’s four for 24 underpinned a 14-run win over Essex, who were all out for 131 in 18.3 overs when Daniel Sams was dismissed for a belligerent 45 off 26 balls.
“(It feels) pretty damn good,” said a relieved Gregory at the presentation ceremony. “I’ve been to finals day many, many times and this is a special feeling to get over the line.
“Everyone sees Somerset as the nearly men, and it becomes harder each time you come back. I was just praying we had a couple of guys who were having on of those days where you just can’t stop them.
“We did it the hard way throughout the day, it’s just rewards.”
A score of 142 for seven – in a match reduced to 19 overs per side because of rain – was enough for Somerset to move into Saturday night’s final, where they were all out for 145 in exactly 20 overs.
Adam Rossington and Dan Lawrence flew out of the traps for Essex, putting on 27 in 11 deliveries, but they were halted in their tracks by an accomplished spell of fast bowling from Henry, who took out both batters then produced the ball of the day with a bail-trimmer to see the back of Michael Pepper.
Ish Sodhi, signed on a short-term deal last month due to injuries to Peter Siddle and Roelof van der Merwe, made crucial inroads into Essex’s batting, with the New Zealand leg-spinner taking three for 22.
However, Sams played a lone hand to keep Essex in the game, prompting Gregory to turn to his ace Henry, who saw the first ball of his final over dispatched for a towering, straight six.
It was his third maximum of the game and left Essex needing 15 off the last 11 deliveries with just one wicket left, but a dot was followed by Henry offering width and Sams carving to short third, where Tom Kohler-Cadmore plucked the ball out of the air with a terrific one-handed grab.
“It’s going to be played a lot over the next wee while,” said Sodhi.
“He took an absolute hanger and it’s definitely one of the most exciting moments in my cricketing career so far, I’m glad he hung on to it because Sams is a dangerous player.
“T20 is a fickle game, with 15 runs left it’s effectively two and a half hits and you win the game, and Sams is well capable of that. It makes that catch that Tom took all that more special.”
Victory for Somerset marks the fifth successive occasion that the team who prevailed in the second semi-final also won the final.
While Sams was at the crease, Essex were always in with a chance but captain Simon Harmer felt the Australian’s dismissal to a breathtaking catch was one of many things that did not go their way.
Harmer conceded Somerset, who lost just twice in the entire campaign, were worthy winners but rued what he perceived to be luck being against them, having reached the final by defeating defending champions Hampshire.
“Hats off to Somerset, they were the better team – they outplayed us,” Harmer said. “We didn’t get the rub of the green, in my opinion, and on days like this, you need a bit of luck.
“I can’t fault the way the boys played it. At the very end Daniel Sams just needed someone to bat with him and unfortunately we kept losing wickets. Such is the nature of the game.”
Gerwyn Price advanced to the second round of the World Matchplay as he recovered from a slow start to defeat Stephen Bunting 10-3 in Blackpool.
After Bunting won the first two legs, Price hit back to level things up before sweeping to victory, claiming each of the last seven.
The Welshman, runner-up to Michael van Gerwen in last year’s competition, said on Sky Sports: “I was 2-0 down, could have been 3-0 down – it was a slow start. I didn’t play brilliant, but I did what I had to do.
“I was up and down. It was just first-round jitters. Getting through the first round is always tough, but I’ll be better next round.
“It’s one of the tournaments I haven’t won, so you try a little bit too hard sometimes, especially in finals. But I’ve plenty more years left in this game so if it’s not this year, it will be sometime soon hopefully, and fingers crossed it is this year.”
Price’s opponent in round two will be Joe Cullen, who saw off Belgian debutant Mike De Decker 10-7 in the first match of the tournament’s opening night.
The Winter Gardens action also saw 2019 champion Rob Cross eliminated after losing a thrilling contest to Daryl Gurney.
Cross came back from 4-0 down to force a tiebreaker, and then led for the first time in the match at 10-9, before Northern Ireland’s Gurney turned things around again to triumph 12-10.
Gurney now faces Gary Anderson, the winner in 2018 and runner-up in 2020, after the Scot beat Dave Chisnall 10-6.
Matt Henry starred with four for 24 as Somerset ended their Finals Day hoodoo by beating Essex to claim a first Vitality Blast title in 18 years at Edgbaston.
Adam Rossington and Dan Lawrence flew out of the traps in pursuit of 146 in the final, but Henry dismissed both and produced the ball of the day with a bail-trimmer to see off Michael Pepper.
Daniel Sams threatened to pull off a dramatic finish with 45 off 26 balls but Henry, who was held back until the penultimate over, had the last laugh as Essex were all out for 131 to lose by 14 runs.
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