James Rew smashed an astonishing unbeaten career-best hundred to propel Somerset to an 18-run Vitality Blast victory over arch rivals Gloucestershire at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.

Available after making his England Test debut earlier this month, the 22-year-old scored 116 not out from just 56 deliveries and struck 14 fours and five sixes as Somerset posted 194 for 7.

Having earlier returned figures of 3 for 24, D’Arcy Short top-scored with a 34-ball 59 to give the chase lift-off, only for Gloucestershire to falter during the middle overs. Kamran Dharival hit a quickfire 38 from 20 deliveries, but Riley Meredith claimed 3 for 30 to restrict the visitors to 176 for 7.

Gloucestershire won the toss and imposed themselves, Liam Scott and Marchant de Lange removing openers Tom Banton and Will Smeed in quick succession. Tom Kohler-Cadmore then hoisted a delivery from Scott to de Lange at long-on with the score 47 for 3 at the end of the powerplay.

Things went from bad to worse for the home side, Thomas Rew succumbing to a leg-side strangle as de Lange made further inroads and Lewis Goldsworthy offering a return catch to Short via a leading edge as the holders lurched to 98 for 5 at halfway.

Dropped on 38 by Daz Ahmed on the deep mid-wicket boundary off the bowling of de Lange, James Rew made good his escape to smash a 23-ball 50 with 6 fours and 2 sixes and spearhead a thrilling recovery.

Rew plundered a brace of sixes in one Scott over and then cleared the rope at deep mid-wicket at the expense of Ahmed to bring up a magnificent hundred off just 43 deliveries, the second quickest in Somerset T20 history behind the 42-ball ton made by Steffan Myburgh against Essex in 2018. He added 47 in four overs with Craig Overton for the seventh wicket and, crucially for Somerset, remained at large until the end.

Short met fire with fire, dominating a progressive alliance of 79 in 8.2 overs with Miles Hammond as Somerset’s bowlers struggled to contain the opening pair. Dropped in the deep by Smeed on 37, Short made Somerset pay, going to a swashbuckling half century via 31 balls with his eighth four.

Goldsworthy made the breakthrough, Short slicing the spinner’s second delivery to backward point, while Joe Phillips scooped a delivery from Josh Shaw to third man as Gloucestershire reached halfway on 89 for 2.

When Hammond holed out to Banton at deep long off for 23, Goldsworthy had a second wicket and the visitors had lost crucial momentum. Meredith then bowled Jack Taylor with the score 97 for 4 as Somerset assumed the upper hand on the back of a burst of four wickets for 20 runs in 22 balls.

Dhariwal and Scott added 55 for the seventh wicket to threaten a fightback, only for the latter to nick behind off the bowling of Sams with a further 43 required from 15 balls. Striking the ball cleanly, Dhariwal mustered 2 fours and 3 sixes before falling to Meredith, his dismissal signalling the end of Gloucestershire’s hopes.