Vasconcelos named in Blast squad as Procter and Patel get call for Somerset showdown

The opener fractured his hand a less than a week ago in the abandoned County Championship clash against Gloucestershire at Bristol, and head coach John Sadler said on Tuesday the left-hander's injury was being 'monitored'.

It seems that he is still in with a chance of taking on the reigning champions.

With Ravi Bopara and Raphy Weatherall out injured and overseas players Matt Breetzke and Sikandar Raza unavailable, red ball skipper Luke Procter is called into the T20 squad for the first time this season – and four years after his last Blast appearance.

The former Lancashire man hasn’t played a competitive T20 match since Steelbacks lost their most recent quarter-final at Gloucestershire in October, 2020.

There is also a place in the 15 for teenager Krish Patel, who was signed last week after leaving Surrey, but Emilio Gay is left out completely.

The left-hander announced last month that he is leaving the club at the end of the season to sign for Durham, and has been overlooked for the Blast clash, as he was for last week’s Championship match at Gloucestershire.

Australian all-rounder Ashton Agar, who only arrived in the UK on Monday, has trained with the squad and will play, while Saif Zaib comes back into the fray having missed the two recent championship matches to play in the Max60 tournament in the Caribbean.

Steelbacks squad v Somerset: David Willey, George Bartlett, Luke Procter, Krish Patel, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Justin Broad, Saif Zaib, Ashton Agar, Lewis McManus, Rob Keogh, Gus Miller, James Sales, Freddie Heldreich, Ben Sanderson, Jack White