SOMERSET are sitting pretty in second in the Vitality Blast South Group after last night's 16-run victory over Hampshire in Taunton.

With five wins and three defeats from eight matches, here's a look at the main talking points to have arisen in the competition so far.

Death bowling a concern

Prior to last night's win over Hampshire, Somerset's bowling so far could have been summarised fairly simply; spinners good, pacemen not so good.

The opposite was true yesterday - Roelof van der Merwe went for 54 in four overs and Max Waller was fortunate to get away with conceding just 32 in a below-par display - but on the whole it seems that the faster the ball is bowled the quicker it disappears.

Aside from Jerome Taylor, whose figures have been helped no end by his excellent 5-15 against Hampshire, each of Somerset's pacemen are going at over 10 an over in the competition.

Somerset County Gazette:

JUBILANT: Jerome Taylor celebrates against Hampshire. Pic: Alex Davidson/SCCC

Jamie Overton showed signs of improvement last night but is yet to look like a bowler who can be relied upon in the shortest format, particularly at the death, where Somerset have struggled so far.

That's why Taylor was brought in and the West Indian is improving all the time after a rusty start, but he'll need more in the way of support from his fellow pacemen if Somerset are to challenge in the latter stages.

Openers failing to fire

Johann Myburgh was excellent in last season’s T20 campaign but he and Steve Davies are yet to hit their straps this time around.

Tom Banton, though below-par when handed an opportunity in the Royal London One-Day Cup, deserves an opportunity at the top of the order now he is back from England Under-19 duty.

His 50-over struggles earlier this summer could, in part, be put down to his place in the middle order - each of his best innings this season, be it for England Under-19s, Somerset's 2nd XI or even his club side Taunton St Andrew's, have come in the top three.

Captain Lewis Gregory spoke very highly of the prospect after Sunday's win over Middlesex - “he’s got an immense amount of ability and I’m sure we’ll see some of that this year" - and, with both existing openers averaging below 17, Banton may not have too long to wait.

Somerset have a potential star on their hands and it would be a shame to see him carrying drinks for the remainder of the tournament. 

Gregory, of course, is another option at the top of the order having shown promise in that role last year. Long-term it is something the skipper is keen to do again, but his success coming in at the death may keep him in the middle order for now.

How to solve Dom dilemma?

DOM Bess’ omission from each of Somerset’s T20 sides so far - and the County Championship win at Worcestershire - has raised concerns among supporters desperate to avoid a repeat of the Jos Buttler/Craig Kieswetter scenario from 2013.

Somerset are blessed to have two fine spinners for red-ball cricket and two more for the white ball, but it can be a double edged sword as keeping everyone happy becomes a challenge.

Bess, disappointed to miss out at New Road with England's Test squad selection looming, is eager to play all formats but fitting him in the T20 side is proving difficult.

Somerset County Gazette:

LIMITED: Dom Bess has found white-ball opportunities hard to come by for Somerset so far. Pic: Alex Davidson/SCCC

As mentioned above, the spinners are proving more economical than their pace bowling counterparts - would playing Bess with Waller and van der Merwe be out the question? Could Gregory move to the top of the order with vdM at seven and Bess at eight? Or, perhaps most radical, a suggestion made on the InCider website puts forward the idea of Bess as a pinch-hitting opener.

Whatever they decide, Bess is a fine player to have waiting in the wings and Somerset have flexibility moving forwards in the competition.

Batting deep is biggest strength

THE struggles of Somerset's opening pair have been outlined already but, for context, the scores at which the first wicket have been lost in this year's competition are 24, 4, 27, 12, 39, 22, 26 and 1.

Somerset have been three wickets down inside three overs in each of the past two matches, and the fact they have managed to score 229 and 197 respectively is testament to the remarkable depth in the batting order - as are the following stats.

It is almost unfair to have a batsman as destructive as Roelof van der Merwe strolling in at number eight, while Tom Abell's role in resurrecting Somerset's recent innings should not go unnoticed - his 'correct' style, busy running and range of strokeplay has proved crucial in keeping the scoreboard ticking over and stemming the tide of early wickets.

Somerset County Gazette:

DESTRUCTIVE: Roelof van der Merwe. Pic: Alex Davidson/SCCC

Quite how sustainable the approach is remains to be seen, but Somerset's strength in depth with the bat is the envy of many other counties.

Home quarter-final vital

SOMERSET have not reached finals day since 2012 and last year were beaten by the better side against eventual champions Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in the last eight.

From the position they occupy with six games to go, a place in the top two - and therefore a home quarter-final - should be the goal, and this would give them a stronger chance of making the showpiece event at Edgbaston on September 15.

Somerset have won three of their four home games so far, each of them by comfortable margins, and would have a full house behind them should they have a quarter-final in Taunton.

The County Ground was a fortress in T20 matches not too long ago - it should be Somerset's mission to make it so again.