Hyderabad, Sep 20: Somerset held their nerves to clinch a last-ball victory in the fourth qualifier of Nokia CLT20 2011. The four-wicket win for the English county meant the Auckland Aces are out of the tournament.

On a pitch that assisted the slower bowlers, Aces captain Gareth Hopkins won the toss and opted to bat. Things didn’t quite go as planned as his team lost three wickets in the first four overs. It took a 49-run partnership between the skipper and Lou Vincent to put the team back on track. Vincent top-scored with a run-a-ball 47. Hopkins chipped in with 22 off 22.

After Somerset's new ball bowlers had landed the early blows, their spin trio of Roelof van der Merwe, Murali Kartik and Max Waller strangled the Auckland batsmen. In the 12 overs they bowled, they conceded 67 runs and picked up two wickets. The Aces finished their innings on a high as they scored 17 runs off the final two overs to eventually post 125 for 7.

Set to chase 126 to win, Somerset chipped away at the required runs slowly but surely. Each of the top four batsmen got a start while James Hildreth held fort at one end. Despite a minor collapse mid-way through the run-chase, Somerset had the right men out in the park at the business end of the game. Hidreth, who made a run-a-ball 34 before running himself out off the penultimate ball of their innings, and Steve Snell were the protagonists of Somerset’s win. The latter, who was called up as replacement for Craig Kieswetter, held his nerves and pressed on the accelerator at just the right moment. His 34 (off 24 balls) won him the Man of the Match award too.

For the Aces, Ronnie Hira and Michael Bates were outstanding. The left-arm spinner, Hira, conceded only 15 runs in his four overs while Bates was even better – conceding only 13 runs in his four, including a maiden.

While the Auckland Aces head back home, Somerset will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the final fixture of the Nokia CLT20 Qualifiers.

Brief scores: Somerset 126 for 6 in 20 overs (James Hildreth 34, Steve Snell 34 n.o., Michael Bates 2-13) beat Auckland Aces 125 for 7 in 20 overs (Lou Vincent 47 n.o., Gareth Hopkins 22, Alfonso Thomas 2-21, Peter Trego 2-26) by 4 wickets.

Man of the Match: Steve Snell for his flashy 34 (24 balls, 4 fours) towards the end of his team’s run-chase.