SOMERSET “need to improve their decision-making” if they are to have any hope of reaching the Vitality Blast quarter-finals.

Somerset have lost three straight games, leaving them fourth in the Central Group, and so their last three games - away to Glamorgan (tonight at 6.30pm), home to Northants (Friday at 5pm) and away to Gloucestershire (Sunday at 1pm) - are all must-win.

“We need to improve our decision-making with the ball,” head coach Jason Kerr told the County Gazette.

“It has been poor, and we’ve shown some inexperience, so we need to learn quickly.

“It’s a game of fine margins and we’ve made poor decisions at bad times, losing wickets in clusters.

“We've seen that if we can build partnerships and take those deep into the innings, we won’t be far away - we just need to be a little bit smarter.”

One positive from the last couple of matches has been the emergence of 18-year-old batsman Will Smeed, who scored 82 against Gloucestershire on Sunday.

"Will has been prolific in all the cricket he's played - school, age group, club cricket," Kerr said.

"He finds a way to score runs in all formats, and he has huge amounts of ability.

"He understandably had nerves in his first match [against Worcestershire on Friday], but he reverted back to his usual self on Sunday."

But Somerset are going to be without another up-and-coming batsman, as Tom Banton is joining up with Kolkata Knight Riders for the 2020 Indian Premier League at the conclusion of England’s ODI series against Australia.

The 21-year-old will link up with the likes of Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell, and Kerr said: "Tom had an outstanding summer last year, he's played in the Big Bash [in Australia] and he's shown what he can do on the international stage.

"To play in the IPL with some of the greatest players in the format is an unbelievable experience for him and an opportunity to learn.

"Hopefully he will come back to Somerset as an even better cricketer."

Another absentee is James Hildreth, who sustained a hamstring injury against Birmingham Bears last week, and Kerr admits he has a "slim chance" of being fit for next week's Bob Willis Trophy final.

"James has been incredibly diligent with his rehab," Kerr said.

"But my gut feeling is that he's unlikely to play."

Somerset squad for Glamorgan match: Lewis Gregory (captain), Tom Abell, Babar Azam, George Bartlett, Josh Davey, Steve Davies, Lewis Goldsworthy, Tom Lammonby, Craig Overton, Ollie Sale, Will Smeed, Roelof van der Merwe, Max Waller.