County Championship 2022. Division 1. Kent v Somerset. 26th, 27st and 28th September 2022. Canterbury.
Jack Leach and Imam-ul-Haq were unavailable for this match.
Kent. T.S. Muyeye, Z. Crawley, D.J. Bell-Drummond, J.L. Denly, J.A. Leaning (c), O.G. Robinson (w), J.D.M. Evison, Hamidullah Qadri, C. McKerr, N.N. Gilchrist, M.R. Quinn.
Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, A.R.I. Umeed, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L. P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), B.G.F. Green, C. Overton, K.L. Aldridge, Sajid Khan, J.A. Brooks.
Overnight. Somerset 202. Kent 405 for 7. Kent lead by 203 runs with three first innings wickets standing.
Final day 28th September – Cricketing Annihilation
Kent, their First Division status secure, cavorted through the third, and in the event, final day of this match as if it were a victory parade. It was a performance to which Somerset had no answer. Perhaps their energies had been spent in the Herculean defeat of Northamptonshire the week before which had confirmed their own First Division status. On the first two days of this match, they had been swept aside with, Goldsworthy’s first day resistance and Aldridge’s second day wickets apart, barely a whimper. Overton’s efforts with the ball may have been more than they appeared because, with the third morning barely underway, he limped off the field mid-over for the second time in the match. He had too, kept Kent to three and a half runs an over, less than any other Somerset bowler. Brooks, Green and Abell had all conceded five to the buoyant, irrepressible march of the Kent batters.
Kent began the third day as irrepressibly as they had ended the second. With their three remaining wickets they added another 87 runs in an hour and a quarter. Their lead did not quite reach the 300 one text had feared on the second day, but 290 is near enough. The centrepiece of the pulsating finale to the Kent innings was a near run-a-ball 87, 60 of them scored on the final morning, by Hamidullah Qadri. Qadri did not always employ the middle of the bat, but it was a spectacular display nonetheless and added to the sense of Kent progressing untroubled to a stunning victory. He was quickly into his stride, clipping his second ball, from Aldridge, off his toes to the midwicket boundary in front of the flats. The early fall of Conor Mckerr, who finally provided Overton with a wicket when he edged defensively straight to Tom Abell at first slip, did not deter Qadri who was soon driving Aldridge straight for four.
When Brooks replaced Aldridge to enable him to change ends after the enforced departure of Overton, Qadri took charge of the Kent cavalcade and turned Brooks’ over into an uproarious exhibition of carefree hitting, some emphatic, some fortuitous. An on drive realised two runs; a gasp-inducing inside edge, fine of fine leg, produced four; a drive through extra cover to the seats between the Cowdrey Stand and the landscape scoreboard another four, and a drive which rocketed off the edge and over the slips found the boundary again, this time to laughter driven by the unreal spectacle of it all. Add to that the proceeds of the first ball of the over which cut to leg and aided by the slope, defeated bat, pad, stumps and keeper, running to the Pavilion End boundary for another four and adding to the sense of Somerset helplessness as it went. Eighteen runs from the over, the last boundary of which, in 58 balls, took the 21-year-old Qadri to his second first-class fifty. We were six overs into the morning and Qadri was receiving ecstatic applause and cheers from a euphoric Kent crowd, relaxed in their salvation, joyous at the extent of their team’s dominance and delighted, or amused, depending on whether the boundary was off the middle or the edge, at the sight unfolding before their eyes.
At the other end, Gilchrist, already six Somerset wickets to the good, stayed with Qadri for 30 coruscating minutes and struck three fours of his own. One, straight driven off a rare full toss from Overton added to the thought that the bowler was struggling with an injury. Another, off Aldridge, was driven off his toes to deep midwicket and brought the comment, “Oh, good shot!” from one impressed Kent supporter. But Aldridge, as he had throughout the match, conceding runs though he was, kept going, and eventually Gilchrist, on 14 and defending, found his off stump being uprooted. Kent were 463 for 9, 261 ahead with just Matt Quinn, first-class average ten, to come. Qadri was undaunted, and the Kent onslaught continued. Green, uncharacteristically expensive in this match, had returned to the attack an over before the fall of Gilchrist and bowled it for one run. It was no more than a minor ripple in Kent’s progress. In the over after Gilchrist’s departure, Qadri continued to drive Kent’s advantage home. He struck Green for successive sixes, one over long on, one over long off, and guided the next ball past slip for four. The Kent crowd was by now erupting as much as applauding as Kent ran riot, and the Somerset attack disintegrated before their eyes.
It was Aldridge and Khan who finally applied something of a brake to Kent’s progress. Aldridge bowled a maiden to Quinn, and Khan restricted Qadri to two as the question began to arise in people’s minds, and perhaps in Qadri’s: could he reach a maiden century? A four swept to long leg off Khan took him closer, but then the runs dried up, advancing only in singles. The rapturous applause which had accompanied his headlong charge was replaced by nervous applause for the singles and a quiet tension for the rest. And then, 13 runs short and with the field in to prevent a single at the end of an Aldridge over, Qadri attempted to hook a bouncer, perhaps designed to keep him off strike, and edged the ball to Rew. It was Aldridge’s sixth wicket. It was no doubt a disappointment for Kent supporters, and I doubt, with Kent so far ahead, any Somerset supporter would have begrudged Qadri another 13 runs. But neither life nor cricket works like that. Kent’s parade of runs was over, and Somerset faced the unlikely prospect of batting for the best part of five sessions to save the match.
I spoke only to a few Somerset supporters between the innings. Not one gave their team a chance such was the pounding it had received. At the other end of the emotional spectrum the buzz amongst Kent supporters was expectant, continuous and when I returned to the enclosed space of the upper level of the Woolley Stand, loud. Kent is a long way from Somerset, as far as county cricket grounds are concerned at least, and the sense of an impending, crushing defeat was all the more intense for that. I had been there before. Horsham 2013, Guildford 2018, Headingley 2019. The nerve ends are numb, the head an amplifying echo chamber for the sounds of opposition excitement, the pit of the stomach yawning in its emptiness. It is a sepulchral world.
My wide-brimmed wyvern hat felt as if it had been enlarged a hundred-fold and had every Kent eye trained upon it. I leave it on at such times, for if it is removed in the losing, what is its worth in the winning? I doubt many Kent eyes were actually trained on it. Championship supporters are generally supportive of opposition supporters at such times. They have all been there. There is little of the tribalism so apparent among many football supporters. County Championship supporters are as committed to their team as supporters of any sport, but alongside the commitment to their county sits a camaraderie that crosses county loyalties.
The first over of the Somerset innings, bowled by Quinn from the Nackington Road End, took my attention back to the cricket. Tom Lammonby played out a maiden, seemingly treating every ball with care but without alarm. Looked at from within my sepulchral world the calmness of his play seemed unreal. By my calculation, light permitting, a minimum of 178 overs were still to be bowled in the match, and yet Lammonby looked as if he was batting out a tame draw. Andrew Umeed looked to be taking each ball as it came, as if all that had gone before had not happened. He cut Gilchrist square towards the long line of flats for three without there being any sense of hopelessness. In my unreal world, my brain began both calculating how long Somerset might have to bat to save the match and, at the same time, reproaching itself for engaging in such pointless activity.
On the pitch, reality struck quickly. Umeed drove at Quinn, edged the ball to Robinson and Somerset were 3 for 1. Kent’s victory parade had resumed and so had the expectation of a Somerset defeat. Tom Abell, in at three, began with a thick edge off Gilchrist past the three slips for four. That took Somerset to 10 for 1 at the end of the fourth over, but then, with Lammonby, Abell settled into some solid defence. He only just dug out a Gilchrist yorker, but other than that the pair did not look unduly troubled. After ten overs though, the score had climbed only to 14 for 1. In the 11th over, Abell was yorked by Qadri. It was Qadri’s first over of the innings, bowled from the Nackington Road End. Abell had tried to clip the ball behind square. He was beaten in the flight. A replay shows late drift to off and the ball pitching in the block hole rough before turning and hitting leg stump. It was a jewel of a ball, whether seen live from the Woolley Stand or on the replay. Abell had added just one run to his score in seven overs.
Lammonby saw Somerset to lunch, albeit not without alarm, at least to the watching Somerset eye. He played out the one remaining over, from Gilchrist, surviving a huge leg before wicket appeal, digging out a well-directed yorker, and edging short of slip before clipping the last ball behind square for four. It left Somerset on 19 for 2, Lammonby on 11 from 12 overs, George Bartlett awaiting his first ball and Kent looking at the very real prospect of an overwhelming victory within three days.
My antidote to that prospect was a circumnavigation of the ground. The St Lawrence ground has made few concessions to the modern era, the flats along one side of the ground apart, and the Lime Tree Café near the entrance which is a real asset. It is possible therefore to walk its perimeter and picture matches and players of old, seen in the flesh or only in the mind’s eye. I have a firm memory of Colin Cowdrey at Canterbury, bowled comprehensively by a young Ian Botham in that 1974 semi-final; and, in the field, being gently chided about his age, he was then nearing retirement, by a smiling Somerset supporter. In response, Cowdrey, smiling back, held his back in mock discomfort and hobbled a few steps. Memories.
And then, as I reached the boundary in front of the main entrance, and with Cowdrey still firmly in my mind, reality struck as it had so many times for Somerset supporters in this match. My first sight of the returning cricketers was of Bartlett driving Quinn, bowling from the Nackington Road End, through extra cover for four and then playing a limp check drive to the next ball, only to chip it straight to Tawanda Muyeye at midwicket. Somerset 23 for 3. The vision of 1974 was gone, replaced by the nightmare of 2022. I made my way slowly back to the Woolley Stand. Before ascending the stairs, I watched an over from the gap between the Woolley and Cowdrey Stands. It was enough. Lewis Goldsworthy attempted to defend a ball from Quinn and was struck on the pads. The appeal was vociferous, the decision from the umpire emphatic, the rock of the first innings gone, and Somerset were 25 for 4, a now fairly meaningless 265 runs behind Kent. I wondered what Cowdrey and Woolley, two of the great batting artists, would have made of proceedings and made my way back to my seat.
From there, amid joyous Kent chatter reverberating around the stand and echoing around my head, I watched the final demise of the Somerset innings. Rew, who has begun to build a reputation for dogged resistance in difficult situations, was beaten by a ball from Quinn which looked like it cut away from him. He survived, and then went on the attack. Despite a late cut off Evison, and an on drive off Quinn, both of which crossed the boundary near the landscape scoreboard, an attempt to drive a ball angled across him resulted in a sharp diving catch to his right at third slip by Daniel Bell-Drummond. Somerset 42 for 5. Rew 10.
The only hint of a bright spot in the Somerset innings thus far was the innings of Lammonby. He had played from the start with measured application. When Rew was out in the 20th over, Lammonby had 19, including a straight drive struck off Evison to the Pavilion End boundary. Now he was joined by Ben Green who drove his first ball through midwicket to the boundary opposite the flats. There followed five overs of determined defence, punctuated only by a second boundary from Green, an attempted square drive off Evison which flew wide of the slips to the Nackington Road End, the ball swinging away late. After 25 overs, Somerset were 50 for 5 with Lammonby, still determinedly defending, motionless on 19. But, with five wickets down, there was nothing to suggest an air of permanence. Or perhaps a remaining deficit of 240 imposed that impression on the supporter’s mind. There was another boundary from Green when he clipped Gilchrist through midwicket with the minimum of effort, but it came as no surprise when, in the next over, this time from Bell-Drummond, Green drove and was caught behind as Kent continued to progress towards victory. Somerset 65 for 6. Green 15.
Then, with the score on 72 for 6, Lammonby’s vigil ended. He attempted to defend a ball from Bell-Drummond and edged it to Zak Crawley at second slip. He had batted over two hours, an hour and a half longer than anyone else in the Somerset innings, for 23. It was an innings which illustrated both the efforts Lammonby has made in recent matches to make a contribution in the opener’s role, a role in which his attacking instincts and skills have caused him difficulty, and the hopelessness of Somerset’s position. There were questions being asked around me about the likelihood of three figures being reached. Aldridge and Overton almost answered in the affirmative, adding 22 in five and a half overs for the eighth wicket. Aldridge found the boundary twice and Overton once before Aldridge lost his off stump trying to defend against Gilchrist who took his first wicket of the innings. Aldridge departed for 15 leaving Somerset on 94 for 8.
Enter Sajid Khan. Overton took a single off the first ball of Qadri’s next over and in doing so opened a box of Somerset pyrotechnics. Khan, who had shown his propensity to put bat to ball with intent at Edgbaston, now put on an explosive display just as Kent’s victory parade looked to be coming to a close. It was irrelevant to the course of the match, but it did give something of a lift to the group of Somerset supporters who had just spent two and a half days watching their team suffer a cricketing annihilation.
His second ball, Khan slog swept over midwicket for four. “Fireworks!” said a Kent supporter as if November 5th had just arrived without anyone telling him. Qadri’s next ball was clipped to the long leg boundary for four more. “Hooray. Hundred,” cheered the fireworks man as Somerset finally reached three figures. For good measure, Khan lofted the last ball of the over to the Nackington Road End long on boundary for six. Overton edged Gilchrist for four and then to Crawley at first slip but, apart from leaving Khan with only Brooks to support him, it no longer seemed to matter.
Khan continued his assault. Two more fours in Qadri’s next over, one lofted to straight long off and one edged past slip. Gilchrist, he found more difficult, a single four, driven through the on side the limit of his endeavour. Then Qadri again. Six, straight driven over the Nackington Road boundary. A slog sweep, which carried the boundary and the ground perimeter, had to be retrieved from one of the flats. “That went in the window,” said an eagle-eyed Kent supporter. Shades of Taunton. That was 40 from 18 balls. And 40 it remained. Attempting to repeat the stroke, Khan was caught by Muyeye, stationed in front of the flats, Somerset had lost by an innings and 151 runs and Kent’s rip-roaring victory was complete.
As I left the ground through a small group of Somerset supporters gathering for the trip west, it at least felt like Khan had lifted the spirits, however artificially, for his innings could not mask the size of the defeat. But it helped. As you leave the ground after the last match of the season, the winter seems to stretch interminably into the distance, and many supporters will not see each other again until the next season, a fact captured in the traditional end of season farewell of, “Winter well.” At least Khan’s innings allowed them to leave the ground with the suggestion of a spring in their step.
Beyond that, there was relief and acknowledgement that Somerset will play First Division Championship cricket again in 2023. Beyond that, there was acknowledgement that, despite a poor Championship season, Somerset had been in the First Division without a break since 2008. And, in a demonstration of why predicting the outcome of cricket matches and competitions is a thankless exercise, Yorkshire slid to a surprising 18-run defeat against Gloucestershire and found themselves relegated, Warwickhire escaping in the process. And with that, the thought that, after 2023, with the ECB High Performance Review hovering like a storm cloud over Championship cricket, the Championship may never be the same again.
Result. Somerset 202 (L.P. Goldsworthy 94, N.N. Gilchrist 6-61, M.R. Quinn 3-33) and 139 (Sajid Khan 40, M.R. Quinn 3-14). Kent 492 (Hamidullah Qadri 87, T.S. Muyeye 85, Z. Crawley 79, K.L. Aldridge 6-110) Kent won by an innings and 151 runs. Kent 24 points. Somerset 4 points.
Elsewhere in Division 1.
Edgbaston. Warwickshire 272 for 4 dec (R.M. Yates 104) and 177. Hampshire 311 and 133 (L.C. Norwell 9-62). Warwickshire won by five runs. Warwickshire 21 points. Hampshire 4 points.
Headingley. Gloucestershire 190 and 233. Yorkshire 183 (Zafar Gohar 5-40) and 222. Gloucestershire won by 18 runs. Gloucestershire 19 points. Gloucestershire 3 points.
Northampton. Essex 263 and 110 (C. White 6-38). Northamptonshire 163 (B.M.J. Allison 5-32) and 163 (S.R. Harmer 6-49). Essex won by 47 runs. Essex 21 points. Northamptonshire 3 points.
Old Trafford. Lancashire 512 (K.K. Jennings 199, D.T. Moriarty 5-163). Surrey 209 and 173 f/o (T.W. Hartley 5-52). Lancashire won by an innings and 130 runs. Lancashire 24 points. Surrey 3 points.
Division 1 Final Table
P Pl W L D Ded* Pts
1. 14 8 1 5 0 250 Surrey (C)
2. 14 7 1 6 -6 225 Lancashire
3. 14 9 4 1 -2 224 Hampshire
4. 14 7 3 4 0 202 Essex
5. 14 4 5 5 -3 158 Kent
6. 14 2 5 7 0 154 Northamptonshire
7. 14 3 6 5 0 149 Somerset
8. 14 2 6 6 -1 141 Warwickshire
9. 14 1 6 7 -2 138 Yorkshire (R)
10. 14 2 8 4 -5 114 Gloucestershire (R)
* Six points deducted from the Lancashire total for two disciplinary infringements in less than 12 months, all other deducted points were the result of slow over rates.
Division 2 Final Table
P Pl W L D Ded* Pts
1. 14 8 2 4 -4 241 Nottinghamshire (P)
2. 14 6 2 6 0 225 Middlesex (P)
3. 14 6 3 5 0 216 Glamorgan
4. 14 4 3 7 0 194 Worcestershire
5. 14 3 3 8 0 185 Derbyshire
6. 14 3 3 8 -11 174 Durham
7. 14 1 6 7 -6 130 Sussex
8. 14 0 9 5 -1 93 Leicestershire
* Ten points deducted from the Durham total for a player using a bat bigger than allowed. All other deducted points were the result of slow over rates.
'Farmer White' Somerset Cricket Writing 