County Championship 2022. Division 1. Warwickshire v Somerset. 12^th, 13^th, 14^th and 15^th September 2022. Edgbaston.

Jack Leach was unavailable for selection by Somerset due to being on international duty and Craig Overton had not fully recovered from injury.

Warwickshire. D.P. Sibley, A.L. Davies, R.M. Yates, W.M.H. Rhodes (c), S.R. Hain, Y. Yadav, M.G.K. Burgess (w), D.R. Briggs, H.J.H. Brookes, M. Siraj, O.J. Hannon-Dalby.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, Imam-ul-Haq, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L. P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory, K.L. Aldridge, J.H. Davey, Sajid Khan, J.A. Brooks.

Overnight. Somerset 182 for 8.

Second day 13^th September – On the edge of a knife

The second day of this match ended with the two teams balanced precariously on the edge of a knife. Twenty-two wickets fell in the less than the five sessions of play which the weather permitted on the first two days. Six sessions remain, with the weather forecasters promising no further interruptions apart from those overs at the end of the day which are often the victims of bad light at this time of year. The weather interruptions to date have probably benefitted Warwickshire as they tended to return their pace bowlers fresh to the attack after enforced breaks. Set against that, the forecasters promise the best overhead batting conditions of the match for the third day during which Somerset will have to construct a lead sufficient for their bowlers to test the resilience of the Warwickshire batters on the final day.

Somerset’s first day 182 for 8 might have been the minimum needed to establish a base on this pitch, but it was 18 runs short of the batting bonus point which could prove crucial in the relegation battle in which these two counties are entwined. In search of those 18 runs, Lewis Gregory and Sajid Khan emerged into the second morning sun in a partnership already 42 runs to the good. They carried with them the hopes of Somerset supporters that the momentum of the evening before might be carried into the new morning. Within four balls those hopes were dashed. Gregory fenced at a ball from Mohammed Siraj, bowled from the City End, and edged it to Mark Burgess behind the stumps.

Jack Brooks, an established number eleven, walked to the crease. As number elevens go, where runs are concerned, Brooks is liable to be feast or famine, feast meaning he might score nearer 20 than nought. When he drove hard at Siraj and the ball flew over point to cross the Hollies Stand boundary on the first bounce it raised hopes of a feast, for that is how Brooks scores. Early defensive prods tend to presage an early return to the Pavilion. In Siraj’s next over he produced an uppercut, his run scoring always tending to the cavalier. The ball landed just inside the Hollies Stand boundary again, this time fine of backward point. It took Somerset to within six runs of that bonus point. It was a start to the final partnership to rekindle memories of the Gregory-Khan partnership of the night before.

Khan had given notice then that he was not averse to the cavalier approach himself, at least he had shown every indication of being of a nature with the bat that is as likely to produce the unorthodox stroke as the orthodox. Three singles off Siraj’s next three balls brought Somerset to within three runs of that bonus point before Khan, repeating his Comptonesque pull in front of midwicket of the previous evening, found the boundary again. Somerset were 201 for 8, the bonus point secured to animated pockets of applause which identified the location of Somerset’s supporters. Brooks, continuing the offensive, attempted another uppercut to a short ball from Siraj, edged to slip and was dropped, stealing a single in the process. Now, Khan attempted the hook, the ball went fine and crossed the Pavilion boundary to the exasperation of a Warwickshire supporter near me.

Next, Khan missed with one uppercut, before a miscue off another brought a single and the sort of laughter from the crowd which tends to accompany such tail-end batting. Another four came when the ball cleared the keeper and ran to the Pavilion for four, Siraj still the suffering bowler, and Khan had 50 from 61 balls. With Gregory he had kept a toehold in the match for Somerset. Finally, with Somerset supporters doubtless by now shaking their heads in thankful disbelief, Brooks edged a furious cut and was caught by Alex Davies at deep backward point for 15. Somerset were all out for 219. It was hardly a commanding total, but it was heaven compared with 88 for 7.

When, after suffering the Somerset bowling for 18 torturous overs, Warwickshire walked off for lunch at 25 for 3, Somerset’s 219 was beginning to look a rather better total than it had when it was posted, and the speculation of some Somerset supporters at tea on the first day that a score of 180 to 220 might be defensible was beginning to look prescient. Robert Yates, opening, had been beaten by his second ball from Davey, and then caught behind pushing outside off at the third. Davies replaced him and responded to the setback by attacking. Gregory, bowling from the City End, was driven through the on side for three and Davey, from the Pavilion End, was driven, again through the on side, for four. But when Davies attempted to drive Gregory again, he edged the ball to Rew who took his second catch and Warwickshire were 17 for 2.

Sam Hain joined Dominic Sibley for what Warwickshire supporters must have hoped would be a key partnership. Twice he turned Gregory into the leg side for two before he and Sibley withdrew into intense defence. One run came from the next four overs. Sibley was twice beaten by Gregory and Brooks let forth a huge leg before wicket appeal against Hain. A quiet as intense as Warwickshire’s defence settled over the ground. This was a match on which the avoidance of relegation might depend, and it was hanging in the balance, or at least, the struggle for early dominance was in the balance.

“C’mon lads,” shouted Abell as Somerset sought a further breakthrough. Then, “Keep working,” as Brooks beat Hain.Then, with the score on 22, Sibley pushed at a ball from Gregory and edged to Rew who took his third catch. The importance of Sibley’s wicket to Somerset was immediately obvious from the huge and extended celebrations from the Somerset players. At lunch, three overs later, Somerset had, for the first time in the match, ended a session with their noses in front and supporters chatted with relief, although it was relief tempered with the knowledge that low scoring matches can swing from one side to the other, and back again, in very short order.

Edgbaston is a cavern of a ground. To my eye, its playing area is rivalled only by The Oval among domestic grounds. It is huge, and for this match the boundary rope is as far back as it dare be pushed on the Hollies Stand side, and only about ten yards in from the boards on the other side. It is a Test ground of course, but for all its size and status, it is one of the friendliest grounds in the country. The stewards are always ready with a smile and do their job with as little fuss as possible. There is no formal invite to walk onto the outfield at lunch. Five or six stewards simply appear in the middle, as if by magic, and the gates onto the outfield are quietly opened. One steward stands at each corner of the square, and one or two at about the midpoint. Championship crowds are after all self-regulating, and a raised stewarding eyebrow is usually sufficient to divert the occasional stray away from the sacred square.  

As with most who venture onto the outfield my main purpose is to inspect the wicket, especially when wickets have fallen like a row of standing dominoes nudged at one end. Now, I know nothing about wickets, but like everyone else, I stand sage-like at one end and peer at the 22 yards in front of me. Apart from being able to see whether the wicket is green or not, and if there are any footmarks, what I see is a complete mystery to me. This one was no different. I could see no reason why so many wickets had fallen, but then, I never can. I just quietly walked away, doing my best to retain my sage impression, and slunk back to my seat.  

More bemusing still, after lunch it seemed as if the match was being played on a different pitch. The bat was still beaten, but there was not the ominous sense of impending wickets there had been earlier in the match. Hain and Will Rhodes began to play with some confidence too and the runs slowly began to mount. Davey was driven through the off side by Rhodes towards the West Stand for three and Gregory was glanced to the Pavilion boundary for four. Then Hain took ten in an over from Gregory, two cover drives going to the Hollies Stand, one off the back foot and one off the front, strokes indicative of the greater freedom with which Warwickshire were now playing.

Khan’s off spin was tried from the City End. He applied a ligature to the scoring, conceding little more than one run an over, but didn’t look like taking a wicket. Since lunch, Warwickshire had scored at nearly three an over, Rhodes cutting and then driving Brooks through the on side, both times for four. At 90 for 3, and seemingly in little trouble, Warwickshire had reversed the narrow advantage Somerset had held at lunch, and as batting looked increasingly easy the tension that had held people in its grip began to subside. Even the loss of Rhodes for 38 off Aldridge to Rew’s fourth catch of the innings brought relief rather than hope to the Somerset supporter, for it was the classic leg side dismissal, caught off a thin edge attempting to glance. Warwickshire were 95 for 4, but it did nothing to halt their steady advance as Jayant Yadav replaced Rhodes and continued to look positively for runs, a cover drive off the second of two overs from Lammonby bringing more than the customary applause for a boundary.

“C’mon boys,” the repeated exhortation from Abell as Hain and Yadav began to push for singles. Abell’s call was occasionally rewarded by a beaten bat and a huge leg before wicket appeal from Gregory against Yadav momentarily raised the hopes of Somerset supporters. Yadav though was a very long way forward. I had the perfect view from my seat in the Hollies Stand of the foot stretched down the wicket, and it would have been a surprise if the appeal gave the umpire too much pause for thought as the finger remained unmoved.  

As tea approached, Hain reached his fifty with a single off Gregory. That it had taken nearly three hours was indicative of the pace at which Warwickshire had scored, less than two and a half runs an over overall. When Yadav, scoring a little faster than Hain, drove through the off side, also off Gregory, the ball crossed the boundary after the fielder had failed to stop it. The incident was on the far side of the ground, perhaps 150 or more yards away, too far for me to pass judgement on whether the ball might have been stopped. I did though make a note that it was not the first time in this innings that I had thought that Somerset’s fielding was not quite at its best. It played at the mind because Somerset’s fielding usually stands out above that of the opposition. 117 for 4 at tea, a deficit of 102, even taking into account Warwickshire’s slow scoring rate, might suggest the match was even, but the nature of Rhodes’ dismissal and the ease with which Warwickshire held the crease, to my mind, gave them the edge.

After tea, Warwickshire again made progress, if still slowy, although Hain and Yadav did attack Khan, both driving him past mid-on to the Pavilion boundary. Davey meanwhile, continued to bowl a tight, containing spell from the City End. After 60 overs Warwickshire had reached 141 for 4, still well short of two and a half runs an over overall, but Somerset’s 219 was feeling under pressure, for there seemed little threat of a wicket.

Abell turned to Brooks to replace Khan at the Pavilion End. Within five balls Warwickshire were 141 for 6 and the Somerset supporters gathered at the City End were cheering with relief. As bowlers go, Brooks is serendipity personified. He can leak runs like corn being sown from the hand, or he can flatten stumps like fully grown corn before a reaper, and often with no hint of which it will be. “Brooks can take wickets when others cannot,” someone once told me. Here the reaper was on show, perhaps aided by some light cloud. His second ball cut in, defeated Yadav’s drive and uprooted his middle stump. The cheer from the Somerset team matched the one when Sibley had been dismissed, perhaps because, as many a supporter would have said when that stump flew, “We needed that wicket.” The fifth ball of the over left the new batter, Burgess, standing squarely in front of his stumps with his bat in front of his pads. The bails though were no longer on the stumps. Burgess stood transfixed for a moment while Brooks hurtled up the pitch for another celebration. “Rew came up to the stumps for that ball and Burgess changed his guard. The extra foot allowed the ball to come in and beat him,” said the text from the online watcher.

Warwickshire were 78 runs adrift with only four wickets standing. Brook’s two wickets left little margin for error, by either side, but even from the distance of the Hollies Stand, it was clear Somerset now had the momentum. With it, they maintained a steady pressure and Warwickshire gradually wilted before it. Danny Briggs replaced Burgess, but Hain remained a threat. The pair scored mainly in singles, although Briggs cut the returning Khan backward of point to the Pavilion end of the Hollies Stand for four. Before the partnership could really take shape though, Brooks struck again. He angled a ball into Hains and struck him on the pad. There was no hesitation from the umpire, or the Somerset supporters who cheered as the finger was raised. Warwickshire were 156 for 7, 63 behind, and Hain’s four-hour vigil was over for 67. In cricket, momentum counts.

Henry Brookes joined Briggs and twice drove Khan to the Hollies Stand. Since replacing Davey at the City End, Khan had conceded nearly five runs an over. Somerset had little margin for such a rate of scoring, but almost immediately Brooks struck for a fourth time in what was for him, an extended seven-over spell. Brookes attempted to steer him past Gregory, the only slip, and connected only with the edge. The ball flew straight to Gregory’s midriff. Gregory caught it, fumbled it, knocked it up and caught it again. Cue another foray up the pitch from Brooks, more celebrations and relieved cheers from Somerset supporters. Warwickshire were 166 for 8, 53 behind, Brookes nine.

Siraj joined Briggs and looked a better bat than his number ten position suggested. Briggs meanwhile, attempted to defend, and had his off stump sent cartwheeling by Aldridge. Warwickshire 180 for 9. Briggs 15. Warwickshire still 39 behind. In a low scoring match, any lead can be valuable. For the side which bats first, as Somerset had in this match, the lead, when added to the second innings total gives a continuous lift to the score. And perhaps to morale. At least that is true of their supporters. For a while I had been counting down Somerset’s gradually diminishing lead. I was probably not the only one, for the ground felt eerily quiet as the drama of the Warwickshire innings unfolded. If you are a supporter of one side or the other in a match as close as this one was proving to be, the feeling of it edging one way and then the other is magnified many times as your side’s prospects wax or wane.

It did at least feel, after Hain had gone, that Somerset had the edge, if only the narrowest of edges. Siraj did his best to reduce it. With Oliver Hannon-Dalby holding firm at the other end, as he has been inclined to do against Somerset over the years, Siraj scored 13 in a tenth wicket partnership of 16, mainly in singles. It reduced the Somerset lead to 23 before, with Warwickshire on 196, four runs short of the batting point which would have matched Somerset’s, Davey struck the base of Hannon-Dalby’s stumps. It is a mode of dismissal for which the view from square of the wicket is perfect.

At 88 for 7 on the first day, I imagine Somerset would have accepted a first innings lead of 23 with some alacrity. Even more so when, eight overs later, they left the field at the end of the second day on 13 for 2 with Imam already back in the Pavilion. He was caught at slip by Hain off Siraj for nought in the second over. Aldridge was then sent out to undertake the night watch. Too early, my immediate thought. Too early indeed. Three overs later, with three remaining, he was bowled by Yadav with a ball which turned markedly. When the players left the field, Somerset had a lead of 36 with eight wickets standing. The match, as it had been for most of the day, was balanced on the edge of a knife and a positive result seems inevitable. As to which team will prevail, perhaps the one which can best hold the tension while balancing on the edge of that knife.

Close. Somerset 219 (L. Gregory 60, Sajid Khan 53*, M. Siraj 5-82, H.J.H. Brookes 3-26) and 13 for 2. Warwickshire 196 (S.R. Hain 67, J.A. Brooks 4-40). Somerset lead by 36 runs with eight second innings wickets standing.