County Championship 2022. Division 1. Gloucestershire v Somerset. 12th, 13th and 14th May. Bristol.
Sonny Baker was unavailable for selection by Somerset due to his continuing injury.
Gloucestershire. M.S. Harris, G.F.B. Scott, J.R. Bracey (w), M.A.H. Hammond, G.L. van Buuren (c) R.F. Higgins, J.G. Bethell, Z.J. Chappell, Zafar Gohar, M.D. Taylor, B.T.J. Wheal.
Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, M.T. Renshaw, T.B. Abell (c), T. Banton, J.C. Hildreth, S.M. Davies (w), L. Gregory, C. Overton, J.H. Davey, P.M. Siddle, M.J. Leach.
Overnight. Somerset 591 for 7 dec. Gloucestershire 119 for 4. Gloucestershire trail by 472 runs with six second innings wickets standing.
Final day 14th May – Gloucestershire overpowered
Somerset’s victory by an innings and 246 runs should not disguise the intensity of cricket which went into overcoming a weakened Gloucestershire team inside three days on a pitch which gave every impression of being capable of lasting a week. For two matches in succession now the Somerset batting has matched the bowling, and the fielding has been as exceptional as ever. The result: two innings victories with a day to spare. Much tougher challenges lie ahead against Hampshire and Surrey, but those teams may find themselves facing a different proposition to the one they faced on their home grounds earlier in the season. In this Somerset side, in this match, there was no weak link.
The third day began with the one Gloucestershire player who had matched Somerset, Jacob Bethell, on loan from Warwickshire, driving Craig Overton, bowling from the Ashley Down Road End, three times in two overs to the boundary. Straight, off and cover drives an impressive start for an 18-year-old against one of the County Championship’s premier bowlers. “Three good shots,” the comment from the Somerset supporter with me. Bethell’s innings suggested the brightest of futures in red ball cricket should he choose to develop it. Overton was perhaps stretching his length in search of movement. If so, he had discovered there would be little margin for speculation on length against Bethell.
Within minutes, Overton was walking off the field having pulled up in his run-up, sending a ripple of concern through the large Somerset contingent in the crowd, now concentrated in the Jack Russell Stand at the Ashley Down Road End. Josh Davey stepped into the breach, and with the ever-threatening Peter Siddle at the other end, suffered a cover drive to the Mound Stand from Higgins before settling and ensuring the pressure on Gloucestershire was sustained from both ends. Three successive maidens followed before Jack Leach joined the attack, allowing Davey to swap ends in the process as Abell worked to give his bowlers the best opportunity.
Leach allowed only a single to Ryan Higgins who thus found himself facing Davey, now bowling from the Pavilion End. Five more balls without a run followed. There seemed to be nothing in the wicket for bowlers, but having to face four front-line seamers and a front-line spinner, all bowling with the intensity Somerset’s bowlers were, builds pressure. The last ball of the over, Davey pitched up. It moved in no more than a trace but struck Higgins on the pad. The appeal was instant, the raising of the finger emphatic. Pressure tells. The morning was 11 overs old, and the Somerset cheer from the Russell Stand was one of anticipation mixed with relief. Anticipation at the prospect of a Somerset victory, relief that after 11 overs the breach had come, for even with van Buuren reportedly unable to bat, there were still 13 wickets to be taken on an unforgiving pitch with a still worsening prospect of rain on the final day.
The Gloucestershire first innings door was now open, and Somerset rushed through it. Davey’s first ball to Zafar Gohar was angled in from over the wicket to the left-hander, unerringly targeting the stumps. Zafar’s bat came down the line and played the ball back up the pitch. The second ball was fuller, slightly outside off stump, Zafar, tempted, drove. The ball flew off the edge, and as unerringly as the first had targeted the stumps, the second flew towards James Hildreth’s midriff at first slip with the inevitable result. The cheer from the concentration of Somerset supporters around me was ear-splitting. Gloucestershire were 144 for 6, still 447 runs behind, and the day was already moving Somerset’s way.
Unassuming though his nature is, Davey’s contributions in the field can be emphatic. When Chappell drove Gregory hard along the ground into the covers, “Four!” was the thought. But Davey, grasshopper sharp, dived to his left. The ball, part intercepted, ran no more than a couple of yards beyond Davey’s outstretched hand, four runs became one and the Russell Stand broke into applause. That was but one example of fielding which repeatedly harassed Gloucestershire as they tried to break Somerset’s hold. Only Bethell looked capable of surviving long, a sweep behind square off Leach reaching the boundary at the Pavilion End and taking Gloucestershire past 150 to raise a home cheer.
Now Gregory, over the wicket, angled the ball into Chappell, pitched it up, produced no more than a hint of movement in off the seam, and still uprooted Chappell’s middle stump. It is difficult to think of a more spectacular sight in cricket than the uprooting of a stump. Cheers again from the Russell Stand, applause too and some people on their feet. Gloucestershire 152 for 7. “Eight in reality,” someone said. What had promised to be a long day of grinding out wickets was threatening to become a Somerset charge for victory. “Sides often bat better in their second innings when asked to follow on,” someone cautioned, perhaps not wishing to assume too much.
And then, reality struck for Bethell. With Gloucestershire having effectively only two wickets standing, he attempted to farm the strike and target Leach, bringing threat to himself in the process. A spectacular slog sweep failed to connect, a huge leg before wicket appeal rent the air, and a clip to the deep square leg fielder resulted in the refusal of a single. Then an attempt to repeat the stroke, perhaps aimed at avoiding the fielder, resulted in another leg before wicket appeal from which there was no reprieve. Bethell had made 37, and an impact on those watching, in two hours while three wickets fell at the other end.
Gloucestershire were 152 for 8 an hour and 20 minutes into the morning session. Thoughts that they might be back in before the break remained no more than that as Brad Wheal and Matthew Taylor opted to put bat to ball. Taylor took the lead, frustrating Somerset in the process, the forecast for the final day never far from Somerset minds. There were a few close calls which brought gasps or winces from Somerset supporters, Abell just missed the stumps with Taylor stranded three yards out of his ground, Leach sent a ball within a hairsbreadth of Taylor’s stumps and brought the comment, “How did that miss?” Then Abell just failed to reach a cut from Wheal which flew too high over him at backward point and reached the boundary. But that is all grist to the mill in these situations, as were the steer past the slips, the cut through backward point and the straight drive, all from Taylor off Gregory, and all finding the boundary. The runs were an irrelevance, apart from perhaps providing some solace to Gloucestershire supporters, one behind me emitting a quiet but defiant, “Yes!” each time one of the more emphatic strokes reached the boundary. And so, lunch arrived with Gloucestershire on 186 for 8 with Taylor on 24 and Wheal on 10. It was frustrating for Somerset supporters who had hoped for perhaps one or two second innings wickets by this point, the forecast still driving the anxiety.
There was only one question on the lips of Somerset supporters I came across at lunchtime. “Can we finish this off today?” The general view being that, given the resilience of the pitch and the tendency for sides following on to bat better in their second innings, that it would be a tough proposition. It will come as no surprise to readers of my reports that when the players re-emerged, I had progressed no more than halfway round the ground and found myself watching the re-start from near the Pavilion End sightscreen whilst still engaged in a lunchtime discussion. In Leach’s second over, Wheal went back in defence to a ball which kept low and was struck on the pad. The players walked off and Somerset had a first innings lead of 405.
Marcus Harris began Gloucestershire’s second innings more positively than he had begun the first, a clip square of the wicket off Siddle to the Mound Stand catching the eye as I stood on the opposite side of the ground talking to another Somerset supporter. The main topic of conversation, to which there was no serious conclusion, was still whether Somerset could win before the day was out, the oft-checked forecast for rain for the final day remaining solid despite, or perhaps because of, the growing heat of the third day sun.
My hopes rose as I sat down in the Russell Stand in time to see Siddle beat Harris twice in an over, while Overton forced an inside edge and twice beat Scott in the next over. Then Scott’s defensive stroke was beaten by Siddle and the ball flew off the edge straight to Matthew Renshaw at second slip. Perhaps the pitch was at last offering some encouragement to the bowlers someone wondered. Five balls later, Harris tried to pull Overton, back on the field, connected only with the top edge and the ball steepled before being caught a few yards beyond the bowler’s stumps with some ease by Lammonby running in from mid-on. There was a huge cheer from Somerset supporters, for the importance of Harris to Gloucestershire’s prospects of stretching the match into the final day was lost on no-one. With that wicket, Somerset had opened the door to Gloucestershire’s second innings and the Somerset contingent was audibly bubbling with anticipation.
Miles Hammond had barely taken his guard when Davey struck. Hammond came forward with a straight bat, the ball clipped the edge and Davies took a straightforward catch. Gloucestershire were 28 for 3 and, it seemed, in full retreat. The Somerset crowd within a crowd cheered and applauded loud and long. “C’mon!” shouted Abell as the applause reluctantly died down. It felt like a Somerset home match. There was resistance from Bracey and Higgins, and then some more from Bracey and Bethell, but the bowling was relentless, the fielding predatory. Bracey batted an hour and a quarter for 9, Higgins half an hour for 16. There were 22 runs in ten overs. There was a drive through extra cover for four from Bracey off Leach, and a flowing cut from Hammond to the Mound Stand to lighten the Gloucestershire gloom, but throughout, the pressure from the Somerset bowlers never relaxed for a moment. Eventually, Hammond tried to cut Gregory, Davies had another catch and Gloucestershire were 50 for 4 with tea four overs away.
“They hung around a bit,” someone said, his voice tinged with anxiety. “We could do with another one before tea,” someone else added. Bethell joined Bracey and, as in the first innings, immediately looked a class above all that had gone before. “Shot!” someone said and triggered a ripple of applause as the ball, launched off Leach with a square cut to the festival chairs, was powered by the minimum of effort from the bat. Another square cut, this time off Gregory ran to the Mound Stand, and a pull for four went to a small marquee at the end of the row of chairs. Together, Bethell and Bracey held Somerset at bay until tea which Gloucestershire reached on 74 for 4.
My teatime circumnavigation again left me at the wrong end of the ground for the re-start. According to the scoreboard Somerset needed six wickets, although that was almost certainly five because no-one expected van Buuren to bat. The match had barely resumed when Bracey attempted to sweep Leach, connected with the top edge with some force, the ball took off and threatened to clear Tom Abell at square leg. Abell ran backwards along the path of the oncoming ball, right hand upstretched towards the sky. Then he leapt and plucked the unsuspecting ball out of the air. It was a phenomenal catch, and it triggered such a cheer, a Somerset supporter with eyes closed could have been forgiven for concluding the match was being played at Taunton. Gloucestershire were 74 for 5 and four wickets remained between Somerset and a second successive three-day innings victory.
Three wickets when, two overs later, Bethell played a ball from Leach bowling to expectant close catchers. The ball went between the forward and backward short leg fielders and Bethell fell while setting off for a run. The newly arrived Zafar Gohar, at the non-striker’s end, had reached a third of the way up the pitch in search of a quick single. He turned, but Abell at square leg was on the ball in an instant and returned it to Leach who broke the wicket. Gloucestershire 81 for 6. It was, in cricketing terms, a cruel way for Zafar to go, but the tide of the match was in full flood against Gloucestershire now and under that sort of pressure mistakes materialise out of the ether. When Zafar was out, 29 overs remained in the day, perhaps 37 if Somerset were able to claim the extra half hour, and Somerset needed three more wickets, perhaps four some speculated, if the ninth wicket were to fall close to the close and van Buuren were able to hold a bat. As I stood and talked, Bethell, now accompanied by Chappell, played as if Gloucestershire were in the ascendant, cutting and driving with a freedom denied the rest of the Gloucestershire batting.
As I found my seat in the Russell Stand, Bethell drove Davey through the off side, sending the ball in a line which would have brought it to my feet had several rows of the stand and the boundary boards not stood its the way. The stroke took Gloucestershire to 102 for 6 which brought a ripple of congratulatory, if slightly embarrassed, applause. It also put Bethell’s innings in context for, impressive and making progress though he was, Gloucestershire were still 303 runs behind. There was though a growing feeling of tension as the overs slipped by and the close of play approached, the sound level in the crowd dropping to a restrained chatter, the weather forecast as much a topic of conversation as the cricket. “C’mon Craig,” someone shouted from among the intensely watching Somerset supporters as Overton ran in from the Ashley Down Road End. In response, the ball was pulled by Bethell through midwicket to the festival chairs.
When Chappell glanced Overton to the Ashley Down Road boundary, he and Bethell had been together for 13 overs and anxious Somerset eyes turned to the scoreboard which indicated 17 overs remaining in the day. When Chappell was beaten, attempting to defend the next ball, Overton ran into a flock of Somerset players in celebration. There was a moment’s hesitation in the crowd before a cheer erupted, the absence of the leg bail being noticed only slowly. The ball had taken the inside edge and just clipped the bail on the way through. Chappell 16. Gloucestershire 127 for 7. Two wickets remaining.
“Yes!” cried a Gloucestershire supporter almost under his breath when Bethell pulled Gregory through midwicket for four to bring up his fifty. It brought too, extended applause from the Russell Stand, by now populated almost entirely by Somerset supporters. Comments about Bethell foresaw the possibility of a great future in the game for the 18-year-old and that view was reflected in the applause. Those who regularly watch first-class cricket see many young players arrive in the game. Some stay, some do not make it, and a few leave an instant mark and a name which will always remind of the first time they were seen. Bethell left everyone I spoke to with the impression that this was an arrival on the scene which would be remembered.
Even so, the departure of Chappell seemed to mark the end of Gloucestershire’s hopes of surviving the day. It was as if the final bubble of Gloucestershire resistance had been burst. Taylor survived a quarter of an hour for nought without suggesting he would be there for long before edging Leach straight to Overton at slip. That effectively left one wicket, with 11 overs remaining plus the possibility of an additional eight. Wheal unleashed some defiant blows, finishing with a cover drive and a hook off Gregory and 13 runs, but his innings always had the feel of the flailing bat of defeat about it. Eventually, even Bethell succumbed for 61, attempting to slog sweep Leach. The ball came off the top edge and flew towards the Mound Stand where Lammonby judged a boundary catch perfectly. Four overs plus the additional eight remained, the weather forecast no longer mattered and the Somerset contingent in the Russell Stand was on its feet, wreathed in smiles and applauding the largest but one innings victory in Somerset’s history.
Result. Somerset 591 for 7 dec (T.B. Abell 142, M.T. Renshaw 94, L. Gregory 89). Gloucestershire 186 (M.J. Leach 5-49) and 159 f/o (J.G. Bethell 61, M.J. Leach 3-41). Somerset won by an innings and 246 runs. Somerset 23 points. Gloucestershire 1 point.
Elsewhere in Division 1
Canterbury. Surrey 671 for 9dec. Kent 230 and 114 for 1 f/o. Match Drawn. Surrey 16 points. Kent 10 points. Surrey’s 617 for 9 dec is the record total for a first-class innings without an individual century. It contained seven scores of 50 or more which equalled the first-class record. There were three individual scores of over 90: O.J.D. Pope 96, J. Overton 93 and B.T. Foakes 91.
Edgbaston. Northamptonshire 597 for 6 dec (R.S. Vasconcelos 156, W.A. Young 134, L.A. Procter 100*). Warwickshire 568 for 4 (S.R. Hain 202*, M.J. Lamb 155*). Match drawn. Northamptonshire 14 points. Warwickshire 12 points.
Headingley. Lancashire 566 for 9 dec (K.K. Jennings 238, S.J. Croft 104). Yorkshire 379 (J.E. Root 147) and 169 for 6. Match drawn. Lancashire 13 points. Yorkshire 12 points.
Division 1 Table
Pl W L D Ded* Pts
1. 6 3 0 3 0 105 Surrey
2. 5 2 0 3 0 85 Lancashire
3. 5 3 1 1 -2 81 Hampshire
4. 5 1 0 4 0 76 Yorkshire
5. 5 1 1 3 -1 62 Warwickshire
6. 5 2 3 0 0 56 Somerset
7. 5 1 1 3 0 54 Essex
7. 5 0 1 4 0 54 Northamptonshire
9. 5 0 2 3 0 40 Kent
10. 6 0 4 2 -2 35 Gloucestershire
*All deducted points were the result of slow over rates.
'Farmer White' Somerset Cricket Writing 