County Championship 2023. Division 1. Lancashire v Somerset. 11^th,12^th, 13^th and 14^th May. Old Trafford.

Lancashire. L.W.P. Wells, G.P. Balderson, J.J. Bohannon, S.J. Croft, D.J. Vilas (c), D.J. Mitchell, G.J. Bell (w), T.W. Hartley, W.S.A Williams, S. Mahmood, J.M. Anderson.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.M. Davies, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, T. Kohler-Cadmore, J.E.K. Rew (w), K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton, M.J. Henry, J.H. Davey, M.J. Leach.

Overnight. Somerset 361. Lancashire 72 for 2. Lancashire trail by 289 runs with eight first innings wickets standing.

Third day 13th May – A match unfolding at a snail’s pace

I arrived on time and, ever wary of rain at a cricket match, was in my seat beneath The Point for the first ball of the day. It was just as well. Bowled by Craig Overton from the Anderson End, it ended Will Williams’ stint as nightwatch. The ball flew off a defensive edge, Steven Davies took off to his right and took the ball just above the ground. It was an excellent catch taken without fuss and before the sleep was out of most cricket watchers’ eyes. It was as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do, which is what those catches usually look like when Davies takes them. Lancashire 72 for 3. Williams nought.

Four overs later Overton bowled to Steve Croft. He slanted the ball from over the wicket to outside leg stump. Croft shaped to glance. Behind the stumps, Davies, keeping ahead of James Rew in this match, and anticipating, began moving to his left. Croft connected with the glance, but not strongly enough. The ball rose off the bat and Davies took it, still on the move, shoulder high to his left. It was a stunning piece of wicketkeeping, and Davies allowed himself a quiet smile. At the age of 36, he had lost none of his edge behind the stumps. Lancashire 82 for 4. Croft seven. Somerset lead 279.

With Somerset threatening to gain the advantage, the news rippling along the stand was that Jimmy Anderson would not be available to bat. The inference drawn by most was that if he could not bat, he would not be able to bowl either. The news raised the question of whether Somerset might put pressure on Lancashire with the bat if they could restrict their first innings total with the ball. Whilst that thought was being pondered, Lancashire responded to the loss of Croft’s wicket by attacking the bowling while Overton and Matt Henry bowled a hostile, attacking line in response. It made for some toe-to-toe cricket.

For Lancashire, George Balderson attacked Overton with a back foot cover drive for two which brought the admiring comment, “Oh, shot!” An off drive which crossed the boundary below me just brought the standard accolade of, “Shot.” His next boundary though came from a thick edge which bisected fourth slip and gully and left Overton, the bowler, with his hands on his head. Daryl Mitchell, who had replaced Croft, opened his boundary account with a lofted straight drive for four off Henry to the Statham End and then, the attack and counterattack nature of the cricket continuing, Henry drew an edge which landed perilously short of Overton at second slip. Had it been a football match, the commentators would have been talking of end-to-end stuff. When Somerset turned to Jack Leach, Mitchell came forward to defend, but Leach found the inside edge. The ball reared and flew straight at the chest of leg slip from where another catch was dropped in this match of dropped catches. It was as if some plague had affected the hands of fielders. Mitchell’s response was not long in coming. A reverse sweep for four, while Balderson drew another cry of, “Shot!” with a cover drive off Aldridge.

Lancashire, helped by some good fortune, were turning the early advantage which Somerset had gained with those two wickets at the start of the day. As they pushed, Balderson rotated the strike and Mitchell attacked. Not least with a straight-driven six off Josh Davey which landed just to the on side of the Statham End sight screen to Lancashire cheers which were immediately followed by applause for Lancashire’s 150. For Somerset, Overton was back to his best with the ball, and now, from over the wicket, he angled a probing ball perfectly across the left-handed Balderson. Balderson attempted to drive and edged the ball to Davies with the inevitable result. Overton’s celebration was anything but restrained. And neither was the applause from Somerset supporters for he had halted Lancashire’s advance just as it was making progress. Lancashire 159 for 5. Balderson 71. The wicket fell on the cusp of lunch on the third day which, with Lancashire only halfway through their first innings, began to raise the question of whether there was sufficient time left in the match for a positive result.  

After lunch, Dane Vilas attacked Henry with successive drives for four, one through deep midwicket and one square. Two balls later, Henry hit back with a ball which a replay suggests cut back a shade, surprising Vilas who failed to get his bat down and was struck on the pads whilst back on his stumps. “Yes!” shouted one Somerset supporter without waiting for the umpire’s finger which followed before the word was fully out of his mouth. Lancashire 176 for 6. Vilas 15 from 20 balls. Lancashire’s counterattack was faltering. With four wickets remaining, they were still 185 runs behnd. It felt like a tipping point, but that reckoned without Mitchell, George Bell and Tom Hartley.

Mitchell had 42 when the 20-year-old Bell, in only his fifth first-class match, joined him. He outscored Mitchell, with 21 Tests and a Test average of 53, from the start. His driving was striking. He got off the mark with an extra cover drive off Overton which brought a cry of, “Shot!”  He needed a concussion test when hit by Overton but immediately turned him to deep square leg for two before ducking under another bouncer. A cut through backward point and a pull square, both off Aldridge, added to a positive impression of a young player. He did edge Aldridge between slip and gully for four, but it was along the ground, and he carried on as if the edge had not happened. When Mitchell pulled Aldridge square to bring up his fifty, he had scored nine to Bell’s 24 in a partnership of 33. The partnership eventually reached 57, easing the pressure on Lancashire, before Bell’s innings was finally ended. Overton again. He forced an edge with the new ball, which was well caught, chest high to his right by Aldridge at second slip. Lancashire 233 for 7. Bell 38. Somerset lead 128.

And then, restoring the balance of the match further, Mitchell and Hartley added 88 in the first 20 overs of the new ball, driven by some rapid acceleration after tea. The passage to tea gave little hint of what was to follow, with only three boundaries in 12 overs. Two, an expansive pull to deep square leg off Aldridge and a reverse sweep off Leach, came from Mitchell. For Somerset, Henry continued to push. This may have been his first match for the County, but his bowling was fast building the most positive of impressions to add to that created by that explosive but controlled innings. He beat Hartley twice in two balls, as well as forcing a bottom edge which flew close to the stumps and a top edge which fell only just out of reach of the deep square leg fielder. Tea was reached with Lancashire on 265 for 7. Mitchell 76. Hartley 17. Somerset lead 96.

A teatime discussion with another Somerset supporter found agreement on four issues rather than it drifting into no identifiable conclusion in the normal way. We agreed that George Bell had shown a lot of promise. For Somerset, Davies had not put a foot wrong behind the stumps. He looked as good as he had ever looked. We thought too that, despite the relatively low rate of scoring in the match and the occasional beaten bat, the pitch looked flat and lacking in assistance for the bowlers. The last point led us to question whether, with only four sessions remaining, Somerset would have enough time to set Lancashire a target which would not heavily favour them. The match, thus far, had unfolded at a snail’s pace and had still not reached its halfway point. Because of the docile nature of the pitch and the short amount of time left, we concluded that whatever target was set, Lancashire would be able either to achieve it, or, if they lost too many wickets in the attempt, bat out time without difficulty. Beyond a significant Lancashire collapse there seemed to us no realistic way in which Somerset could force a victory.

Perhaps Lancashire had come to the same conclusion. When the game restarted, it became apparent that they had determined to force the pace, Hartley in particular, or perhaps he had been tasked to do it. In seven overs he added 30 runs. Not all came off the middle, but, in cricket, fortune is liable to favour the brave in a calculated assault on the bowling. A cut off Aldridge flew between gully and backward point. An attempt at a back foot off drive off Henry became an inside edge which might have clipped a fourth stump but ran instead for four. Fortune indeed. A pull off Henry only just cleared the deep square leg fielder and added a single. An edged cut off Aldridge nearly became a miracle catch by Overton. It flew like a bullet very low to Overton’s left at second slip. Overton reacted instantly and got a hand to the ball, but the speed at which it flew and the angle were just too great for Overton to judge the catch and it went down. A glance to the fine leg boundary followed. In Aldridge’s next over, a lofted on drive cleared the straight midwicket boundary, another cleared the deep midwicket fielder and went for four and, finally, an uppercut cleared the slips and crossed the boundary. It was a kaleidoscope of runs and edges.

Mitchell did not quite keep pace, but he reached a century and took Lancashire to within within 35 of Somerset’s total. A straight drive off Aldridge cleared the boundary in front of the Statham End sight screen.  The drive which followed was just as expansive, but the ball was edged wide of gully for four before an on and a cover drive added two more boundaries. That sort of batting could not continue of course, and Hartley eventually pulled Henry to Abell at deep midwicket and Mitchell pulled him to Lammonby at midwicket. Lancashire had fought hard and taken the match further away from a result in the process.

“Somerset look like they are on a mission,” the comment when they began their innings as Lancashire had ended theirs. It was said when Davies was bowled by Williams trying to drive a ball of near yorker length in the third over. He had already edged a drive for two which just evaded the jumping gully fielder and driven through the on side for four, both in the over in which he was bowled. Abell wasted no time in showing intent either. Off successive balls he cut Williams through backward point for four and twice drove him through midwicket, once for four and once for three. Lammonby twice drove Williams straight for four and by the end of the 15th over, Somerset had raced to 76 for 1 with Abell on 45 at a run a ball. It invigorated Somerset supporters, but further emphasised their doubts that Somerset would be able to set Lancashire a target which would give Somerset a realistic chance of bowling Lancashire out.

And then the, apparently endless, football season intervened. Manchester United were playing Wolverhampton Wanderers just around the corner with the match due to finish just before five o’clock. My hotel was some distance from the ground, and I did not want to battle my way back through tens of thousands of football supporters. The evening before, I had taken the precaution of booking a taxi. Oh, trusting me! As is the way of cricket in the modern age, the day’s allotted overs took rather longer to bowl than the game’s allotted time. To meet my taxi I had to leave my seat a dozen overs before the end. I had been assured the taxi would pick me up inside the ground, and so I waited near the entrance but behind the stands. And waited. And waited. I phoned the taxi company twice. They were trying to find a taxi. I had already turned down a lift from a Somerset supporter staying at my hotel and due to leave at about the same time as me because I did not wish to let the taxi company down. Would they had been so diligent. Several phone calls and that dozen missed overs later, it became apparent that the promise of my booked taxi was an illusion. “Best not to rely on a taxi from Old Trafford when United are at home,” was the eventual advice from the taxi company which arrived as the Old Trafford announcer announced the close of play. Would the advice had been given when I booked. And so, an unanticipated hour’s exercise later, I finally reached my hotel room.

I did manage to catch a few glimpses of the play through the gap between two stands. I could also see the scoreboard with a short walk, and one or two gaps were filled by recourse to the live stream on my phone. Smartphones do occasionally have their uses. Somerset did not find it so easy when I was not watching. I had barely left my seat when Abell was out, defeated by some turn out of the rough from outside his leg stump as he tried to reverse sweep Hartley. Somerset 94 for 2. Abell 48. Lead 129. His innings had demonstrated intent, but also the ease of scoring, if with some risk, risk which might be avoided by batting more conservatively. George Bartlett looked to be at his best with a drive through midwicket and another square before he was beaten by Mahmood and bowled to bring play to an end for the day. Somerset 114 for 3. Bartlett 12. Lead 149.

At the close, Lammonby, who had opened, was still at the crease, having added 40 including two straight drives in an over from Williams and a six over long on off Hartley. He proved adept too at rotating the strike to Abell when he was on the charge. Abell’s wicket had though put something of a brake on Somerset’s scoring. Thirty-eight runs in 12 overs after it, compared with 81 in 16 before it. “Those two late wickets will probably slow us up in the morning,” said one Somerset supporter as he bade me good evening. A golden patch with the ball from one side or the other would probably be needed on the morrow to conjure a result.

Close. Somerset 361 and 114 for 3. Lancashire 326 (D.J. Mitchell 105, G.P. Balderson 71, T.W. Hartley 47, C. Overton 4-52, M.J. Henry 4-73). Somerset lead by 149 runs with seven second innings wickets standing.