County Championship 2024. Division 1. Kent v Somerset 5^th, 6^th, 7^th  and 8^th April Canterbury.

Jack Leach, (knee injury), Craig Overton (back), Tom Abell (hamstring) were all unavailable.

Kent. B.G. Compton, T. S. Muyeye, D.J. Bell-Drummond (c), J.A. Leaning, J.L. Denly, H.Z. Finch J.D.M. Evison, W.A. Agar, N.N. Gilchrist, M.W. Parkinson, G.A. Garrett.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.R. Dickson, M.T. Renshaw, L.P. Goldsworthy, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory (c), K.L. Aldridge, J.H. Davey, E. O. Leonard, J. Ball.

Overnight. Kent 284.

Third day 6^th April – A spring in their step

The walk to the St Lawrence ground from Canterbury is about three-quarters of a mile, mostly up the New Dover Road, straight most of the way, uphill, along tree-lined streets, not unlike that from Southport to the Southport and Birkdale CC ground where Somerset played in 2022. The walk passes more quickly if made while chatting to other Somerset supporters, and on this occasion there was plenty to talk about. The kookaburra ball and the rail strikes, the latter of which probably contributed to the small number of Somerset supporters present, being prime among the topics. Canterbury is a long way from Somerset, and suffers from having the M25 or the need to cross London on public transport separating the two. The latter has at least been much improved by the opening of the Elizabeth Line, 18 minutes from Paddington to Stratford, then a ten-minute walk through the Westfield Centre to Stratford International for the HS1 train to Canterbury.

The crowd was smaller than on the first day and the wind was strong and no less chill despite the cloud being higher, white and consisting of cotton wool tufts. For most of the time the tufts avoided the sun which shone brightly but failed to raise the temperature by much. The wind was particularly strong and chill in the upper section of the Frank Woolley Stand, but Championship watchers are creatures of habit and sat there still. The impression was that they were the ones who always sit there, just as you always see many of the same faces in the upper section of the Trescothick Pavilion at Taunton, even early in the season when it does its best to replicate the north face of the Eiger.

As to the cricket, it was a day on which Somerset’s longstanding top order batting demons stayed away. If the kookaburra ball, with its reputation for softening and losing its seam early, did favour the batters, Somerset’s top order, Sean Dickson apart, took full value from it. Dickson’s mixture of forceful strokes and errors soon saw him back in the Pavilion. A textbook on drive to the Cowdrey Stand next to the Woolley Stand off Nathan Gilchrist was followed by a wide ball from Wes Agar being chased into the hands of third slip. Dickson was only reprieved when the ball popped out to a shout of, “Dropped ’im!” from an aghast Kent supporter. Before long though, Dickson came forward to a ball from George Garrett that he had to play. Garrett was on debut for Kent in his fifth first-class match, and Dickson edged the ball low, but straight to Jack Leaning at second slip. This time there was no mistake. Somerset 25 for 1. Dickson 17. Deficit 249.

Matt Renshaw played a different type of innings than he had on his previous visitations to Somerset. Previously he had tended to attack the bowling from the start, a century before lunch being the stand-out example. Now, he was much more measured in his approach. At the departure of Dickson, he had scored six from 38 balls, mainly studiously defended. His first boundary, a spectacular square drive off Garrett, came from his 46^th ball in his 15^th over and took Somerset to 30 for 1. He had been joined by Tom Lammonby who had opened for much of the previous two seasons and had never looked entirely comfortable. At three, he immediately looked at one with himself.

What followed was a joy to watch for Somerset supporters used to top order collapses. An hour or so of selective, attacking batting supported by uncompromising defensive strokes and well-judged leaves especially from Lammonby. His softly driven, pushed and steered singles punctuated by classical drives brought back memories of an earlier age. Between the fall of Dickson’s wicket and lunch there were thirteen boundaries, all driven in the arc between the bowler’s stumps and point, with the exception of three edged past the slips, no more than the normal allocation for a first morning. The edges though were soon lost to the mind among the classicism of Lammonby’s strokes and the ferocity of some of Renshaw’s.

Lammonby’s drives are for the artist, not the engineer, and yet the speed of ball off bat would often be the pride of any engineer. One, between cover and mid-off, off Garrett would have been worth the entry money on its own had it not been for another, beautifully struck, square, off Gilchrist; or two in an over, one straight, and one through the off side, again off Gilchrist. Renshaw does not have quite the classical look of Lammonby, but the ferocity of his straight driving is something to savour, unless you are the bowler facing the oncoming missile. Three times, twice off Evison and once off the leg breaks of Matt Parkinson, the ball flew straight and bullet-like to the boundary. The pair took Somerset to 108 for 1 at lunch, scoring at nearly four and a half an over after the fall of Dickson. Renshaw 45 not out from 96 balls, 39 from 58 since Lammonby joined him. Lammonby 37 from 68 balls. Deficit 176.

A postscript to the morning session. There is a bank beyond the square boundary just around from the Cowdrey Stand at Canterbury which leads to a flat area beyond. Atop the bank for most of the morning another game of cricket was being played. Half a dozen young schoolboys had set up their own game, oblivious to what was going on in the middle but probably inspired by it. There was no great skill on show, but there was enough enthusiasm to fuel a junior cricket league. The enthusiasm was as great as the players walked off to lunch as it had been when their game started nearly two hours before. The future of the game needs to harness such enthusiasm.

The flamboyant mood of the morning changed after lunch. The runs came at barely two an over in the first 40 minutes and Parkinson bowled unchanged from the Pavilion End throughout the session. Across the whole session the scoring rate was only just over two and a half an over, Parkinson gave away little and the pace bowlers not much more. There were only three boundaries in those first 40 minutes, and two of those, a cover drive from Lammonby off Gilchrist and a coruscating straight drive from Renshaw off Parkinson, came in the first two overs. That apart, Renshaw struggled to time the ball, especially against Parkinson and neither batter was able to force the pace. Then, the Kent screw tightened further. Renshaw was beaten past the inside edge by Parkinson, the ball just missing the stumps and an on drive only just fell out of reach of the mid-on fielder. In Parkinson’s next over, Renshaw was beaten past the inside edge again and this time he was bowled to a huge Kent cheer. Somerset 142 for 2. Renshaw 66. Partnership 117. Deficit 142. Renshaw was replaced by Lewis Goldsworthy and he was promptly beaten by Parkinson.

Somerset were halfway to Kent’s total, but the wicket brought tension, perhaps because of the problems Parkinson was causing. Perhaps it was at the back of Kent minds too that Somerset were not playing a specialist spinner, although after the lost first day, time in the match for either side to force a win was desperately short. The tension was not diminished when Lammonby went to fifty with a thick edge for four off Garrett. Kent then ratcheted up the tension further by placing a slip, short leg and short mid-on when Parkinson bowled to Lammonby, and a slip, silly mid-off and two short mid-offs for Goldsworthy who promptly tried to hit through them with a sweep and was struck on the pad to a huge appeal. Against Parkinson, Lammonby missed a drive and suffered another leg before wicket appeal. The Kent ground fielding too was now matching Somerset’s. “It feels like a wicket is coming,” someone said. And as the cricket tightened, the cloud closed in, and in the Woolley Stand we were back to the biting cold of the first day.

But, somehow, by sheer grit, Lammonby and Goldsworthy survived the pressure. Digging in hard, they began, slowly at first, to grind out runs. In the five overs after the boundary that took Lammonby to fifty, there were six singles, one from a top-edged pull from Lammonby which fell safely in the covers. Two cover drives for four from Lammonby followed in successive overs from Parkinson, but Goldsworthy’s first boundary came to gasps from the crowd as another inside edge just missed the stumps. If there was luck in this innings, most of it had been with Somerset who had now fought their way to 175 for 2, just over a hundred behind.

Now, Wes Agar began a short spell of persistent short-pitched bowling from the Nackington Road End, sending virtually every ball at or past the batters’ chest, frequently testing the bounds of the regulations. In the three overs he bowled, eight runs were scored off the bat, all eight hooked, including a four, square to the Kent flats by Goldsworthy, and neither batter’s wicket looked at risk. Parkinson was no longer beating the bat, but neither did the runs flow, 12 coming from his six overs before tea where Lammonby and Goldsworthy arrived with Somerset on 202 for 2. Deficit 82. But only 94 runs had been scored in the 36 overs in the session and with both sides still to bat again, time was fast draining away.

The final session was a curious mix of Somerset dash and Kent counterattack, but the session ended with Somerset firmly in the ascendant. That Somerset were intent on breaking out from the inhibitions of the afternoon seemed clear from Goldsworthy’s cover and lofted straight drives in Parkinson’s first over and Lammonby’s paddle sweep to the fine leg boundary in Leaning’s second over of off spin. Then, sweeping Leaning, Lammonby connected only with the top edge and the ball flew behind square to be caught by Compton. Somerset 217 for 3. Lammonby 90. Deficit 77. It had been a refreshingly free-flowing innings from Lammonby. It was neither primarily of solid defence nor all-out attack which had tended to be his alternative modes as an opener. He had looked more at home in his new number three shoes than he had in two years in his opening ones.

The wicket brought Tom Banton, newly restored to the Championship side after a primarily white ball 2023, to the crease. He had reportedly been working hard on his red ball game through the winter and perhaps his start reflected that. It was careful and largely defensive, although he didn’t pass up the opportunity to push for a single or a two. But then a vision of the old Banton appeared. First, two fours off successive balls from Parkinson, driven through extra cover and lofted straight back past the bowler who took avoiding action. In the next over, from Garrett, he turned a ball to deep square leg for two and lofted the next over long on to Kent’s electronic scoreboard at the Nackington Road End for six. The next ball was wide of off stump, Banton drove hard at it, but this time edged to Harry Finch behind the stumps. Somerset 252 for 4. Banton 28 from 32 balls. Deficit 32. Whether the sudden acceleration was on Banton’s own initiative, or a calculated assault to orders in an attempt to advance the game is something spectators are rarely privy to.

The wicket triggered more wickets. Goldsworthy, who had dealt entirely in singles since tea, attempted a cover drive off Gilchrist, now armed with the new ball, but only chipped it to Joey Evison at cover. 252 for 5. Goldsworthy 35 in five minutes over two hours or 92 balls. And then the newly arrived Lewis Gregory, attempting to drive Agar, angled the bat and played the ball across the three slips but was caught by Daniel Bell-Drummond, diving, at backward point. The ball looked to be there for the drive, but whether by design or accident, Agar had his wicket and Somerset had lost three prime batters for three runs in four overs. At 255 for 6, they were still 29 runs behind and the Kent bowlers had their tails up. It felt like a pivotal moment in the innings.

It also brought Kasey Aldridge to the wicket to join James Rew who had replaced Goldsworthy, both batters yet to score. Kent had created an opportunity for themselves and Somerset, having fallen from the ascendancy to a match in balance, had a rebuilding job to contemplate with a 20-year-old and a 23-year-old at the crease to do it. The response from Rew and Aldridge was as uplifting for Somerset supporters as they could have hoped for. The two young men drove, literally, their way emphatically to a hundred-run partnership at over five and a half runs an over. Kent had been on the point of taking away Somerset’s advantage. Rew and Aldridge snatched it back, and snatched it back at pace.

First Aldridge. What was no more than a sharp nudge off Agar sent the ball racing to the deep point boundary. Then Rew, a straight drive for four to the Pavilion End boundary off Gilchrist. Then, seven in an over off Agar including a square drive towards the flats boundary for three from Rew. That left Aldridge on strike to drive off the back foot to the cover boundary. A straight drive for four from Rew off Evison took Somerset into the lead. “Shot!” followed a straight drive for four from Aldridge off Garrett. In Garrett’s next over, Rew drove and edged but the ball flew well wide of the slips for four followed by an off drive for another four. Somerset had raced to 304 for 6, 20 ahead, and Garrett’s walk back to bowl the final ball of the over was the epitome of a trudge.

Evison replaced Garrett at the Nackington Road End, and Rew continued the assault by lifting him over midwicket for six. “Come on lads!” shouted a beaming Somerset supporter and Rew and Aldridge finished the over with four singles as the field retreated and gaps opened up. Parkinson was now back on at the Pavilion End although the new ball was only 13 overs old. Somerset, with the boundary now better protected, were pushing singles into the gaps. Rew also found opportunity to drive Parkinson through extra cover for four, Evison through cover for four more, a stroke for which the word emphatic might have been made, and then a clip to long leg for four more. As Somerset raced on, the 350 and the third bonus point were posted in the hundredth over and the century partnership was reached when Aldridge cut Parkinson square for another single. It was heart lifting stuff for the band of travelling Somerset supporters.

And then, one of those serendipitous incidents which intervene in cricket matches from time to time. With Leaning now bowling his off spin from the Nackington Road End, a man on a mobility scooter drove serenely across the front of the sight screen just as Leaning was about to bowl. Play was held up as he completed his traverse, apparently oblivious, as most who pass in front of a sight screen when the bowling is from their end are. With Rew back on guard, Leaning bowled. Rew slog swept and the ball steepled off the top edge to be caught by Finch who jogged, eyes trained skywards with every step, from his spot behind the stumps to what might be called short point. Whether the hold up in play and the wicket were linked was impossible to know from beyond the boundary. Somerset 358 for 7. Rew 57 from 60 balls. Lead 74. From there, Aldridge and Josh Davey took Somerset to 374 for 7 at the close, Aldridge pulling Parkinson over deep midwicket for six and, with a single pushed to deep midwicket, neatly reaching his fifty off the final ball of the day.

It had, in the end, been Somerset’s day, if with a couple of Kent induced glitches along the way. They ended with a lead of 90 with Aldridge adding to the good impression made by his bowling with a piece of controlled aggression with the bat at a time when Somerset needed a decisive intervention. The same should be said of his partner in the enterprise, Rew. It had been a powerful partnership from two young men which began with them under some pressure following the rapid loss of three wickets. As to the remainder of the game, there was little evidence that Somerset could both build a sufficient lead with their three remaining wickets and bowl Kent out on the final day on that pitch. “Draw,” was the conclusion of most as they left the ground, although it was the few Somerset supporters who walked down the New Dover Road who had the spring in their step.

Close. Kent 284. Somerset 374 for 7. Somerset lead by 90 runs with three first innings wickets standing.