County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Nottinghamshire 19^th, 20^th, 21^st and 22^nd April. Taunton.

Jack Leach, (knee injury) and Tom Abell (hamstring) were unavailable.

Somerset, M.T. Renshaw, S.R. Dickson, T.A. Lammonby, L.P. Goldsworthy, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory (c), C. Overton, J.H. Davey, M. Pretorius, S. Bashir.

Nottinghamshire. H. Hameed (c), B.T. Slater, W.A. Young, J.M. Clarke (w), M. Montgomery, J.A. Haynes, L.W. James, C.G. Harrison, B.A. Hutton, L.J. Fletcher, D. Paterson.

Overnight. Nottinghamshire 193 and 418  for 2. Somerset 454. Nottinghamshire lead by 157 runs.

Final day 22^nd April – A merciful end

The forecast for the final day was awful. The rain was a little late in coming, but it came in time to put the remains of this game out of their misery before things had dragged on for too long. There was no prospect of a positive result, so flat had the pitch become and all bonus points had been allocated. The forecast and the state of the match had reduced the crowd to 200 at most, and most of those were eyeing the gathering clouds, perhaps hoping for deliverance. The third day had brought back memories of the pitches and fourth days of a decade and a half before when wickets falling on the final day could be as rare as August snow.

Here, Craig Overton and Migael Pretorius did their best. There were only two boundaries in the ten overs that proved possible. The second, a straight drive to the Trescothick Stand prompted a successful request for a ball change. Three overs later, Young edged Pretorius low and fine of Overton standing at third slip, although there was no first or second slip. Overton dived, got hand to ball but failed to hold it. His hand was barely an inch above the ground when it connected with the ball. There was discussion around me about whether or not the ball had carried, but in truth it was impossible to know from the angle and height from which we were watching.

No one was excited by it though for the clouds were closing in and at the end of the over the floodlights came on. They normally help play continue, but on this occasion, they acted as a warning that the promised rains were on their way. Overton was still trying. He beat the inside edge of Young’s bat with a ball that moved in and looked like it would have hit the stumps had they had an extra coat of varnish. Overton sank to the ground with his head in his hands as if the match had depended on that ball. It hadn’t of course, but Overton called up two slips anyway. Four balls later, someone said, “The covers are coming on.” Rain had started to fall, but the wing roof on top of the Trescothick Pavilion meant that those of us sitting near the back had not noticed it.

And that was the end of the cricket for the day. The rain was never heavy and came and went, but it never went for long enough for play to restart. It very quickly became evident that even if play were to resume at some point, it was unlikely to be for long. With Nottinghamshire 179 ahead with eight wickets in hand, most spectators drifted away. As always on these occasions though, a hardy few held to their seats or retreated to a bar.

Out of the gloom, an announcement was made that it was Ken Palmer’s 87^th birthday. Palmer had played for Somerset from 1955 to 1969 and was a key player in those years, an all rounder who played once for England. After retiring from the first-class game, he became a first-class umpire and stood for 31 years, also standing as a Test umpire for a number of years. Since his retirement, he had often been seen at the ground, for a number of years talking to Mervyn Kitchen, another long-serving player and umpire, in the gap between the Caddick Pavilion and the Temporary Stand. The announcement and the absence of any action in the middle, led to people sharing a range of reminiscences about Palmer and the times in which he played, the formative years of many of us in the top of the Trescothick Pavilion.

Disappointing to supporters though the failure to win this match from the dominant position at the end of the second day was, most understood the nature of some of the pitches at Taunton. It was Somerset’s third draw from three Championship games played. It was a more solid start to the Championship season than supporters had been accustomed to in most seasons in the last decade and a half, and because of the lack of positive results across the country in the first two rounds with the Kookaburra ball, it left Somerset in third place in the table.

Result. Nottinghamshire 193 (M. Montgomery 48, c. Overton 3-57) and 440 for 2 (J.M. Clarke 213*, W.A. Young 174*). Somerset 454 (C. Overton 95*, T. Banton 83, M. Pretorius 77, C.G. Harrison 4-93. Match drawn. Somerset 15 points. Nottinghamshire 10 points.