County Championship 2024. Division 1. Nottinghamshire v Somerset 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th June. Trent Bridge.

Due to someone in my household testing positive for COVID, I opted not to attend this match. The reports are therefore written through watching the Nottinghamshire CCC live stream.

Lewis Gregory was unavailable due to a groin strain. Craig Overton captained the Somerset side. Matthew Renshaw had departed Somerset at the end of his contract.

Nottinghamshire. H. Hameed (c), B.T. Slater, W.A. Young, J.M. Clarke, J.A. Haynes, T.J. Moores (c), L.W. James, C.G. Harrison, O.P. Stone, D.Y. Pennington, D. Paterson.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, A.R.I. Umeed, T. Kohler-Cadmore, T.B. Abell, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton (c), M. Pretorius, M.J. Leach, J.T. Ball.

Overnight. Nottinghamshire 326 for 8.

Second day 24th June – Cricket for aficionados of the longer game

This was Somerset’s day. It took a while, and some effort, to take the two outstanding Nottinghamshire wickets. But once that was done, Somerset’s new-found batting mettle took them through the day. They batted for the most part with iron composure and steadily accumulated runs as if they were coming off a production line. Try as Nottinghamshire might, they only occasionally interrupted Somerset’s progress, and no sooner had they done so, then it began again. This was cricket for the aficionado of the longer game. Ninety-six overs without a single six, despite one of the boundaries being virtually as short as the regulations allow. In the first 15 overs after tea, there were only two fours off the bat, but 51 runs were scored, 3.4 runs an over, precisely the pace of the Somerset innings as a whole. It was remorseless, tightly controlled batting across 85 overs, and it put Somerset in prime position to forge a significant lead.

The second day began under largely overcast skies, although the cloud was high. As on the first day, the ball moved, if often after passing the bat, and the pitch continued to lack carry all day. Nottinghamshire’s first runs came with a flash of hope for Somerset supporters, as a ball from Migael Pretorius flew from the edge of Dillon Pennington’s bat, but the hope dissipated when the ball fell short and wide of the two slips before running to the boundary. Pennington followed this with another thick edge off Craig Overton which also ran for four. The lack of carry was evident for a second time when Olly Stone edged Pretorius towards second slip and Craig Overton had to take the catch at ankle height, but the ninth Nottinghamshire wicket was on the board. Nottinghamshire 345 for 9. Stone 83.

When Dane Paterson joined Pennington, he threw caution to the winds. It benefited him to the tune of 17 runs from 15 balls. A pull off Pretorius reached the boundary but, for the most part, his innings consisted of a series of drives and pulls which either missed the ball altogether or were miscued skywards. They fell into gaps in the field until finally he was caught by Pretorius at deep mid-off to give Aldridge his fifth wicket. Nottinghamshire’s final total of 360 was perhaps 100 or so more than Somerset might have hoped for on the first afternoon when Lyndon James was caught behind at the end of Kasey Aldridge’s destructive spell with the Nottinghamshire score at 190 for 7.

With Matthew Renshaw having departed and Sean Dickson out of form, Somerset probably surprised everyone by opening with Tom Kohler-Cadmore, although perhaps less so with Andy Umeed who tends to play straight. Somerset’s start was less than propitious. They lost Umeed, pushing at Pennington and being brilliantly caught at third slip by Will Young diving long and low to his right. Somerset 8 for 1. Umeed 4. Deficit 352. But, from there, they settled into that remorseless progress which continued through the rest of the day.

Kohler-Cadmore seemed all too frenetic a batter to be an opener. Even before Umeed was out, he gave an indication of things to come, driving ferociously at a ball from Stone which pitched over a foot wide of off stump and moved away a shade further. It flew off the outside edge straight towards the waiting hands of first slip. Fortunately for Kohler-Cadmore, Calvin Harrison, at second slip, dived hard to his left, across first slip, got both hands momentarily to the ball and diverted it between first slip’s legs for four. Driving at wide balls was one thing, but Kohler-Cadmore’s habit of starting to sprint for a run when there was no run to be had was another. It often triggered a response from the other batter while Kohler-Cadmore stopped dead in his tracks and returned to his crease. It was disconcerting for the helpless Somerset watcher and, I imagine for the other batter too.

In line with his general approach, Kohler-Cadmore unleashed some ferocious drives. In an over, he drove Ollie Stone straight to the Pavilion End boundary and then through backward point to the short William Clarke boundary. Dane Paterson replaced Stone and, in three balls, was driven back over his head for six, induced a play and a miss and was driven through the covers for four. Tom Lammonby, who had replaced Umeed, played something of an anchor role, although he too put Somerset supporters’ emotions through the wringer, as he does, by persistently leaving balls excruciatingly close to his stumps. He found the boundary twice, less frenetically than his partner, once with a neat clip off his legs and once with a glance off Dillon Pennington as well-judged as his leaves. After ten overs, Somerset were 35 for 1, more or less the rate with which they would score across the day.

Briefly, the batters gave their supporters’ nerves a rest with a quiet 12 runs from five overs, four of those being leg byes. As my thoughts idled towards lunch, three overs away, the attacking strokes returned, 18 runs coming from those three overs. The first was a beautiful square drive from Lammonby off Lyndon James which raced to the William Clarke boundary. The last two involved Kohler-Cadmore turning successive balls from James to the same boundary. The first bisected the deep square leg and long leg fielders who, each running hard along the boundary, converged on the ball before simultaneously leaving it to the other as it approached and crossed the rope. And then, a repeat of the stroke, finer, and Somerset departed for lunch on 60 for 1, precisely 300 behind. Kohler-Cadmore 36 from 53 balls. Lammonby 16 from 40. Given Somerset’s history of difficult starts, I would have settled for 60 for 1 from 18 overs, 3.3 an over, at the start and I went to my own lunch breathing a long sigh of relief, for the Nottinghamshire bowlers had pressed Somerset every inch of the way.

The afternoon session began with a wicket, but it was Nottinghamshire’s only success of the session. The wicket came in the third over, Kohler-Cadmore attempting to hook a Stone bouncer angled across the stumps and ending wide of the leg stump. He was well-caught from a thin edge low and wide down the leg side by Tom Moores. Somerset 68 for 2. Kohler-Cadmore 38. Deficit 292. The nature of Stone’s celebration suggested the angle and length of the ball might have been a deliberate ploy to tempt Kohler-Cadmore into the stroke.

Tom Abell to the wicket. Over his career, Abell had been tried at every position from one to five depending on Somerset’s need at the time. He plays a similar role in the field too, fielding anywhere from cover to midwicket, including in any of the slip positions. With the bat, he has always seemed most effective at four and he played a crucial, determined innings here. It was not spectacular, but it was precisely what Somerset needed. He scored only one boundary in his first 11 overs, a cover drive off Stone. He and Lammonby, a single boundary in the first ten overs of the partnership, were clearly focused on protecting their wickets and building a base.

Twenty-two runs were squeezed from those ten overs but what caught the attention most was the actions of the Nottinghamshire players. The ball was changed in the third over, but although the bat was occasionally beaten following the change, the Nottinghamshire players were visibly unhappy with the changed ball. They repeatedly requested that the umpires inspect it. They repeatedly inspected it themselves, threw it to each other, each inspecting it in turn, queried it with the umpires, threw it to each other again, threw it back to the bowler, bowled a few balls and then began the whole process over again. As the ball inspection and re-inspection continued unabated, Haseem Hameed, Nottinghamshire’s captain, spoke to the umpires and when they, presumably, continued to refuse to change the ball, he spoke to them again.

If Lammonby and Abell were interested in the performance going on around them, they did not show it. They had concentrated on properly settling into their partnership and now the runs began to flow. Lammonby turned Harrison’s leg spin to long leg and drove it through extra cover, both for four. Abell drove Pennington square and cut him through backward point, both to the short boundary, but also edged him past the slips for another four. Lammonby eventually brought up his fifty from 104 balls in two minutes over two and a half hours when he cut James through backward point for two. Those two runs took Somerset to 131 for 2, 229 behind Nottinghamshire.

As Somerset’s score advanced, Nottinghamshire finally succeeded in persuading the umpires to change the ball. It made little difference. Abell and Lammonby just carried on as before, concentrating, pushing singles, mainly to the deep fielders, benefiting from the occasional stroke of luck, and attacking any ball which invited it. Abell drove Harrison to the deep square leg boundary, Lammonby drove him to the extra cover boundary and Somerset passed 150 when Abell’s jerked defensive stroke against James flew wide of the only slip for four more. Somerset’s progress was unremitting, and Nottinghamshire were reduced to a single, wide slip. As their bowlers pressed to restrict Somerset, they employed a close inner ring on the off side which, despite those boundaries, periodically held Abell back with some sharp stops. Even so, he found the boundary twice more before tea, once with a clip off the legs just backward of square which brought up his fifty from 101 balls in four minutes over two hours. The other was from a pull off a full toss from Harrison, the opportunity not missed. Tea was reached with the score on 173 for 2, 187 behind Nottinghamshire, a rate of 3.2 an over since lunch, 3.3 overall.

The evening session began with Somerset a little more restricted by Nottinghamshire’s bowlers and their defensive fields. Lammonby seemed somewhat off the pace. He struggled against Harrison who beat him twice in an over, one of the balls beating the keeper too and running for four byes. He played and missed at Stone and took a two in Harrison’s next over with an inside edge. His scoring strokes, like Abell’s, were now mainly restricted to singles by the field, and an attempt to reverse sweep Harrison resulted in an edge falling just short of slip. There was a well-struck on drive for four off Harrison, but it came as no surprise when Paterson struck him on the pad and the umpire’s finger was raised. From my armchair there were no arguments, the leg before wicket looked plumb. By then though 52 runs had been added in the 16 overs since tea, Somerset had reached 225 for 3, and Lammonby had scored 87 in four minutes over three and a half hours, Somerset’s deficit now 135. An over later, Harrison pitched on leg stump to the new batter, Tom Banton, turned the ball, it took the edge and Moores took the catch. Somerset 226 for 4. Banton 0. Deficit 134. James Rew to the wicket to join Abell. A moment of truth for Somerset it felt. Another wicket now might just give Nottinghamshire the edge. The heart pumped a little faster and, as Rew took guard, my eyes kept their stare firmly fixed on the screen.

It was a critical moment, but families have other priorities. No sooner had Rew taken his guard than I was called to the garden for a family dinner. The negotiations which followed resulted in my laptop following me, silent as always when I watch a match for the purpose of writing a report. It was permitted to sit on a small table next to me, although the brightness of the summer light somewhat cramped my out-of-the-corner-of-my-eye view. And yet, even as I ate and talked, I saw enough to realise that Abell and Rew were reestablishing Somerset’s innings after its brief wobble. The Nottinghamshire field remained defensive, and balls were still being softly driven and steered to the deep fielders, mainly for singles. Among the singles, some boundaries still got through, particularly from Abell, but Rew too was keeping the score at the bottom of the screen moving. In fact, of the 67 runs scored after he came to the crease, 35 came from his bat, including a well-struck slog sweep for four off Harrison.

As dinner progressed, Abell clipped Stone off his legs and the ball crossed the long boundary to bring up his century in five minutes over four hours. It had been a consummate, carefully constructed 202-ball innings. His boundaries had been emphatic, the follow through of the bat, as always, abruptly halted once the ball was on its way. His singles were placed with the precision of a judge delivering a finely balanced judgment and his defence had been as uncompromising as the Commons Chamber door slammed in Black Rod’s face. By the close, with dinner well underway, a summer salad with cheese for those interested, he and Rew had restored the advantage Somerset had built up in the first two sessions.

Close. Nottinghamshire 360 (O.P. Stone 83, J. A. Haynes 55, J. M. Clarke 51, K.L. Aldridge 5-94, M. Pretorius 4-96). Somerset 293 for 4. Somerset trail by 67 runs with six first innings wickets standing.