County Championship 2024. Division 1. Lancashire v Somerset 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th September. Old Trafford.

Tom Banton was unavailable due to an ankle injury.

Lancashire. K.K. Jennings (c), H.P.N. Singh, J.J. Bohannon, R. Flintoff, M.F. Hurst (w), L.W.P. Wells, G.J. Bell, G.P. Balderson, T.E. Bailey, A. Phillip, W.S.A. Williams.

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

Overnight. Lancashire 140 and 298 for 7. Somerset 146. Lancashire lead by 292 runs with nine second innings wickets standing.

Third day 19th September – The dying of the hope

The day began under pleasant sunshine and high, wispy cloud with me arriving late with a vicious cold that had kept me awake half the night. I still eschewed the tram and walked the two miles from hotel to ground, although a little more slowly than my normal racing pace. The crowd was perhaps nearer 700 than the 600 of the second day, and there were a good number of Somerset supporters dotted around. As I ambled around the ground to reach the sun in the lower tier at the Statham End, several Somerset supporters, on seeing my white, broad-rimmed wyvern hat came over to say hello. Most stood with me and chatted briefly despite being warned about my cold, with Somerset’s prospects being the only topic of conversation. Despite the underlying reality of the serious knock Somerset’s prospects had taken on the second afternoon, on a new morning, hope sprang eternal among many, but it was the sort of hope that knew Somerset would probably have to mount a Herculean effort to win this match, especially if they could not end Lancashire’s innings quickly.

By the time I reached my seat in the sun, Somerset had bowled nine overs, and Lancashire had added 12 runs, the Lancashire lead crawling past 300. A case of grinding déjà vu for those who had watched the afternoon of the previous day. Batting, at least defending, looked easy. While I was walking around the ground there were no obvious signs of life in the pitch, and there was no suggestion that the batters were looking for anything beyond survival and the safest of runs as they worked to protect their wickets and build scoreboard pressure on Somerset.

Once I was seated, and could concentrate, there were some signs of hope for Somerset. Three times in two overs, against Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory, George Balderson drove and missed, once expansively, and twice he was beaten trying to defend. “Come on,” shouted a withering Lancashire voice, “Don’t give it away.” Luke Wells though was finding the middle, and after nearly an hour of solid defence he pulled Gregory over long leg and into the stand six seats away from me. It was a lesson in the importance of staying awake at a cricket match, even if the action is glacial. Wells followed the six with a truncated prod with an angled bat which sent the ball backward of backward point for three. The stroke took him to his century from 196 balls in a minute over four hours. It also took Lancashire to 333 for 7, a lead of 327 as they slowly squeezed Somerset’s prospects.

A wandering Somerset supporter, looking for hope, came over to talk, ignoring my warnings about my cold, and reminded me that Somerset had successfully chased upwards of 400 in a day against Warwickshire at Taunton. It was a thought, but ever one to throw a shaft of reality onto a dream I pointed out that, to my memory, that was only the third time in their history Somerset had successfully chased over 400, albeit all in the previous 15 years. They had also successfully chased 396 against Sussex at Hove in 2012. I had been present on all four occasions, but such chases involve a huge intensity of concentration and nerve stretched over an extended period, and successful ones do not come around very often. The last before the Warwickshire match had been against Nottinghamshire at Taunton nine years before. The wandering supporter was not the only one expressing hope, for the confidence infused in supporters by the Surrey match convinced them that the Championship could yet be won.

But Lancashire pressed remorselessly on with determined defence and well-placed singles. In the next eight overs there were 16 singles, and a single boundary, lofted back over Archie Vaughan’s head. There might have been more runs but for some determined Somerset fielding as Somerset fought to keep the Lancashire lead within bounds They were applauded by the Lancashire crowd as well as the Somerset contingent. But Lancashire were now 348 ahead and still those three stubborn wickets stood between Somerset and the crease. The gap between hope and reality was being stretched by the over, and yet the dream still clung on, even if the grim face of reality was impossible to ignore.

And then, as if a blue touch paper had been lit, Lancashire’s batting began to send the ball in all directions. Thirty-two runs came from the next four overs, with more balls being scored off than not. Somerset had turned to Tom Lammonby’s left arm medium pace to accompany Vaughan’s off spin, perhaps to combat the two entrenched left handers. Seven runs came from Lammonby’s second over, Wells lofting him straight for four. Vaughan, now well into what had been a quietish spell, was struck for nine in an over, Balderson twice driving him straight, although one of the drives cut a high curve across the sky and plugged into the turf just short of the boundary. Jack Leach replaced Lammonby and was immediately straight driven for four by Wells and then cut square by Balderson, both for four. Lancashire’s charge, clearly premeditated, took them to 386 for 6, a lead of 380 and 400 was getting uncomfortably close.

Then, Jack Leach took a hand in proceedings. Wells swept and was leg before wicket. Lancashire 386 for 8. Wells 130 from 231 balls in nine minutes under five hours. Standing ovations for home centuries have become almost obligatory in the first-class game, but this one was warm and extended, for Wells had batted Lancashire into a position which had looked beyond them at the end of their first innings, and from which they were strong favourites to win the match. In Leach’s next over, Tom Bailey came forward in defence and was beaten, the ball striking the pads four square in front of the stumps. Lancashire 388 for 9. Bailey 1. Lead 382. And finally, Brett Randell replaced Vaughan and bowled Balderson through a drive for his third wicket of the innings. Lancashire 398 all out, Balderson’s 47 from 157 balls in 12 minutes under four hours demonstrating the sheer determination which the Lancashire batters had shown in giving their team a chance of fending off relegation, and in the process virtually dousing Somerset’s remaining Championship hopes. Phillip ended on 3 not out and Lancashire’s lead was 392. The Lancashire innings had lasted over nine and a half hours. And so, to lunch.

The 393 Somerset needed to win was not quite 400, or even 396. It would though be a colossal ask of a team whose well of the sort of nervous energy required to sustain the intensity needed for such a chase must have been severely drained in beating Surrey in the previous match and enduring the intensity of T20 Finals Day. There was plenty of time, five sessions, but Somerset began as if they intended to charge straight for the target. Bailey bowled the first ball of the innings full and wide. Umeed advanced down the pitch, reached, met it at yorker length, and drove it through the covers for four. The second ball was of the same length, but straight. Umeed advanced again, drove again, and was bowled, his off stump knocked flat. Somerset 4 for 1. Runs still required 389. I was still completing my lunchtime amble around the ground but saw Umeed’s two strokes through a gap between the stands. When I reached my seat, the Somerset supporters nearby were looking stunned, the damage to their remaining Championship hopes etched in their faces.

Vaughan and Lammonby were not quite so audacious in their approach, but neither did they retreat into their shells. Immediately, they set about pressurising the Lancashire bowlers. Before the first over, from Bailey, was out, Lammonby had leaned into the neatest of turns just behind square, the ball running for four. The second over, from Phillip, saw Vaughan reach the boundary off successive balls, although the first was off the edge. The second though was driven off the face of an angled bat through backward point. “Nice shot, Archie,” the encouragement from a Somerset supporter. When Lammonby glanced Bailey for four in the third over, Somerset were 21 for 1, 372 from their target

The Somerset supporters in the crowd responded to the attack on the Lancashire bowling, such cricket being ingrained in their psyches. “Well done, Archie,” the shout as Vaughan drove Phillip square for four. “Nice one, Tom,” as Lammonby drove him to long off for two. Bailey meanwhile, running away from me at the Statham End, was bowling well and troubling the batters. He beat Vaughan with a ball that seemed to cut away off the seam and then found the edge as Vaughan defended his next ball. It flew low, straight towards Keaton Jennings’ ankles at second slip. Jennings got both hands to it, but it popped out and fell to earth. The relief was intense, but the ball finding the edge was worrying. There was a very long way to go. Lammonby was now beginning to leave the ball, as he so often does, very close to the stumps. Vaughan though was beaten again, twice in succession by Balderson and then glanced Bailey for four. Now, Lammonby drove at Balderson and edged him over the slips, then straight drove him off the middle, both for four. It was a nervy watch, with each four cheered by the Somerset contingent, and each edge or miss bringing intakes of breath. The outcome, Somerset 55 for 1 from 12 anxious overs, and victory was still 338 runs away.

From there, Lammonby and Vaughan continued to build, if not at quite the same rate, and the edges and misses largely fell away. A steady trickle of singles was punctuated by some impressively struck boundaries. Somerset were tackling the target head on, and hope was beginning to question reality. Lancashire, needing a victory themselves, responded by bringing the keeper up but Lammonby glanced Balderson neatly enough to the Pavilion boundary. Vaughan meanwhile clipped him sharply through square leg for four and then cut Williams between gully and backward point for another four. A ferocious leg before wicket appeal from Phillip against Vaughan had the umpire indicating the ball was missing off stump and a Lancashire fielder shouting, “Come on boys! Not far away here.” Vaughan’s response was to pull Phillip square for another four to bring Somerset’s remaining target to 298, the fall below 300 giving hope a gentle nudge.

When Vaughan turned Phillip to fine leg for another four, a hopeful Somerset voice shouted, “Come on Somerset!” When Lammonby top edged him, caught breaths were released when the ball flew over the keeper. Four more. The boundary registered the century partnership, hope now pushing harder at reality. Another push followed when Vaughan drove Phillip into the covers for a single to register his fifty. The target was still a very long way away, but the method of pursuing it lifted the spirit and drove the hope. But then, reality, always hanging in the background, struck. Wells tossed a spinning ball, high into a dipping loop, Lammonby drove but the ball yorked him. The bails flew, and Somerset supporters looked stunned. Somerset 109 for 2. Lammonby 49 in seven minutes under two hours. Runs needed 284.

Then reality jabbed again. Vaughan, hooked Phillip, top edged the ball onto his helmet, from where it skimmed over his head, cleared the keeper and ran for four. Held breaths expelled. A square cut from Abell raced to the boundary, “Shot!” the excited Somerset shout. But, in the final over before tea, Phillip went through Abell’s defence, struck the pad and Somerset were three down. “C’mon now!” roared a Lancashire voice amidst the cheers. As the players walked off, Somerset were 120 for 3. Abell 5. Runs needed 273. That the third wicket was Abell’s was a sickening blow to Somerset supporters’ morale after his mountainous century against Surrey at Taunton. It was a subdued set of supporters who looked for their tea, especially with news having spread that Surrey had beaten Durham and taken 22 points in the process.

Vaughan and Tom Kohler-Cadmore began the evening session as if those two wickets immediately before tea had not happened. Kohler-Cadmore, expansive as ever, cut Phillip over backward point for a one-bounce four and drove Balderson through mid-off for four more. Somerset hats now began to gather at the Statham End. Perhaps they were drawn there by sunnier climes than could be found in some other parts of the ground, or perhaps as the ground beneath Somerset’s Championship challenge began to shake, they sought solace in numbers. Vaughan though continued to attack, opening the face and guiding Phillip past the slips for four. When Kohler-Cadmore cut Phillip just fine of backward point for another boundary, the runs required fell below 250 with still seven wickets standing. Hope reviving. Perhaps Lancashire felt it, because one of their fielders shouted, “Come on boys, four and five.”

Such shouts often seem pointless from beyond the boundary, but this time, four and five quickly followed. First, Vaughan was caught at slip defending against Balderson. He had scored 68 in 14 minutes short of three hours. It was perhaps as much as could be asked of an 18-year-old batting under the pressure of trying to stay within range of the Championship while key wickets fell at the other end. Somerset 146 for 4. Runs required 247. Kohler-Cadmore, still expansive in the face of adversity, lifted Bailey quite deliberately over gully for four, but was then caught at slip by Bell off Balderson for 23 in two minutes under the hour. Somerset 155 for 5. Runs required 238. As each batter had suggested he might take Somerset closer, a wicket had fallen and Somerset faces now reflected hope lost. They looked numbed with eyes staring but not seeing.

From there to the close, there were 19 more overs. In those 19 overs there were just two boundaries, four twos, 17 singles and a few leg byes as Rew and Aldridge resorted to picking rather than blasting their way forward. To the Somerset supporter, it seemed and interminable hour and a quarter as Lancashire worked through their hand of bowlers trying to dislodge the batters. Not much beat the bat and the scoreboard turned, but for Somerset supporters, it moved painfully slowly, but at least no wicket fell.

There was a fright and a ray of hope reignited when Aldridge edged Phillip past the slips for four to bring the runs required below 200. And then, Wells began the final over of the day. He pitched wide to Aldridge. Aldridge drove hard into the covers. “Four!” the thought, but Bailey dived to his left and stopped the ball. Wells bowled wide again. Aldridge stretched and attempted to guide the ball through backward point. Instead, Hurst, behind the stumps, held the ball up and danced down the wicket in sheer joy before he was engulfed by the Lancashire fielders. Aldridge looked at the umpire but there was no reprieve, for him or for Somerset’s supporters. With 189 still needed, it felt like a body blow. Somerset 204 for 6. Aldridge 19 carefully gathered runs in an hour and a quarter. “Why attack a wide ball now?” someone asked. A resigned silence, the reply.

We were still asking ourselves that question when four of us gathered outside the main gate and reviewed the day, for it felt, finally, like the dying of the hope. The sinking feeling over Somerset’s parlous position could not be denied. With a few ifs and maybes leavened with a large sprinkling of hope, it was just possible, with Rew still in and Gregory, Overton and Leach still to come, to see a route to victory, but I don’t think anyone, in their hearts, believed it.

Close. Lancashire 140 and 398 (L.W.P. Wells 130, J.J. Bohannon 60, G.P. Balderson 47, M.J. Leach 3-57, B.G. Randell 3-71) . Somerset 146 and 204 for 6. Somerset need 189 more runs to win with four second innings wickets standing.