County Championship 2025. Division 1. Essex v Somerset 24^th, 25^th, 26^th and 27^th September. Chelmsford.

Tom Abell was unavailable for selection under the ECB concussion regulations, Alfie Ogborne due to a back injury and J.T. Langridge due to a side injury. 

Somerset. A.M. Vaughan, J.F. Thomas, T.A. Lammonby, J.E.K. Rew (w), T. Kohler-Cadmore, L.P. Goldsworthy, K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton, L. Gregory (c), M.J. Leach, J.T. Ball..

Essex. D. Elgar, P.I. Walter, T. Westley (c), C.W,J. Allison, M.J.J. Critchley, M.S. Pepper (w), N.R.M. Thain, S.R. Harmer, D.A.J. Bracewell, C.E. Bennett, J.A. Porter. 

Overnight. Somerset 433 and 99. Essex 438. Essex need 95 runs to win.

Final day – Somerset push to the end

An Essex victory was not in doubt when the day began. Nor was the fact that the match would be over in good time for the teams and spectators to take an early lunch. Even so, a crowd of several hundred put in an appearance to cheer Essex over the line, and, hopeless cause or not, Somerset pushed to the end. The first ball of the second over, bowled from the Graham Gooch End by Lewis Gregory, struck Dean Elgar, one of Essex’s two first innings centurions, on the pad and sent him back to the Pavilion leg before wicket without scoring. It did nothing though to dent the expectation of an Essex victory. Even when Gregory and Overton repeatedly beat the bat despite the Essex batters advancing up the pitch to combat the lateral movement, the sense of inevitability about the outcome did not diminish.

As if to emphasise the point, after Elgar’s wicket and two quiet opening overs, Paul Walter and Tom Westley set about demolishing Essex’s 95-run target. The fourth over, from Gregory, produced 15 of those 95 runs. Walter ran up the pitch to meet the first ball and pushed it through midwicket for two, then added a single with a controlled straight drive off the second. Gregory beat Westley with the third, but the fourth was turned to deep square leg for two. Essex were perhaps a little too lackadaisical in their running for the second. The throw went to the bowler’s end and just missed the stumps with Walter, not running as fast as he might, still reaching for the crease. “Oh dear,” the comment from an Essex supporter behind me, “I know he’s tall but …” his voice draining away. Then, a cover drive from Westley off the fifth ball produced three more runs before one of Gregory’s perennial no balls brought a single from Walter thereby costing Somerset three more runs. And finally, Westley pulled the extra ball through midwicket to the Felsted Stand for four, the ball crossing the rope in front of my seat. Essex 25 for 1 with the remaining target down to 70.

With another boundary and a single from Walter in Gregory’s next over, Essex kept the score moving, but when Westley pushed at a ball wide of off stump, James Rew took a sharp diving catch. Essex 30 for 2. Westley 13. “Oh dear,” again the comment from behind. The wicket brought an oddly tense quiet. Odd because I doubt anyone in the ground seriously thought there would be any result other than an Essex victory, and the mathematical, if unlikely, prospect of an Essex relegation, present at the start of the match, had fizzled out before the start of the final day. But, there was still a match to be won, cricket has seen some strange finishes, and supporters live on their nerves. There were though no nerves evident from the new batter, Charlie Allison and Walter. By the end of the next over, Overton’s fourth, another nine runs had been added, an extra cover drive off the back foot from Walter looking very relaxed and bringing a cry of “Shot!” as the ball raced to the rope. Amidst the buzz developing among Essex supporters, my smartphone revealed that Surrey had beaten Hampshire. That seemingly condemned Hampshire to relegation as the only other realistic candidate for the final relegation spot, Durham, looked almost certain to achieve a draw in a high-scoring match against Yorkshire which would be enough to keep them up.

Meanwhile, Essex pushed on, reaching 56 for 2 by the end of the tenth over, 39 more needed. Overton withdrew from the attack having conceded 25 runs in five overs, far more than his usual ration. He was replaced by Jake Ball at the Alistair Cook End and Ball came around the wicket to the left-handed Walter. Walter stepped away to leg to a ball pitched on off and tried to loft it over mid-on. The ball cut away off the seam and Walter miscued. The ball climbed more than it travelled, and Gregory, running hard from mid-on caught it over his shoulder halfway to the boundary. Essex 56 for 3. Walter 30 from 31 balls.

After the new batter, Matthew Critchley had taken a single, Allison was beaten twice in two deliveries by Ball, the Somerset fielders now shouting encouragement to their bowlers. There was still encouragement from the ball too, Allison playing and missing at four balls in succession against Gregory to laughter from the crowd as the last thumped once more into Rew’s gloves. The ball was clearly still moving, and Critchley was advancing up the pitch to counter it. By now though, only 33 runs were needed, and Critchley was beginning to play some impressive strokes. An exquisite late cut off Ball rocketed for four and an extra cover drive in Ball’s next over left no doubt as to its destination the moment it left the bat. Essex 74 for 3, 21 needed.

The sky was now darkening, the floodlights came on, and Gregory and Ball continued to press. But, despite the dimming light, Allison had the measure of the conditions and turned Gregory to fine leg for two before driving him straight to the Graham Gooch End sight screen for four. Essex 80 for 3, 15 needed. Ball to bowl. When a target falls below 20 with wickets in hand, batting looks the easiest thing in the world. It isn’t, and a thick inside edge from Critchley, although bringing him two runs as it ran into open space on the leg side, made the point. A guided pull to the long leg boundary came off the middle though. It was followed by a single allowing Allison to loft the penultimate ball of the over straight of long on for six. Two runs needed and the crowd was bubbling.

Curiously, With Essex on the cusp of victory, Critchley played out a maiden to Gregory, and not without difficulty, although the leg before wicket shout to the final ball, with just those two runs still needed, again reduced the crowd to laughter. It is perhaps worthy of note that, for all the hopelessness of Somerset’s cause as Essex charged through their innings, Gregory took it upon himself to bowl all nine overs bowled from the Graham Gooch End. And then, the dénouement. From the first delivery of Ball’s next over, there was cheering and standing applause as Allison lofted the ball high over long on for six. The match ended with the Essex crowd applauding its team all the way off the field, those on the Pavilion terrace continuing the applause for some time afterwards. There followed the usual end-of-season farewells and winter-wells among both sets of supporters followed by an on-field presentation to Essex opening bat Nick Browne who was retiring after 13 seasons with Essex, a presentation which received applause as long as that afforded the Essex team as they walked off.

It is perhaps worthy of note that, in contrast to the Essex approach, at Headingley, faced with five hours or so to bat to save the match and avoid relegation, Durham opted to simply occupy the crease. They reached the 26^th over still one down but with only 29 runs on the board. That left them 100 runs behind with 63 overs remaining in the day. They could not hold their intensely defensive line. They reached 57 for 2 but then lost their last eight wickets for 28 runs in 12 overs in fading light. They were all out for 85 in 44.5 overs with 28 of those runs being scored from 33 balls by David Bedingham. There followed a text: “Durham. Blimey! How lucky are Hampshire?” And depression in Durham I imagine. For Somerset, it had been some season. Vitality Blast T20 winners. Metro Bank One Day Cup Semi-Finalists. Third place in the Rothesay County Championship. Some 150^th Anniversary.

Result. Somerset 433 (L. P. Goldsworthy 100, J.F. Thomas 86, C. Overton 60, J.A. Porter 3-66, C.E. Bennett 3-73) and 99 (J.A. Porter 4-18). Essex 438 (P.I. Walter 158, D. Elgar 118, C. Overton 6-88) and 99 for 3. Essex won by 3 wickets. Essex 22 points. Somerset 6 points.