County Championship 2025. Division 1. Durham v Somerset. 23rd, 24th and 25th May. Chester-le-Street.

Durham. A.Z. Lees (c), B.S. McKinney, E,N, Gay, D.G. Bedingham, O.G. Robinson (w), C.N. Ackermann, G. Clark, B.A. Raine, M.J. Killeen, C.E. Yusuf/D.M. Hogg*, J. Minto.

*Daniel Hogg replaced Cidi Yusuf unde the ECB concussion regulations after 37.4 overs of the Somerset first innings

Somerset. L. Gregory (c), J.H. Davey, T.A. Lammonby, J.E.K. Rew (w), T.B. Abell, A.R.I. Umeed, A.M. Vaughan, C. Overton, M. Pretorius, M.J. Henry, M.J. Leach.

Overnight. Durham 277. Somerset 63 for 3. Somerset trail by 214 runs with seven second innings wickets standing.

Second day – Fighting spirit

Three quarters of an hour before lunch, Somerset were out of this match. By the close, the match was on a knife edge. From the low point of 128 for 9, still 149 runs behind Durham, the fighting spirit that had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Essex burst forth again. From the outset, Somerset had attacked, but for most of the morning the Durham bowlers, in still helpful conditions, had their measure. Within two overs there were boundaries from James Rew and Jack Leach, continuing his night watch duty. But Rew’s boundary came with the benefit of an inside edge off Ben Raine, and in Raine’s next over Rew was rushed into a defensive stroke, struck on the pad and had to walk off. Somerset 73 for 4. Rew 8. Deficit 205.

Tom Abell joined Leach, but it was Leach who continued the attack. Off successive balls, he opened the face to Minto, steered him wide of third slip for four and then uppercut him over an empty fourth slip for four more. When he faced Raine, there were two more boundaries, remarkably similar to those that had just evaded the slips, although the second went over gully rather than fourth slip. But, as Durham pressed, Leach did not have it all his own way. He suffered two loud leg before wicket appeals and played and missed four times in five overs. And then the inevitable. One speculative drive too many against Raine and the ball flew to Emilio Gay in the gully. Somerset 102 for 5. Leach 30 from 38 balls with six fours. Deficit 175.

Worse followed for Somerset. Andy Umeed joined Abell and, like Leach, he tried to hit Somerset out of trouble. Off Raine, he pulled to long leg and cleared the rope by a yard. A ball later he drove through the covers for four. Four balls later, Mitchell Killeen, replacing James Minto, beat Abell’s defensive stroke and stuck him on the pad. Somerset 116 for 6. Abell, defence working no better than attack, 5 in six minutes over half an hour. Deficit 161. Archie Vaughan to the wicket. In Killeen’s next over, Umeed played back and was struck on the pad. Somerset 121 for 7. Umeed 14. Deficit 156. Then Overton, first ball, attempted to turn Killeen to leg and was caught by Gay in the gully. 121 for 8. Then nothing. Where was Migael Pretorius? Heads began turning towards each other. And then, finally, at Pretorius as he belatedly appeared and ran towards the middle to meet Vaughan. The crescendo of Durham clapping that accompanied the hat trick ball was met by Pretorius with an apparently unconcerned push to cover for a single, the hat trick ball resulting, as it usually does, in anti-climax.

Then, after an expansive cut from Vaughan backward of backward point off Yusuf, his defensive push at Killeen resulted in an edge to the right of Colin Ackermann at second slip. Ackermann dived, landed on one knee and ran off to backward point pursued by the Durham team. Somerset 128 for 9. Vaughan 8. Deficit 149. The saving of the follow-on might have been some consolation for Somerset supporters, but in truth, Somerset were in deep trouble. It was a humid, overcast day and the bat was regularly being beaten. There were celebrations from the Durham players and applause aplenty from the crowd for Killeen, for he had taken five wickets on his Championship debut.

The wicket marked Somerset’s nadir for the day. But as Matt Henry walked to the crease to join Pretorius, Somerset’s two hard-hitting overseas pace bowlers at the wicket together, the sky began to brighten. And so did Somerset’s day although, with a 149-run deficit, there was a lot of Somerset gloom to lift. Neither Pretorius nor Henry are the type of player to die wondering when they have a bat in their hand. Yusuf resumed for Durham and Pretorius and Henry took eight from the over including a four from Henry driven to deep point. A single off the final ball gave him the strike and he proceeded to bring Killeen a little nearer earth by hitting him for three fours in the over, two drives and a miscued pull.

Raine replaced Yusuf, but it made little difference. Pretorius lofted his first ball through the off side for four. “Oh dear,” the verdict of a Durham member on the members balcony. A swing which connected, and an inside edge from Henry, both for four, were grist to Somerset’s mill. Seven more off the next over, from Yusuf, changing ends to replace Killeen and five more from the over after that, one edge looping high but falling between three fielders. Five plays and misses just added to the frustration of the Durham supporters. But, inevitably, such tenth wicket partnerships must come to an end. This one was ended by a ball from Yusuf which passed between Pretorius’s bat and pad, defeating a rare defensive stroke before upending his leg stump. Somerset 172 all out. Pretorius 20 from 21 balls. Henry 23 not out from 19 balls. Deficit 105. And a generous, and deserved, ovation for Killeen as he left the field.

The five overs before lunch were a classic demonstration of what Henry brings to Somerset the side. He opened the bowling from the Lumley End and Alex Lees, playing with an open face, twice guided him with apparent ease past the three slips for four. In his second over, he angled a ball into Ben McKinney, took the edge, and Thomas Rew, substituting for his brother behind the stumps, James having injured his thumb while batting, took the catch. Durham 9 for 1. Mckinney 0. D Durham lead 114. Two balls later, Henry pitched where he had for Lees’ two boundaries, Emilio Gay tried to repeat Lees’ stroke and edged to Gregory at first slip. Durham 9 for 2. Sides can score off Henry, but they do it at considerable risk. Durham reached lunch on 18 for 2, a lead of 123, in part courtesy of an effortless on drive from David Bedingham off Davey and an edge from Lees, chasing the same ball from Henry which had taken the two wickets. The momentum which Henry and Pretorius had built at the end of the Somerset innings, was still flowing. But, given the bat was still being beaten, a lead of 123 with eight Durham wickets standing remained ominous.

That was a view shared by other Somerset supporters I met on my lunchtime circumnavigation. A significant number had stayed for the second day. They were uniformly despondent about Somerset’s prospects, one commenting, “There has been a lot of playing and missing in this match,” with the unspoken conclusion that there would be more to come when Somerset batted. The mood wasn’t helped when light rain began to fall, enough for the ground to be roped before the restart, and some Somerset supporters worried about its effect on the ball. While Somerset supporters were worrying about the match in hand, the minds of some Durham supporters were elsewhere. One or two I spoke to were keen to reminisce about the 2010 Chester-le-Street match which had taken Somerset so close to the Championship in a long, gruelling day. “We were all rooting for you. We thought you had it,” said one which tallied with my recollections of the mood on the members balcony at the time. If only.

Josh Davey began the afternoon with a loud leg before wicket shout against Robinson. Then, two boundaries off successive balls from Lees brought shouts of, “Come on boys!” from Abell and Lammonby. A ball later, a leg before wicket appeal from Henry and the cordon against Bedingham was convincing enough for a silence to await the raising of the finger but the umpire remained unmoved. And then, a nicely angled in ball from Davey finally found the edge of Bedingham’s defensive bat and flew low to Overton at second slip to cheers from Somerset supporters. Durham 32 for 3. Bedingham 8. Lead 139.

But Durham fought back. Boundaries began to flow, from Robinson’s bat in particular, two driven through the covers and one straight, as Durham stretched their lead past 150. There was still a lot of playing and missing as the man had said at lunchtime, but the growing impression was, as my note says, of Durham sailing along. Until that was, Pretorius struck. Lees drove and edged short of gully and then, next ball, his defensive jab was beaten onto the pad. The appeal was gargantuan, Pretorius raising both arms to the heavens in his follow through and keeping them there as he turned towards the umpire, now running backwards. On seeing the raised finger, he continued to run backwards past the batters’ stumps. It was one of those appeals that looked out even from beyond the boundary at deep midwicket. Durham 63 for 4. Lees 35. Lead 168.

Now Overton, over the wicket and across Ackermann. “Craig O. Come on boy!” shouted Abell. Ackermann attempted a dismissive-looking glance. Rew sidled to leg and took the ball on the move. Ackermann, continuing his own movement to leg, was walking off before the umpire could raise his finger. Durham 68 for 5. Ackermann 4. Lead 173. Robinson responded with more drives, attacking in adversity as Somerset had done. The drive had been the stroke of the innings as the bowlers kept the ball up. Three times since the departure of Ackermann, Robinson had driven Pretorius effortlessly, once through mid-off and twice straight, but it was a slightly shorter ball that defeated him. He attempted to steer it behind point, but it was brilliantly taken by Umeed in the gully. Durham 88 for 6. Robinson 33 from 34 balls. Lead 193. Durham had made much of their progress by dint of perfectly struck drives but, as had happened throughout the match, but every time they looked like making progress, a wicket would fall and they would have to start again

Since the fall of Somerset’s ninth wicket, they had been fighting their way back into the match. But, in the context of a match of regularly falling wickets, beaten bats and playing and missing, a lead of 193 with four wickets standing felt, to a Somerset supporter, like Durham still held the advantage. Durham faces though were pensive. Durham may still have had the edge, but the match no longer looked over. Ben Raine joined Graham Clark and Durham began again. Clark took the lead past 200 with a steer for three through the empty gully off Overton. When Henry replaced Overton, Raine twice pulled him to long leg, once for two and once for four, but when he tried to drive him, the ball flew low to a characteristically sharply diving Abell at cover. Durham 105 for 7. Raine 9. Lead 210.

From there, Minto and Clark navigated Durham through the eight overs to tea. There were only two boundaries. The first, a cover drive from Minto off Pretorius which brought a shout of, “Shot!”” and loud applause as the crowd sensed the two sides were wrestling for the ascendancy. The other, an edge from Clark off Henry, flew well wide of Overton at second slip. Overton’s arms slumped to the ground in disappointment at what might have been a crucial chance had there been someone there to take it, and Durham reached tea, mainly in singles, on 131 for 7, stretching their lead to 236.

The feeling of most Somerset supporters I met on my teatime circumnavigation was still pessimistic, summed up in two words by one of them. “Too many.” When the players returned, I was about three-quarters of the way through my circumnavigation, and I had stopped to chat to another Somerset supporter in front of the Health Club just past the Lumley End on my way back to the members balcony. In the first over after tea, Pretorius hurried Clark into a defensive stroke and struck him on the pad. “That looked out,” said the person I was talking to. And it was. Durham 131 for 8. Clark 29. Now, as the two sides continued to battle each other, in the context of a fast scoring, wicket-filled match, the two bowlers new to Championship cricket, Killeen and Minto, battled seven overs for seven runs in front of a crowd increasingly in shirt sleeves as the afternoon temperature rose. And then, as so often when Davey bowls, an apparently pedestrian run to the wicket resulted in a defensive edge which flew precisely into the hands of Gregory at first slip. It had all the appearance of bowler, batter and fielder playing their parts in a perfectly choreographed ballet. Durham 138 for 9. Killeen 4. Lead 243.

Pretorius soon found the edge of Daniel Hogg’s defensive bat, Hogg acting as concussion replacement for Yusuf, only for the ball to fly just wide of a frustrated Andy Umeed at third slip. As Durham passed 150, I returned to my seat. I was in time to see Minto bowled through a defensive stroke by Overton, his off stump landing several yards back. Durham 159. Minto 17 in two minutes over an hour and a quarter as the last three wickets added 54 runs. It left Somerset needing 265 to win. It would not be quite the highest score of the match but, it felt like the last four Durham wickets, in adding 71 runs, had taken an already difficult Somerset task out of reach.

Somerset began their innings still battling, reaching 21 for 0 after nine overs. On the way, Davey was beaten three times in succession in the second over, bowled from the Finchdale End by Killeen. There had been but one boundary, clipped off his toes by Gregory to a loud cheer from the Somerset team balcony little more than a pitch length to my right. But crucially, they had not lost a wicket. When Hogg replaced Killeen, he too beat Davey three times in succession, the Durham crowd clapping their encouragement. With the light dropping, by the end of the 12^th over Somerset had advanced to 33 for 0, both batters scoring a boundary. One Durham supporter said, “I’ll do one more over.” “I can’t make it until lunch tomorrow,” another replied, “and it might be all over by then.” The decision of the first was vindicated and the prediction of the second looked a little more likely when, before the ‘one more over’ was out, Davey was late coming down on a full ball from Killeen which cut in and removed his off stump. Somerset 35 for 1. Davey 15. Another 230 needed.

The immediate Somerset response was to attack. As the floodlights started to come on, Gregory and Lammonby took 13 from Killeen’s next over, a straight driven four and a single to Gregory and two fours, both neatly turned to the fine leg boundary by Lammonby. “Come on. One more here tonight,” the shout from the Durham field. To an anxious Somerset supporter, ‘one’ seemed somewhat unambitious. Lammonby responded with an on drive for three to take Somerset to 52 for 1 and the thought began to dawn that perhaps, just perhaps, the outcome might be closer than that suggested by the fears many Somerset supporters had harboured all day. Gregory gave the hope another small puff when he drove Killeen for two more boundaries in the face of three balls, one driven through extra cover, the other a smooth leaned-into drive through mid-on.

Then, as the light closed in further despite the floodlights, the batters reined themselves in. Three singles came from the final over, one driven through the covers by Gregory towards the members balcony, one Durham member saying, “This boy has scored a lot of runs down here.” Somerset ended on 71 for 1, less than 200 runs from victory. As the players left the field, the Somerset players stood on their balcony and cheered Gregory and Lammonby loud and long. There was belief in their cheering. It was as if they thought the pair had set up the possibility of a Somerset victory. Less than 200 to win with nine wickets left. “I wonder,” I mused. It was a tantalising prospect.

Close. Durham 277 and 159 (M. Pretorius 3-46, M.J. Henry 3-51). Somerset 172 (M.J. Killeen 5-36) and 71 for 1. Somerset need a further 194 runs to win with nine second innings wickets standing.