County Championship 2026. Somerset v Warwickshire. June 19^th, 20^th, 21^st and 22^nd. Taunton.

Somerset captain Lewis Gregory was not available for selection due to a hamstring injury. Craig Overton replaced him as captain. Also unavailable through injury were Tom Abell (hand injury). Will Smeed (finger), Tom Lammonby (elbow). James Rew was unavailable for selection due to being on England duty.

Somerset. J.G. Hermann, J.F. Thomas, T. Kohler-Cadmore, L.P. Goldsworthy, T.H.S. Rew (w), A.M. Vaughan, C. Overton (c), M.J. Leach, J. Shaw, M. Pretorius/A.R.J. Ogborne*, J.T. Ball.

*Alfie Ogborne replaced Migael Pretorius at the beginning of the second day under the ECB injury replacement regulations being trialled in 2026 after Pretorius suffered a chest muscle injury.

Warwickshire. R.M. Yates, A.L. Davies (w), D.R. Mousley, S.R. Hain, B.J. Webster, E.G. Barnard (c), Z.A. Malik, E.R. Bamber, J.A. Thompson, N.N. Gilchrist.

Overnight. Somerset 208 and 341 for 6. Warwickshire 330. Somerset lead by 229 runs with four second innings wickets standing.

Final day – Somerset’s three-day fightback ends in a draw

Half of the Warwickshire players sank to the ground, some of them smiling. Perhaps it was the relief of a break in play after over four sessions in the field as the temperature and humidity rose inexorably towards the Met Office red weather warning issued because of the extreme heat expected by the middle of the week. The sight of the few hundred spectators who had turned out for the final day of this match concentrated in the shade of the Trescothick Pavilion and the back of the Botham Stand told the tale of heat and humidity already reaching unpleasantly uncomfortable levels. The usual haunts of many of those spectators, the Hildreth Stand and the Colin Atkinson Pavilion, were populated by a defiant few, motionless as if trying to survive in the remorseless heat of a desert. The break in play had been caused by one of Jack Leach’s pads suddenly needing to be replaced. It was a new reason to me for a stoppage, but the Warwickshire players took full and quick advantage.

By then Somerset had stretched their lead to over 300, a far cry from the 26 runs it had stood at on the previous day when Archie Vaughan attempted to pull Nathan Gilchrist and was caught down the leg side by Alex Davies. Vaughan’s wicket was the sixth to fall, and defeat stared Somerset in the face with no discernible escape route in sight. The credit for what had been a gruelling, hard-fought revival must go to Thomas Rew and Craig Overton who completed a stand of 233 an hour into the final day. It was another precious hour survived too to add to the four for which they had held firm on the previous day. In that hour they added another 40 equally precious runs as they battled to take Somerset to safety. Five times they punctured the field to reach the boundary. The 200-run partnership was reached with a single turned through square leg off Ethan Bamber by Rew. That single stretched Somerset’s lead to 226 with four wickets and 92 overs remaining. There was work still for Somerset to do.

Soon after, Overton reached his century with a perfectly timed drive off Bamber straight of mid-on to the Trescothick Pavilion boundary just below me. It was one of those drives which appears to deceive the eye as the minimum of bat movement, more of a push than a drive, sends the ball unerringly to the boundary. It was Overton’s third century of 2026. That it came from 206 balls is an indication of the determination to keep Somerset in the match he had shown throughout his five hours at the crease.

Rew had been equally determined. He had been at the crease for 259 balls when Overton registered three figures. He would have been judged to have played an exceptional innings even if his eighteen years and this being only his third Championship match were not taken into account. However talented a player, and Rew had shown talent by the overflowing bucket full, you cannot tell the true worth of a player until they have performed under sustained pressure at first-class level. After his performance in this innings, in addition to those that had preceded it, there could be no doubt of Rew’s quality or potential. His single boundary in that first hour was catapulted through the covers with a cover drive played with such bat speed that the bat was through the stroke before the eye had fully registered it. That that was his only boundary in that first hour and that the remainder of his 12 runs had come in singles was an indication of the determination he had shown to keep Warwickshire out and Somerset in the game.

And yet, for all the resistance shown by Rew and Overton, Warwickshire were still within range of victory. As Overton’s century was registered, Somerset’s lead was 236 with 88 overs remaining. Although Somerset’s score was edging up and the overs ticking down, both moved achingly slowly. The boundaries apart, all the runs in the first hour, Overton’s as well as Rew’s, came in singles with eight of the sixteen overs conceding either a single run or none at all. By the end of the hour, Somerset’s lead was 258 with still 80 overs to be bowled and Overton and Rew were still there. Somerset were threatening to close Warwickshire’s victory window and anticipation began to creep into the Somerset chatter. But still, if Warwickshire could finish the Somerset innings quickly and had the inclination to chase, the victory window was still ajar.

And then, with the match thus poised, Warwickshire struck back. Within two overs both Rew and Overton were gone. When Rob Yates bowled his off spin to Overton, Overton came forward to defend. The ball turned inside the stroke and struck him on the pad. There was little doubt of the outcome and Overton walked off to a mainly standing ovation which followed him to the boundary. Somerset 381 for 7. Overton 111. Then, six balls and no runs later, Rew attempted to glance Webster but barely touched the ball and Alex Davies took as simple a keeper’s catch as you will see. Somerset 381 for 8. Rew 149. Lead 259. Overs remaining 78.

With Jack Leach and Alfie Ogborne at the crease and only Jake Ball to come, Somerset supporters now faced some nervous overs. Warwickshire’s cause was not helped when Yates twice went past bat, stumps and keeper, each time for four byes, Davies kicked the ground in frustration as the second beat him, for every run tightened the Warwickshire’s victory equation. Leach tightened it a little more when he cut Webster through backward point twice in an over, both for four, and then pushed Yates to cover for a single to take Somerset to 400 for 8, a lead of 278 with 75 overs remaining.

There was turn for Yates, but although both batters were beaten early in their innings, both survived. When Manav Suthar was introduced at the Trescothick Pavilion End, Leach was able to guide the ball into the ground and past backward point for a single. Ogborne calmly played a maiden against Yates, another over eaten up. Leach then drove a full toss from Suthar straight back over his head for six. The next ball he steered neatly past backward point and he and Ogborne scampered through for two. “Well run. Well run.,” said someone through the applause which was growing for each run. The scoring rate which Warwickshire would need to win if Somerset were all out immediately was now four an over. When Gilchrist returned at the Trescothick Pavilion End to replace Suthar, he immediately found the edge of Ogborne’s bat. The ball though bisected the keeper and the only slip, standing very wide in the modern way where third slip might normally stand. The ball went low but might just have been caught by a sharp second slip. Instead, it crossed the Botham Stand boundary and Warwickshire’s target was stretched a little further.

Another edge from Ogborne, this time off Suthar, now bowling from the River End, passed the only slip and ran for two taking the Somerset lead past 300 with 65 overs remaining, the required rate now past four and a half. With still two Somerset wickets standing, Somerset were edging close to safety, although that gnawing doubt remained. Four more byes bounced over the head of Davies behind the stumps, the ball running to the Botham Stand and Warwickshire’s target stretched again. At other end, Suthar was beginning to get the measure of Ogborne with a run chase, if at nearly five an over, still tantalizingly possible. A thick edge past slip had already run for two. Another passed the edge. And then suddenly, in minutes, the Somerset innings was over. Bowling to two short legs and a slip, Suthar went through Ogborne’s defence and bowled him. Somerset 427 for 9. Ogborne 11. Only eleven runs, but crucially he had battled for nearly an hour, consuming overs and squeezing Warwickshire’s prospects. Somerset lead 305. Overs remaining 63.

And then, with a potentially crucial three or four overs to come, in time-honoured Taunton fashion, the scoreboards failed to a faint groan. And so did Leach’s pad, while those Warwickshire players sank to the ground in what looked like relief at the unexpected break from carrying on in the heat. Did they perhaps betray a feeling that the match was now beyond them? The watcher had no way of knowing, but I wondered. Instead of the usual selection of bats, someone brought a choice of new pads to the middle, Leach put one on, the Warwickshire players rose to their feet and the match carried on. Well done, Jack!” someone shouted as Leach pulled Webster through midwicket to the Somerset Stand for another four.

That stroke took Somerset to a lead of 309 which would have required a run rate of precisely five an over had the innings ended there. It didn’t, but the end was not long in coming. Ball lofted Suthar back over his head and one bounce into the wall in front of the Botham Stand sightscreen. Suthar tried again. Two balls later, he pitched a foot and a half wide of off stump, Ball reached to pull the ball through midwicket and bottom-edged it onto his stumps. A classic number eleven dismissal from years gone by, Ball looking suitably aggrieved at his ill luck. Somerset 435, Ball 4, Leach 25 not out in eleven minutes over the hour. Warwickshire would need 314 to win from a minimum of 60 overs, 5.2 an over.

Although Warwickshire would need an exceptional performance to reach their target, there was tension in the air and quiet in the stands as they began their innings, as if people were waiting for something to happen. Somerset had Leach on at the River End, the pitch having shown some spin, by the eighth over. At the end of that over, Warwickshire were 18 for 0 and the required run rate had risen to 5.6. Of those 18 runs four were byes and four were leg byes. In the ninth over, Ogborne who had replaced Overton at the Trescothick Pavilion End was cut by Yates through backward point to the Priory Bridge Road boundary for four. Two balls later he tried to keep Ogborne out and edged the ball, if well wide of the second of two slips. It ran for four but Overton put his hands above his head to applaud Ogborne.

And then, Leach struck. Malik had first struck him straight of mid-off to the gap between the Botham Stand and the Colin Atkinson Pavilion for four but then attempted to defend against the next ball only to edge it straight to Overton at slip. Warwickshire 30 for 1. Malik 12. Runs still required 284. Overs remaining 56. Required run rate down slightly to 5.4. Three overs later, Dan Mousley turned Leach straight into the hands of Vaughan at backward short leg, one of three close fielders, and Warwickshire were 34 for 2, Mousley 2. Runs still required 280. Overs remaining 49 and the required run rate had risen to 5.7.

From there, Warwickshire kept some momentum going with three boundaries from Yates in the next three overs, but then, as if a tap had been turned off, any residual fizz quickly drained from the game. The Warwickshire batters took just 12 runs from the next ten overs, satisfying themselves with keeping Somerset out. As Warwickshire fell back on defence, despite the spinners beating the occasional bat or finding a thick edge, it never looked like Somerset would take eight wickets in just over a session. Even when Leach took the inside edge of Yates’ bat, the ball missed the stumps by two feet, looking as if it were pre-ordained to do so. The final three of those ten overs were all maidens as the arms of Leach and Vaughan whirled away and Warwickshire’s scoring came to a halt.

There was at least now a breeze which brought some relief from the perpetual heat which had been unpleasantly oppressive all day, never leaving the consciousness. As to the cricket, Yates had a final flurry as tea approached, driving Vaughan through extra cover for four and then, off the final over before tea bowled by way of a pre-tea change from Leach by Lewis Goldsworthy, twice through the covers to the Somerset Stand. Leach did beat Yates again to applause, but the sense was of a game drifting inexorably towards a draw. Warwickshire 75 for 2 from 30 overs at tea. The required run rate, by now no longer relevant, had risen to 7.5.

I spent the tea interval and the period after it ambling around the ground, the players returning by the time I reached the Colin Atkinson Pavilion scoreboard which reveals my mood had by then been captured by the mood of the match. The sky seemed to be of a similar mood too, being uniformly grey with the light gradually dipping, the cloud no doubt the source of the breeze. Before long the floodlights were on and Somerset had exercised themselves to the extent that, for the spinners, there were now four fielders around the bat but Warwickshire’s third wicket partnership just ground quietly on. The end came nine overs after tea when Leach turned a ball a fraction from outside Yates’ off stump and beat Yates’ defensive push of the bat. The ball missed the stumps, bounced off Rew’s glove and back past the stumps before brushing Yates’ ankle and running for a yard or two up the pitch. It seemed to reflect the aimlessness of the final overs. And then, before the next over could begin, the clouds cast their verdict and dropped enough rain to give the umpires cause to end the match, the eight points for the draw Somerset had fought so hard to achieve over the preceding three days taking them to second place in a very tight Championship table. 

Result. Somerset 208 (L.P. Goldsworthy 90, B.J. Webster 4-23) and 435 (T.H.S. Rew 149, C. Overton 111, M.J. Suthar 5-100). Warwickshire 330 (S.R. Hain 68, B.J. Webster 64, D.R. Mousley 54, A.R.G. Ogborne 3-40) and 98 for 2 (R.M. Yates 51*). Match drawn. Warwickshire 13 points. Somerset 11 points.