Author: 'farmer white'

Lightning doesn’t strike twice – Somerset v Worcestershire – County Championship 2025 – 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th April – Taunton – Final day

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County Championship 2025. Division 1. Somerset v Worcestershire. 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th April. Taunton.

Will Smeed was unavailable for selection due to injury.

Somerset.  A.M. Vaughan, S.R. Dickson, T.A. Lammonby, T.B. Abell, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory (c), K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton, J.H. Davey, M.J. Leach.

Worcestershire. G.H. Roderick (w), J.D. Libby, Kashif Ali, E.A. Brookes, A.J. Hose, B.L. D’Oliveira (c), M.J. Waite, T.A.I. Taylor, B.M.J. Allison, T.I. Hinley, A.W. Finch.

Overnight. Worcestershire 154 and 280 for 5. Somerset 670 for 7 dec. Worcestershire trail by 236 runs with five second innings wickets standing.

Final day – Lightning doesn’t strike twice

The Quantocks were stunning all day. They looked so close, it felt as if you could reach out and touch them. And yet, they remained, as always, tantalisingly out of reach. On the field, as the day progressed, the match seemed just as tantalisingly out of reach for Somerset. Victory was as clear in the eye as the Quantocks, and yet, by the middle of the afternoon, winning seemed a wicket too far. The Somerset bowlers kept to their task. Lewis Gregory and his close advisers tried every tactic under cricket heaven as they tried to hew a wicket out of a pitch as steadfastly unforgiving and obdurate as the bats of the Worcestershire batters. In the field, the players repeatedly shouted encouragement to each other. The crowd, a typical final day crowd of perhaps five or six hundred, shouted and clapped its own encouragement, especially in a tense final hour when the eye was as much on the clock as on the middle.

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Of omens and reality – Somerset v Essex – County Championship 2025 – 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th May – Taunton – Third day

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County Championship 2025. Division 1. Somerset v Essex. 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th May. Taunton.

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

Essex. D. Elgar, P.I. Walter, T. Westley (c), J.M. Cox, M.J.J. Critchley, M.S. Pepper (w), N.R.M. Thain, S.R. Harmer, S.J. Cook, C.A.K. Rajitha, J.A. Porter.

Overnight. Essex 206 and 163 for 4. Somerset 145. Essex lead by 224 runs with six second innings wickets standing.

Third day – Of omens and reality

When Jordan Cox reached 98 in the Essex second innings, he and Michael Pepper had added 71 for the fifth wicket, Essex had a lead of 291 and, with lunch an hour away, the only question in the air was, “How long will Essex bat?” Then, Cox took the quickest of singles off Jack Leach, bowling from the River End. Too quick. He had to complete the run by diving, virtually flying, full length at the non-striker’s end, landing with an excruciatingly painful-looking thud. He clutched his side and lay prone, not moving. Gradually players, umpires and support staff gathered around him as he continued to lie motionless on the ground. The break in play was worryingly long. “This doesn’t look good at all,” said the person next to me. Cox had been holding or clutching his side when running for some time, but eventually he stood up and, after another extended wait, prepared to continue. It was the longest break in play for an injured player who did not leave the field that I could recall. Two overs later, Cox reverse swept Leach square to the Caddick boundary, clutched his side again and acknowledged the extended applause for a century scored from 155 balls. At the end of the over, he gave way to his injury and retired with Essex on 246 for 4, a lead of 307 on a pitch still providing some help for the spinners.

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This might just happen – Somerset v Essex – County Championship 2025 – 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th May – Taunton.

'farmer white'

County Championship 2025. Division 1. Somerset v Essex. 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th May. Taunton.

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

Essex. D. Elgar, P.I. Walter, T. Westley (c), J.M. Cox, M.J.J. Critchley, M.S. Pepper (w), N.R.M. Thain, S.R. Harmer, S.J. Cook, C.A.K. Rajitha, J.A. Porter.

Overnight. Essex 206 and 259. Somerset 145 and 216 for 6. Somerset need 105 runs to win with four second innings wickets standing

Final day – This might just happen

When Craig Overton doesn’t reach the boundary until the 92nd ball of his innings you know something is afoot. And something was afoot at the County Ground on the final morning of this match. With two hours play the most that could be expected, and perhaps no more than half an hour, in a bitterly cold wind if it found your seat, perhaps seven hundred and fifty people gathered to watch the dénouement of this match. At the start, Somerset needed another 105 runs to win with four wickets standing in a low-scoring match. At the end of the third day, most I spoke to had thought those odds, plus a new ball due after 12 overs, heavily favoured Essex. But cricket is about more than odds and statistics. It is also about strength of will if you have a bat or a ball in your hand, and intuition if you have a seat beyond the boundary. As people walked to their homes, buses, cars or trains on the evening of the third day after a long recovery from 78 for 5 to 216 for 6, a still, small voice must have been whispering in their heads, “Something is afoot. This might just happen.” In response, the brain would have quoted the odds and Somerset’s catastrophic collapses on the first day at Southampton, the final day at The Oval and twice in this match. And yet, that bit of intuition seeded by that long third day recovery by Lewis Gregory, James Rew and Craig Overton will have kept insisting, “Something is afoot. This might just happen.”

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A crushing defeat – Surrey v Somerset – County Championship 2025 – 25th, 26th and 27th April – The Oval.

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County Championship 2025. Division 1. Surrey v Somerset 25th, 26th and 27th April. The Oval.

Surrey. R.J. Burns (c), D.P. Sibley, O.J.D. Pope, J.L. Smith, B.T. Foakes (w), D.W. Lawrence, R.S. Patel, J. Clark, A.A.P. Atkinson, J.P.A. Taylor, D.J. Worrall.

Somerset. S.R. Dickson, A.M. Vaughan, T.A. Lammonby, T.B. Abell, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (c) (w), K.L. Aldridge, L. Gregory, M. Pretorius, J.H. Davey, M.J. Leach.

Overnight. Somerset 283. Surrey 321 for 7. Surrey lead by 38 runs with three first innings wickets standing.

Final day – A crushing defeat

It happened quickly when it happened. Somerset had gone into lunch already in difficulty at 30 for 2, still 54 runs behind, with Sean Dickson unlikely to bat. Those two wickets were only the beginning. Less than six overs after the restart, Somerset were 38 for 7, the first two of those wickets falling within four balls of the resumption. As had been the case throughout the match, the Surrey bowling was accurate and piercing. Rarely did a ball present itself to be hit, there was always something to keep out, and all were bowled with more pace than Somerset had been able to muster in the Surrey innings. Surrey’s catching was exceptional too. It all spoke of a team bursting with skill, discipline and the belief of a side which had just won three consecutive County Championships. Given that Somerset had lost a bowler of the quality of Matt Henry just before the start of the season, and Craig Overton just before the start of the match, they had come out of the first two days remarkably well. They were behind in the match, Surrey were 38 runs ahead with three wickets standing at the start of play, but on the first two days Somerset had started well, fought back hard after a first innings middle order collapse and were still in the game when the third day started.

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Rearguard action – Hampshire v Somerset – County Championship 2025 – 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st April – Southampton – Final day

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County Championship 2025. Division 1. Hampshire v Somerset 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st April. Southampton.

Hampshire. M.G. Stoneman, F.S. Middleton, N.R.T. Gubbins, T.J. Prest, T.E. Albert, B.C. Brown (c) (w), L.A, Dawson, B.R. Hampton, J.K. Fuller, K.J. Abbott, B.T.J. Wheal.

Somerset. A.M. Vaughan, S.R. Dickson, T.A. Lammonby, T.B. Abell, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (c) (w), K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton, M. Pretorius, M.J. Leach, A.R.J. Ogborne.

Overnight. Somerset 184. Hampshire 194 for 3. Hampshire lead by ten runs with seven second innings wickets standing.

Final day – Rearguard action

The forecast for the day was not good, and the weather was worse. The stoppages came mainly in the form of bad light aided by some strategically timed rain. As I walked up the hill to the ground a quarter of an hour before the start, the floodlights were already on, and they never went off all day. And the sun didn’t shine until after the players had left the field for the last time. It was a day of waiting as much as watching. Twice the umpires led the players out to restart after a stoppage, once to find themselves leading them off again before a ball could be bowled, and once to lead them off three and a half overs after the resumption. Only 26 overs and three balls were bowled during the day and Somerset survived those for the loss of Tom Lammonby, although not without some anxious moments. In the end, Sean Dickson and Tom Abell, with some determined batting, held the crease for 22 overs and 56 runs in a pincer movement with the weather to hold Hampshire off.

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A chill wind blew – Hampshire v Somerset – County Championship 2025 – 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st April – Southampton – First day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2025. Division 1. Hampshire v Somerset 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st April. Southampton.

Hampshire. M.G. Stoneman, F.S. Middleton, N.R.T. Gubbins, T.J. Prest, T.E. Albert, B.C. Brown (c) (w), L.A, Dawson, B.R. Hampton, J.K. Fuller, K.J. Abbott, B.T.J. Wheal.

Somerset. A.M. Vaughan, S.R. Dickson, T.A. Lammonby, T.B. Abell, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (c) (w), K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton, M. Pretorius, M.J. Leach, A.R.J. Ogborne.

Toss. Hampshire. Elected to field

First day – A chill wind blew

It was a morning of two halves, a morning because that is all the play there was, steady rain after lunch saw to that. Somerset lost the toss on a day made for bowling and found themselves batting. After an hour, they were 57 for 1 and Archie Vaughan and Tom Lammonby looked like they were getting the measure of the pitch and the bowling, and like they were beginning to take control of proceedings. An hour later, after three wickets in 11 balls the players were walking off for lunch with Somerset six down, still six runs short of their hundred. They were in disarray, and their disarray was fixed on the scoreboard as if in aspic to bore into the minds of their supporters as the afternoon rain wiped out prospects of any further play. At the start, the cloud had been high and white, but it was soon formed of a smooth blanket with a forecast predicting an afternoon of the sort of steady rain which goes with that sort of cloud. On this occasion, the forecast did not err, and Somerset, in their distress, had to bear it, or thank it.

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The dying of the hope – Lancashire v Somerset – County Championship 2024 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th September – Old Trafford – Third day

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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.

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Drifting away – Lancashire v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th September – Old Trafford – Second day

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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, 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 16 for 1. Somerset 146. Lancashire lead by ten runs with nine second innings wickets standing.

Second day 18th September – Drifting away

The start was almost a carbon copy of the start of the first day. Glorious sunshine, a small crowd, by Taunton standards at least, about 600, and an edge off Craig Overton, this time from the bat of Harry Singh, but off the final rather than the first ball of the first over. Again, the ball flew low between two slips, this time between Kasey Aldridge at second and Tom Lammonby at third. This time, it was Aldridge who reached to cover the ball and Lammonby dived for it. He got a touch, but the ball ran for four. Had it carried? Impossible to be sure from my seat. Lammonby stayed down, although my instinct told me that the ball had bounced short, but it was close, very close.

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A day of tumult – Lancashire v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th September – Old Trafford – First day

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

Tom Banton was unavailable due the ankle injury suffered in the match against Surrey.

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.

Toss. Somerset. Elected to field.

First day 17th September – A day of tumult

Between train and hotel on the evening before the match, I suffered one of those clashes of the generations. I had found, with some difficulty, the stop from where my bus was supposed to leave for the nearest stop to my hotel. Nearest rather than the stop for my hotel because it was half a mile away. First though, there was a hitch. The bus stop from which my bus was supposed to leave was surrounded by scaffolding attached to an adjacent building. The scaffolding had a notice on it stating that it was unsafe, and the bus would leave from one of the bus stops to either side. Which side was not specified and there was nothing to stop people standing at the stop under the scaffolding. Also, the notice was dated seven months before.

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Genius – Somerset v Durham – County Championship 2024 – 29th, 30th, 31st August and 1st September – Taunton – Third day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Durham 29th, 30th and 31st August and 1st September. Taunton.

This was the third match of 2024 in which the Kookaburra ball was used.

Archie Vaughan made his first-class debut at the age of eighteen.

Somerset. A.R.I. Umeed, L.P. Goldsworthy, T.A. Lammonby, T.B. Abell, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), A.M. Vaughan, K.L. Aldridge, L. Gregory (c), C. Overton, M.J. Leach.

Durham. A.Z. Lees, B.S. McKinney, S.G. Borthwick (c), O.G. Robinson (w), A.J. Turner, B.F.W. de Leede, B.A. Carse, B.A. Raine, G.S. Drissell, C.F. Parkinson, D.M. Hogg.

Overnight. Somerset 492. Durham 272 for 6. Durham trail by 220 runs with four second innings wickets standing

Third day 31st August – Genius

This was as good a day of Championship cricket as you could hope to see. Attacking batting, defensive batting when it was needed, attacking spin bowling, attacking fielding, and some sparkling individual performances. It was a day of Somerset pushing towards a winning position and Durham resisting, sometimes with age-old methods of slowing the game down, their ambition, realistically, limited to a draw. The Somerset crowd played its part, as it always does, with applause, cheers and encouragement accompanying their team every step of the way. Play began in sunshine, continued under thickening cloud, was stopped by bad light, and ended with a fizzing twist in the tail.

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A reluctant meander – Warwickshire v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th August – Edgbaston – Third day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Warwickshire v Somerset 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th August. Edgbaston.

Lewis Gregory was unavailable due to a groin injury. Craig Overton captained the Somerset side. Migael Pretorius had left the Club at the end of his contract.

Warwickshire. R.M. Yates, A.L. Davies (c), W.M.H. Rhodes, H. Shaikh, J.G. Bethell, E.G. Barnard, D.R. Mousley, M.G.K. Burgess (w), M.D. Rae, C. Rushworth, O.J. Hannon-Dalby.

Somerset. T. Kohler-Cadmore, A.R.I. Umeed, T.A. Lammonby, 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. Warwickshire 337 and 27 for 1. Somerset 239. Warwickshire lead by 125 runs with nine second innings wickets standing.

Third day 24th August – A reluctant meander

In the context of modern cricket, this was a curious day. Warwickshire had ended the second day in a position of considerable strength. By the end of the third day, they still held a significant advantage, but in terms of winning the match, they had slipped back. Somerset were helped, no doubt, by the loss of 51 overs due to overnight and morning rain. But in the 53 overs that were bowled, Warwickshire added only 152 runs. In the final ten overs of the day, they added just eight, although the fall of two wickets in those final overs may have contributed to their caution. Even so, their progress over the first 40 overs or so did not speak of ambition. Rather it seemed to reflect the season of a team that had drawn six of its nine matches, including all five of their matches at Edgbaston, and won none. They were the only team in the First Division still without a win. Their draws though, worth eight points each, had kept them above the relegation places.

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A mountain to climb – Warwickshire v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th August – Edgbaston – Second day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Warwickshire v Somerset 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th August. Edgbaston.

Lewis Gregory was unavailable due to a groin injury. Craig Overton captained the Somerset side. Migael Pretorius had left Somerset at the end of his contract.

Warwickshire. R.M. Yates, A.L. Davies (c), W.M.H. Rhodes, H. Shaikh, J.G. Bethell, E.G. Barnard, D.R. Mousley, M.G.K. Burgess (w), M.D. Rae, C. Rushworth, O.J. Hannon-Dalby.

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. Warwickshire 277 for 6.

Second day 23rd August – A mountain to climb

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A day of three halves – Warwickshire v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th August – Edgbaston – First day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2024. Division 1. Warwickshire v Somerset 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th August. Edgbaston.

Lewis Gregory was unavailable due to a groin injury. Craig Overton captained the Somerset side. Migael Pretorius had left the Club at the end of his contract.

Warwickshire. R.M. Yates, A.L. Davies (c), W.M.H. Rhodes, H. Shaikh, J.G. Bethell, E.G. Barnard, D.R. Mousley, M.G.K. Burgess (w), M.D. Rae, C. Rushworth, O.J. Hannon-Dalby.

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

Toss. Somerset. Elected to field.

First day 22nd August – A day of three halves

If this had been a football match, one of the managers might have said, “This was a day of three halves.” The morning went Warwickshire’s way, or at least the half of it that was played did, the afternoon was Somerset’s, and the evening Warwickshire’s. The first half of the morning belonged to the weather, an hour being lost to rain. The players were off early for bad light at the end of the day too, the fingers of autumn beginning to stretch into the evenings of the cricket season. The rain was a stop-start affair. A half past eleven start was announced. And then rain fell again. Play was delayed. Then the sun came out. Summer.

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A hard watch – Nottinghamshire v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th June – Trent Bridge – Third day

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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.

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 360. Somerset 293 for 4. Somerset trail by 67 runs with six second innings wickets standing.

Third day 25th June – A hard watch

As soon as I switched on the live stream it looked like a day for batting, and as it turned out, it was. The sky was blue, the shadows sharp, and the pitch had a decidedly benign attitude, although there was some, if predictable, turn for Calvin Harrison’s leg breaks. Watching the players and people in the crowd, when the camera caught them, it quickly became apparent that it was a hot day. The shady parts of the stands were better populated than the sunny ones while, between overs or when retrieving a ball from beyond the boundary, players moved about with that hint of tired reluctance that overtakes the body as a searingly hot day wears on.

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Cricket for aficionados of the longer game – Nottinghamshire v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th June – Trent Bridge – Second day

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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.

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Nearly but not quite – Nottinghamshire v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th June – Trent Bridge – First day

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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. The live stream was watched with the sound muted to ensure the impression of the play which I developed was my own.

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.

Toss. Nottinghamshire. Elected to bat.

First day 24th May – Nearly but not quite

This was a day of hard labour for Somerset’s bowlers which brought both reward and frustration. There was some movement in the air, although much of it came after the ball had passed the bat. As to the pitch, it gave every impression of being content to leave all the work to the bowlers. The bowlers meanwhile, Craig Overton and Migael Pretorius in particular, stuck to their task. A late attack from Ollie Pope apart, the batters mostly had to work for their runs. Twice Somerset threatened to break the back of the Nottinghamshire innings with clutches of wickets, but twice Nottinghamshire redressed the balance with century partnerships. By the end of the day Somerset might have claimed a slight advantage. But for anyone watching in the Somerset interest, after those two century partnerships it had been a day of what might have been.

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“We’ll get ’em in singles” – Somerset v Kent – County Championship 2024 – 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th May – Taunton – Final day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Kent v 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th May. Taunton.

Tom Abell (hamstring) was unavailable.

Somerset. M.T. Renshaw, S.R. Dickson, T.A. Lammonby, A.R.I. Umeed, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory (c), C. Overton, M. Pretorius, J.H. Davey, M.J. Leach.

Kent. B.G. Compton, Z. Crawley, D.J. Bell-Drummond (c), M.K. O’Riordan, J.L. Denly, H.Z. Finch (w), J.D.M. Evison, B. Swanepoel, G. Stewart, N.N. Gilchrist, G.A. Garrett.

Overnight. Somerset 554. Kent 178 and 409 for 5. Kent lead by 33 runs with five second innings wickets standing.

Final day 20th May – “We’ll get ’em in singles”

At The Oval during the 1902 Ashes Test, when England’s ninth wicket fell in their second innings, they still needed 15 to win. When last man Wilfred Rhodes joined George Hirst, Hirst is reputed to have greeted him with, “We’ll get ’em in singles,” and get them they did, although not entirely in singles. The story of the greeting is probably apocryphal. Neither Hirst nor Rhodes remembered the words being spoken. The point though was the intent in their partnership. The intent, above all, to win the match. When they came together at the fall of Somerset’s second wicket in the final innings of this match, Matt Renshaw and Andy Umeed didn’t entirely get the 129 Somerset still needed to win in singles either, and neither is what they said to each other recorded. But a large proportion of the runs did come in singles, and the intently purposeful manner of their making created an overwhelming impression of masterfully controlled batting from two batters intent on ensuring a Somerset victory. Renshaw was at the heart of laying the foundations of many of Somerset’s innings in the first part of 2024, and he was not going to let this one out of his sight any more than George Hirst was going to let that Test match out of his sight in 1902.

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Crawley rampant – Somerset v Kent – County Championship 2024 – 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th May – Taunton – Third day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Kent v 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th May. Taunton.

Tom Abell (hamstring) was unavailable.

Somerset. M.T. Renshaw, S.R. Dickson, T.A. Lammonby, A.R.I. Umeed, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory (c), C. Overton, M. Pretorius, J.H. Davey, M.J. Leach.

Kent. B.G. Compton, Z. Crawley, D.J. Bell-Drummond (c), M.K. O’Riordan, J.L. Denly, H.Z. Finch (w), J.D.M. Evison, B. Swanepoel, G. Stewart, N.N. Gilchrist, G.A. Garrett.

Overnight. Somerset 554. Kent 108 for 5. Kent trail by 446 runs with five first innings wickets standing.

Third day 19th May – Crawley rampant

On the third afternoon of this match, Taunton matches of a decade and a half previously were evoked. Matches when the pitch would lose all semblance of life on the third day and dominant first innings positions would melt away in the face of second innings batters dispatching a ball devoid of all threat. On this day, a long afternoon of Kent batting mayhem brought unrelenting toil for the Somerset bowlers, and fielders found themselves chasing the ball to all parts of the Cooper Associates County Ground. As the Kent batters raised the ghosts of those earlier times, they punished the ball so unmercifully that it had to be replaced four times before its 80 overs were out.

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Momentum to Somerset – Somerset v Kent – County Championship 2024 – 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th May – Taunton – Second day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Kent v 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th May. Taunton.

Tom Abell (hamstring) was unavailable.

Somerset. M.T. Renshaw, S.R. Dickson, T.A. Lammonby, A.R.I. Umeed, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory (c), C. Overton, M. Pretorius, J.H. Davey, M.J. Leach.

Kent. B.G. Compton, Z. Crawley, D.J. Bell-Drummond (c), M.K. O’Riordan, J.L. Denly, H.Z. Finch (w), J.D.M. Evison, B. Swanepoel, G. Stewart, N.N. Gilchrist, G.A. Garrett.

Overnight. Somerset 440 for 7.

Second day 18th May – Momentum to Somerset

Somerset played their first innings in this match at warp speed. There were 440 runs on the board by the end of the first day and 99 more were added in the hour and a half possible before lunch on the second. Twenty of those runs came in the first two overs. Migael Pretorius found the boundary three times including with an on-driven four which brought up Somerset’s 450 and their fifth batting point to a comment of, “That was a lovely stroke.” He was though soon caught off a leaden-footed drive by Marcus O’Riordan off Grant Stewart for 19 from 13 balls, O’Riordan diving hard to his left from a wide second slip because there was no first, Kent stretched in defence. Somerset 460 for 8. Josh Davey continued Somerset’s charge with a drive off Stewart square to the Caddick Pavilion before the umpires took the players off to the sound of rain falling on the roof of the Trescothick Pavilion.

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Push and counter push – Somerset v Essex – County Championship 2024 – 3rd and 4th May – Taunton – First day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Essex 3rd and 4th May. Taunton.

Jack Leach, (knee injury) and Tom Abell (hamstring) were unavailable.

Somerset. M.T. Renshaw, S.R. Dickson, T.A. Lammonby, A.R.I. Umeed, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory (c), C. Overton, M. Pretorius, J.H. Davey, J.T. Ball.

Essex. N.L.J. Browne, D. Elgar, T. Westley (c), J.M. Cox, M.J.J. Critchley, N.R.M. Thain, H.G. Duke (w), S.R. Harmer, S. Snater, S.J. Cook, J.A. Porter.

Toss. Somerset. Elected to field.

First day 3rd May – Push and counter push

We were no nearer knowing where this match might end up at the end of the day than we had been at the beginning. Except that it would take something extraordinary, or a major incursion from the weather, for there not to be a victory for one side or the other. Essex ended the day 34 runs ahead with all their second innings wickets standing which, in the context of a day in which 20 wickets had fallen, gave them the edge. But, with the imponderables arising from a close match and a spicy pitch with a reputation for becoming easier as a match wore on, it was not enough of an edge for Essex supporters to relax as they left the ground.

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