Author: 'farmer white'

A spring in their step – County Championship 2024 – Kent v Somerset – 5th, 6th, 7th  and 8th April – Canterbury – Third day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Kent v Somerset 5th, 6th, 7th  and 8th April Canterbury.

Jack Leach, (knee injury), Craig Overton (back), Tom Abell (hamstring) were all unavailable.

Kent. B.G. Compton, T. S. Muyeye, D.J. Bell-Drummond (c), J.A. Leaning, J.L. Denly, H.Z. Finch (w) J.D.M. Evison, W.A. Agar, N.N. Gilchrist, M.W. Parkinson, G.A. Garrett.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.R. Dickson, M.T. Renshaw, L.P. Goldsworthy, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory (c), K.L. Aldridge, J.H. Davey, E. O. Leonard, J. Ball.

Overnight. Kent 284.

Third day 6th April – A spring in their step

The walk to the St Lawrence ground from Canterbury is about three-quarters of a mile, mostly up the New Dover Road, straight most of the way, uphill, along tree-lined streets, not unlike that from Southport to the Southport and Birkdale CC ground where Somerset played in 2022. The walk passes more quickly if made while chatting to other Somerset supporters, and on this occasion there was plenty to talk about. The kookaburra ball and the rail strikes, the latter of which probably contributed to the small number of Somerset supporters present, being prime among the topics. Canterbury is a long way from Somerset, and suffers from having the M25 or the need to cross London on public transport separating the two. The latter has at least been much improved by the opening of the Elizabeth Line, 18 minutes from Paddington to Stratford, then a ten-minute walk through the Westfield Centre to Stratford International for the HS1 train to Canterbury.

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Kookaburra day – County Championship 2024 – Kent v Somerset – 5th, 6th, 7th  and 8th April – Canterbury – Second day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Kent v Somerset 5th, 6th, 7th  and 8th April Canterbury.

Jack Leach, (knee), Craig Overton (back), Tom Abell (hamstring) were all unavailable.

Kent. B.G. Compton, T. S. Muyeye, D.J. Bell-Drummond (c), J.A. Leaning, J.L. Denly, H.Z. Finch (w) J.D.M. Evison, W.A. Agar, N.N. Gilchrist, M.W. Parkinson, G.A. Garrett.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.R. Dickson, M.T. Renshaw, L.P. Goldsworthy, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory (c), K.L. Aldridge, J.H. Davey, E. O. Leonard, J. Ball.

Toss. Somerset elected to field

First day 5th April – No play – wet outfield

Second day 6th April – Kookaburra day

The Kookaburra ball came to this round of matches with a reputation for swinging less than the Dukes ball, at least after the first 30 overs or so, and for becoming softer more quickly. In English conditions, with generally softer pitches than in much of the rest of the cricket-playing world, the Kookaburra might be expected to assist bowlers less than the Dukes. That was the idea apparently, in order to encourage the development of faster pace bowlers and better quality spinners who, with the Kookaburra, would stand out above the common run and make their impact in Test matches. Whilst conclusions should never be drawn from one day of cricket, on this issue or any other, the first day of play here did lend support to the reputation of the Kookaburra.

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The watcher on the Trescothick Pavilion terrace – County Championship 2024 – Somerset v Warwickshire – 30th June and 1st, 2nd and 3rd July – Taunton – Final day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Warwickshire 30th June and 1st, 2nd and 3rd July. Taunton.

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.

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

Overnight – Warwickshire 412 and 281 for 8. Somerset 284. Warwickshire lead by 409.

Final day 3rd July – The watcher on the Trescothick Pavilion terrace

With Somerset in sight of a stunning victory, but with nothing certain, one watcher in particular caught my eye. As over followed over, he stood intently and motionlessly at the safety rail of the Trescothick Pavilion terrace, high above the play, eyes fixed firmly on the cricket. I wondered what was going through his mind. The tension in the ground was such that every ball was bowled in silence, every run applauded or cheered with most watchers as motionless and watching as intensely as the one on the terrace. No one moved from their seat or from where they stood, nor him from the rail. No one dared. One of the age-old superstitions of cricket saw to that. When a side is on the cusp of winning a tight match, their supporters do not move. It is the eleventh commandment.

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Push and counter-push – County Championship 2024 – Somerset v Warwickshire – 30th June and 1st, 2nd and 3rd July – Taunton – Third day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Warwickshire 30th June and 1st, 2nd and 3rd July. Taunton.

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.

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

Overnight – Warwickshire 412. Somerset 208 for 6. Somerset trail by 204 runs with four first innings wickets standing.

Third day 2nd July – Push and counter-push

This was Somerset’s annual schools’ match. The Priory Bridge Road Stand and the family section of the Ondaatje Stand were resplendent with the massed ranks of 1,200 schoolchildren. They were not mentioned in my reports on the first two days of this match. They could not be ignored on the third. Perhaps the wind had shifted. Something brought the never-ending shriek of those high-pitched voices to my ears. They had little to cheer in the first over of the day, bowled from the River End by Michael Booth. Playing an indeterminate stroke across his pads, Tom Abell was leg before wicket to the third ball. My impression over the years is that Abell, if he is undefeated overnight with significant runs to his name, is liable to be out early the next morning. He is not alone in that, but my impression, and it is only an impression, is that it is particularly noticeable in his case. Somerset 208 for 7. Abell 61. Deficit 204.

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Warwickshire in the ascendant – County Championship 2024 – Somerset v Warwickshire – 30th June and 1st, 2nd and 3rd July – Taunton – Second day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Warwickshire 30th June and 1st, 2nd and 3rd July. Taunton.

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.

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

Overnight – Warwickshire 373 for 8.

Second day 2nd July – Warwickshire in the ascendant

Dawdling through breakfast as I am inclined to do having spent the final two decades of my working life beginning each day before seven o’clock with a 60 to 90-minute commute into London, I arrived an over after the start. The floodlights were on, the players were walking off, the rain was falling, and Warwickshire’s ninth wicket pair had added six runs to their overnight score. The rain was light but persistent, often light enough for some seated in the top of the Trescothick Pavilion to wonder if it was raining at all. It was enough though to delay play until after an early lunch with an hour of the day lost. It gave time for an old work colleague who joined me for part of the day and I to have an intermingled discussion about cricket and, with the general election two days away, the general election campaign which had been in full swing in the world outside cricket. There is always something to talk about when rain stops play.

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A toss to remember – County Championship 2024 – Somerset v Warwickshire – 30th June and 1st, 2nd and 3rd July – Taunton – First day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Warwickshire 30th June and 1st, 2nd and 3rd July. Taunton.

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.

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

Toss. Somerset. Elected to bowl.

First day 30th June – A toss to remember

“Why? Oh, why?” asks my note, made as I sat down at the top of the Trescothick Pavilion five minutes before the start. Somerset had won the toss and elected to field. My cricketing memory is littered with examples of sides seeing a green pitch at Taunton and inserting the opposition on winning the toss. The result, so often, has been the inserted side steadily piling up a mountain of runs. This pitch, set in the centre of the square, the sight screen sheeting covering the centre of the Lord Ian Botham Stand, was unusual in appearance. From my vantage point, the first eight feet or so of each end looked brown, but the rest of the pitch was undeniably green. The divide between the two colours was a sharp, clearly defined line across the pitch, a fact which caused one or two quizzical looks. To set my, “Why? Oh, why?” in context, I do have form. My strong inclination is always to bat first, except perhaps on an April green top under overcast skies. Looking back at the history of insertions, particularly at the ground at which a match is being played, can often be more important than looking down or up. Pitches and skies can be capricious bedfellows when it comes to toss decisions. Historical evidence is often a more reliable ally in my, admittedly anecdotal, experience.

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H.G. Wells comes to Trent Bridge – County Championship 2024 – Nottinghamshire v Somerset 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th June – Trent Bridge – Final day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Nottinghamshire v Somerset 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th June. Trent Bridge.

Due to a positive COVID test in my household shortly before this match, I opted not to travel to Nottingham. 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 and 178 for 1. Somerset 470. Nottinghamshire lead by 68 runs with six second innings wickets standing.

Final day 26th June – H.G. Wells comes to Trent Bridge

Graham, H.G. Wells’ protagonist in The Sleeper Awakes, takes drugs to combat his incurable insomnia. He overdoes the drugs and falls asleep for 203 years. He might as well have watched the final day of this match for, to the online watcher at least, it might have lasted 203 years. There was no dystopian world at its end as there was at the end of Graham’s 203-year sleep, but by tea the stands looked so bare they might have served as the backdrop for one. It was a day of bowlers toiling under the hottest sun of the year on a pitch as devoid of life as a Martian desert. It offered no more hope to the bowlers than to prevent the batters from running riot. As it was, the bowlers stuck to their task with a grim determination, and the batters did not run riot, nor did they seem to have much ambition to. They just steadily picked off runs for the want of anything better to do. In cricket watching terms, it was an end to the match as dystopian as any dreamed up by Wells in his long career.

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Stokes makes a difference – County Championship 2024 – Durham v Somerset 24th and 25th May – Chester-le-Street – First day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Durham v Somerset 24th and 25th May. Chester-le-Street.

Jake Ball replaced Migael Pretorius under ECB concussion regulations after Somerset’s first innings.

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

Durham. A.Z. Lees, S.G. Borthwick (c), C.N. Ackermann, D.G. Bedingham, O.G. Robinson (w), B.A. Stokes, G. Clark, C.F. Parkinson, P. Coughlin, B.A. Raine, P.M. Siddle.

Toss. Durham elected to field.

First day 24th May – Stokes makes a difference

Newcastle is a long way from Taunton. Five-and-a-half hours by direct train. Given the flooding across significant parts of the country through which the train travelled it was something of an achievement for the railway system to bring the train from Taunton into Newcastle just one minute late. Three other companies had to cancel their trains and those of their passengers who could, joined mine. Even without the extra passengers, four coaches for a train which runs from Penzance to Edinburgh sounds like a victory of hope over anticipation, and so the effect of suffering an influx of passengers from three other companies is better imagined than experienced. Every seat was taken, and every aisle and vestibule was full. Good humour was the only viable survival technique, and it was applied by every passenger within my sight. “People have got used to crowded trains,” someone said.

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Disbelief – Durham v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – 24th and 25th May – Chester-le-Street – Final day

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Durham v Somerset 24th and 25th May. Chester-le-Street.

Jake Ball replaced Migael Pretorius as a concussion replacement after Somerset’s first innings.

Durham. A.Z. Lees, S.G. Borthwick (c), C.N. Ackermann, D.G. Bedingham, O.G. Robinson (w), B.A. Stokes, G. Clark, C.F. Parkinson, P. Coughlin, B.A. Raine, P.M. Siddle.

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

Overnight. Somerset 171. Durham 177 for 6. Durham lead by six runs with four first innings wickets standing.

Final day 25th May – Disbelief

It could be seen in the faces of the small coterie of Somerset supporters who had made the 350-mile road trip, or five-and-a-half-hour rail journey, to the North East. This was a crushing Somerset defeat. Worse for the spirit, it had been far from inevitable at the start of the second day, even less so half an hour later. Durham had lost three wickets in that time to find themselves 28 ahead with only one wicket standing and Somerset pressing hard for the last. It had been an exceptional fightback by Somerset from a calamitous 84 for 7 immediately after lunch on the first day. Now, half an hour into the second day, the match was back in balance and there was Somerset hope that it might yet be won. Half an hour before tea, the match was over, and Somerset had lost by an innings. They were bowled out for 88 in their second innings, losing their last six wickets for 43 runs in the face of some exceptional bowling from Durham’s pace attack. The fall from hope was so precipitous, so total, this match may bedevil the memories of the Somerset supporters who were there as do Horsham 2013, Guildford 2018 and Southampton 2019.

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The Colin Atkinson Pavilion Clock

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A bit of research has uncovered, I think, the fact that the clock at the top of the Colin Atkinson Pavilion celebrates its centenary in 2024. It previously resided at the top of the scoreboard which stood, more or less, on the current site of the Colin Atkinson Pavilion, until 1979. It was then moved to its current location. It is the only remnant of the ground from before 1979. The old scoreboard was paid for by a donation of, as far as I can see, £69 from the Stragglers Club. The donation was made at the end of the 1923 season and so, and I have made a bit of an assumption here, the scoreboard was in place for the 1924 season. It was certainly in place by the 1925 season because it can be seen in British Pathé’s film of Jack Hobbs scoring his hundredth run to equal W.G. Grace’s record of 126 first-class centuries (Hobbs passed the record with another century in the second innings). It has therefore seen a few things and a bit of change in its time.

And so, to mark the centenary, I have managed to cobble together one of my occasional ‘poems’ :

 

The Colin Atkinson Pavilion Clock

1924 – 2024

I am the Colin Atkinson Pavilion clock.

I mark the walk of Old Father Time

Endlessly measuring days

Since John Daniell stood firm at the crease,

And Ramsay McDonald first reigned in Downing Street.

New, from atop the scoreboard then, I cast my gaze.

Now, I am the only remnant of those post Great War days.

I am the Colin Atkinson Pavilion clock.

Marking time. Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.

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Watching cricket in April – Worcestershire v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th April – Kidderminster.

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Worcestershire v Somerset. 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th April. Kidderminster.

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

Worcestershire. J.D. Libby, G.H. Roderick (w), Kashif Ali, R.P. Jones, A.J. Hose, B.L. D’Oliveira, J.O. Holder, M.J. Waite, J. Leach, B.J. Gibbon, A.W. Finch.

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

Overnight. Somerset 309 for 9 dec and 5 for 1. Worcestershire 451. Somerset trail by 137 runs with nine second innings wickets standing.

Final day 29th April – Watching cricket in April

The wind that blows across a cricket field in April bites with the teeth of a prairie dog which does not let go. No-one escapes. At Kidderminster, where the ground is open on all sides, the wind enjoys free reign to do as it pleases to whom it pleases, and it did as it pleased across most of the four days of this match. The girl serving burgers from a hot plate in the burger van was frozen. Matching their coats, the umpires wore white snoods which encased their necks and faces up to their ears. They looked like the invisible man from the 1958 television series with his face swathed in white bandages. To match their trousers, they wore black gloves. The stewards were bulked out with enough layers to have passed for an American police SWAT squad. Spectators, those brave enough, or lacking sufficient discretion to know better than to watch cricket in such weather, wore a mottled array of defences. They ranged from tightfitting, designer fashioned, windproof jackets zipped so tightly to the larynx that if the cold did not get the occupant a lack of oxygen would, to anoraks and scarves so battered by a winter without apparent end that they seemed on the point of abject surrender. Not that their owners would dream of letting them surrender, for the next match was only three days away.

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A bitter wind blows – Somerset v Nottinghamshire – County Championship 2024 – 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd April – Taunton

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Nottinghamshire 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd April. Taunton.

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

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

Nottinghamshire. H. Hameed (c), B.T. Slater, W.A. Young, J.M. Clarke (w), M. Montgomery, J.A. Haynes, L.W. James, C.G. Harrison, B.A. Hutton, L.J. Fletcher, D. Paterson.

Overnight. Nottinghamshire 193 and 38 for 1. Somerset 454. Nottinghamshire trail by 223 runs.

Third day 20th April – A bitter wind blows

On 25th and 26th May 1903, William Gunn and his nephew, John Gunn, added 367 for Nottinghamshire’s third wicket against Leicestershire at Trent Bridge. The nephew reached 294, the uncle 139, and Nottinghamshire declared on 739 for 7. The 367 for the third wicket beat the then Nottinghamshire record. It remained the record until the third evening of this match when Will Young (156 not out) and Joe Clarke (209 not out) passed it in the last over of the day. It virtually ended Somerset’s chances of victory. It would also, if pitches which produce this sort of cricket in the latter parts of a match return to Taunton, threaten interest in Championship cricket. At least, that was the view of a number to whom I spoke. That said, the two Nottinghamshire batters batted with prolonged discipline, skill and immense concentration to make the most of the conditions which they were offered. The same could also be said of the Somerset bowlers. With a modicum of luck, they might have taken a wicket or two, but against such disciplined batting on such a pitch, no more than one or two.

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“It ain’t gonna happen” – Surrey v Somerset – County Championship 2024 – Surrey v Somerset – 12th, 13th, 14th  and 15th April – The Oval.

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Surrey v Somerset 12th, 13th, 14th  and 15th April. The Oval.

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

Surrey. R.J. Burns (c), D.P. Sibley, O.J.D. Pope, D.W. Lawrence, J.L. Smith, B.T. Foakes (w), C.T. Steel, J. Clark, J. Overton, A.A.P. Atkinson, K.A.J Roach.

Somerset, M.T. Renshaw, S.R. Dickson, T.A. Lammonby, L.P. Goldsworthy, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory (c), C. Overton, K.L. Aldridge, M. Pretorius, S. Bashir.

Overnight. Somerset 285 and 204 for 6. Surrey 428.  Somerset lead by 61 runs with four first innings wicket standing.

Final day. 15th April – “It ain’t gonna happen“

“It ain’t gonna happen,” were the words of the Somerset supporter with me at the end of the third day when I suggested that Somerset would have to bat at least until tea on the final day to have a chance of saving the match. It seemed a reasonable statement at the time. Somerset were six wickets down and only 61 runs ahead. Even on a flat pitch with the Kookaburra ball, the thought that Somerset’s last four wickets would last for four hours or more on the final day was, as they say, for the birds. Perhaps it was. The pigeons which pick at the grass at the edges of the practice pitches in front of the Galadari Stand gave their wings a rest and stayed the entire final day as a slow-motion drama unfolded in front of them. As to spectators, most had voted with their feet. Leaving aside those sensibly hidden behind glass as the cutting edge of winter returned for another swipe, by my count there were about two hundred in the ground, a far cry from the four thousand of the first day. Even with overnight rain delaying the start the match was essentially dead as a contest it seemed, and if Somerset were to save it, it would be by dint of a further substantial intervention by the weather. In the event, play began at ten minutes past twelve with 18 overs lost and the rain barely threatened again, but still, my Somerset brain thought, it ain’t gonna happen.

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“Dawson again” – Hampshire v Somerset – County Championship 2023 – 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th  September – Southampton.

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County Championship 2023. Division 1. Hampshire v Somerset. 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th  September. Southampton.

Jack Leach, (back), Josh Davey (family reasons), Sonny Baker (back), Craig Overton (back) and Kasey Aldridge (side) were all unavailable.

Hampshire. T.E. Albert, F.S. Middleton, N.R.T. Gubbins, J.M. Vince (c), T.J. Prest, L.A. Dawson, B.C. Brown (w), J.K. Fuller, K.H.D. Barker, K.J. Abbott, Mohammad Abbas.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.R. Dickson, T.B. Abell (c), A.R.I. Umeed, T. Kohler-Cadmore, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory, B.G.F. Green, N. Wagner, J.A. Brooks, S. Bashir.

Toss. Hampshire. Elected to bat.

First day 3rd September – “Dawson again”

The AGEAS Bowl is not the most accessible of grounds if you use public transport to get to the cricket, especially if you travel from the far end of Somerset on a Sunday. I do wonder if any of the great Victorian railway engineers ever had to travel from Taunton to Hedge End, for that is the nearest railway station to the cricket. Even so, it is nearly two miles away. Hotels near the ground are expensive, especially if there is a cruise liner or two in the port, and especially so, as with most hotels, on a Saturday night. If you stay in Southampton where there is a greater choice of hotels, but buses and trains to the ground are less than ideal, and, if you use the train, you still end up nearly two miles away. All added up, a back-of-the-envelope cost-benefit analysis led to my deciding to travel from Taunton on the day of the match, stay in a hotel near the ground and miss the morning session (Sunday trains do not get out of bed early).

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Overton v Overton – An hour to savour – Somerset v Surrey – County Championship 2023 – 25th, 26th, and 27th July – Taunton – Final day

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County Championship 2023. Division 1. Somerset v Surrey. 25th, 26th, and 27th July. Taunton.

Jack Leach (back), Roelof van der Merwe (hand), Josh Davey (rib) and Sonny Baker (back) were all unavailable.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.R. Dickson, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, T. Kohler-Cadmore, J.E.K. Rew (w), K.L. Aldridge, B.G.F. Green, C. Overton, M.J. Henry, S. Bashir.

Surrey. R.J. Burns (c), D.P. Sibley, T.W.M. Latham, J.L. Smith, B.T. Foakes (w), W.G. Jacks, J. Clark, J. Overton, T. E. Lawes, A.A.P. Atkinson, D.J. Worral.

Overnight. Somerset 170. Surrey 368. Surrey lead by 198 runs.

Final day 27th July – Overton v Overton – an hour to savour

This was one of those days when life gets in the way of cricket. A medical appointment falling during the first hour of play meant the best way to minimise the amount of cricket I would miss was to watch as much of the morning play as I could on the live stream and then catch the bus to the cricket in the lunch interval. The first part of the plan worked to perfection, aided by my appointment falling in the middle of an 18-over rain break which sent the players off four balls after the morning had started. The second part of the plan worked less well. My bus was late reaching my end of its route, delayed by some emergency roadworks and then, going back the other way to take me to the cricket, ran into them again. It cost me the first 40 minutes of the afternoon session.

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Advantage Surrey – Somerset v Surrey – County Championship 2023 – 25th, 26th and 27th July. Taunton.

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County Championship 2023. Division 1. Somerset v Surrey. 25th, 26th and 27th July. Taunton.

Jack Leach (back), Roelof van der Merwe (hand), Josh Davey (rib) and Sonny Baker (back) were all unavailable.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.R. Dickson, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, T. Kohler-Cadmore, J.E.K. Rew (w), K.L. Aldridge, B.G.F. Green, C. Overton, M.J. Henry, S. Bashir.

Surrey. R.J. Burns (c), D.P. Sibley, T.W.M. Latham, J.L. Smith, B.T. Foakes (w), W.G. Jacks, J. Clark, J. Overton, T. E. Lawes, A.A.P. Atkinson, D.J. Worral.

Overnight. Somerset 170. Surrey 138 for 4. Surrey trail by 32 runs with six first innings wickets standing.

Second day 26th July – Advantage Surrey

When the rains came during the middle of the afternoon they stopped this match neatly at its halfway point, in theory at least. If though, Somerset are to take it to the end of the final day, they will have to bat much better, and for considerably longer, than they did in their first innings. It seems unlikely that Surrey’s five-man pace attack, which so clinically dissected the Somerset batting , will bowl any less well the second time around. In the three hours or so of play that was possible on the second day, Surrey’s batters added 230 runs, 198 of those after they passed Somerset’s first innings total. By a curious mathematical coincidence, those 198 runs equated to two 99s for Surrey, one from Tom Latham and one from Will Jacks. For Somerset, there was an excellent afternoon spell from Matt Henry and a quietly incisive one from Ben Green. On the other side of the ledger, Craig Overton conceded 106 runs at five an over without reply and Kasey Aldridge, after some discussion, left the field with a side strain.

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A clinical finish – Northamptonshire v Somerset – County Championship 2023 – 19th, 20th and 21st July – Northampton – Final day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2023. Division 1. Northamptonshire v Somerset. 19th, 20th and 21st July. Northampton.

Jack Leach, (back), Roelof van der Merwe (hand), Josh Davey 9rib) and Sonny Baker (back) were all unavailable.

Northamptonshire. R.S. Vasconcelos, E.N. Gay, J. Broad, S.M. Whiteman, L.A. Procter (c), R.I. Keogh, S.A Zaib, L.D. McManus (w), T.A.I. Taylor, B.W. Sanderson, C. White.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.R. Dickson, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, T. Kohler-Cadmore, J.E.K. Rew (w), K.L. Aldridge, L. Gregory, C. Overton, M.J. Henry, S. Bashir.

Overnight. Somerset 351. Northamptonshire 180 and 151 for 6. Northamptonshire trail by 20 runs with four second innings wickets standing.

Final day 21st  July – A clinical finish

There were no surprises, just a continuation of all that had gone before. There was no miraculous Northamptonshire revival, just a clinical finishing of the match by Somerset. Flurries of Northamptonshire runs were interspersed with wickets which cut the flurries off in their prime. As on the second day, one Northamptonshire batter, this time Luke Proctor, battled virtually alone against the Somerset storm. Northamptonshire did avoid an innings defeat, the runs which took them into the lead coming off the edge of Proctor’s bat. As in their first innings though, when Somerset’s turn came, they scored with freedom to bring home the points which would take them, just, into the top half of the table. There was an extended visit too from the heavy cloud which had threatened the second afternoon, and which, if the forecast were to be believed, would wreck the final day. And finally, just as the match was ending, the threatened rain that had hung over the match since the start, began to fall.

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Relentless Henry drives Somerset on – Northamptonshire v Somerset – County Championship 2023 – 19th, 20th and 21st July. Northampton – Second day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2023. Division 1. Northamptonshire v Somerset. 19th, 20th and 21st July. Northampton.

Jack Leach, (back), Roelof van der Merwe (hand), Josh Davey 9rib) and Sonny Baker (back) were all unavailable.

Northamptonshire. R.S. Vasconcelos, E.N. Gay, J. Broad, S.M. Whiteman, L.A. Procter (c), R.I. Keogh, S.A Zaib, L.D. McManus (w), T.A.I. Taylor, B.W. Sanderson, C. White.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.R. Dickson, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, T. Kohler-Cadmore, J.E.K. Rew (w), K.L. Aldridge, L. Gregory, C. Overton, M.J. Henry, S. Bashir.

Overnight. Somerset 351.

Second day 20th July – Relentless Henry drives Somerset on

“You could hear the snick from here.” It was the fifth ball of the Northamptonshire innings and it set the scene for the rest of the day. Matt Henry had opened the bowling from the Lynn Wilson End and angled the ball across and six inches outside the left-handed Emilio Gay’s off stump. Gay came down on the ball with an angled bat and edged it straight to James Rew. What followed was a succession of Northamptonshire batters going to and from their dressing room as Somerset took a steady stream of wickets through the day. A constant theme of the Somerset bowling was the relentlessness of Henry. His line, length and pace persistently challenged the batters. He bowled full so was likely to be driven, but woe betide any batter who erred in the attempt, or in the attempt to defend. Only Ricardo Vasconcelos, and to a degree Saif Zaib, stood against him and the rest of the Somerset attack in Northamptonshire’s first innings. Vasconcelos played with the same attacking intent that Somerset had demonstrated on the first day with similar results.

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Somerset remorseless – Northamptonshire v Somerset – County Championship 2023 – 19th, 20th and 21st July – Northampton – First day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2023. Division 1. Northamptonshire v Somerset. 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd July. Northampton.

Jack Leach, (back), Roelof van der Merwe (hand), Josh Davey (rib) and Sonny Baker (back) were all unavailable.

Northamptonshire. R.S. Vasconcelos, E.N. Gay, J. Broad, S.M. Whiteman, L.A. Procter (c), R.I. Keogh, S.A Zaib, L.D. McManus (w), T.A.I. Taylor, B.W. Sanderson, C. White.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.R. Dickson, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, T. Kohler-Cadmore, J.E.K. Rew (w), K.L. Aldridge, L. Gregory, C. Overton, M.J. Henry, S. Bashir.

Toss. Northamptonshire. Elected to field.

First day 19th July – Somerset remorseless

It is a lesson never learned. At least not by me. The bus that is due to come every ten minutes always waits thirty if there is cricket at the other end of the journey. And so it was here. Northampton Bus Station was awash with buses but the stand for the buses to the cricket remained defiantly empty. “This is unusual,” said the Northamptonshire supporter waiting with me. It isn’t when I am in the queue I felt impelled to inform him. Eventually, two buses for the ground turned up, one due to leave in two minutes, one in five. It was then that we experienced another effect I seem to have on buses. The way in which drivers make their way to their bus and fiddle with the door, the seat, the controls, the mirrors and any other fitting that they can lay their hands on, and all at a pace which suggests they are in a neck and neck race with the hour hand of a clock. The modern world rushes on apace, but buses waiting to depart seem to be a throwback to an age when time stood still, especially if prospective passengers are in a hurry.

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Experience and application prevail – Somerset v Hampshire – County Championship 2023 – 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th July – Taunton – Final day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2023. Division 1. Somerset v Hampshire. 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th July. Taunton.

Jack Leach, (back), Roelof van der Merwe (hand), Ned Leonard (concussion) and Sonny Baker (back) were all unavailable. A number of players were also rested ahead of Vitality Blast T20 Finals Day. Dom Bess is on a short-term loan from Yorkshire.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, S.R. Dickson, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, A.R.I. Umeed, J.E.K. Rew (w), K.L. Aldridge, D.M. Bess, J.A. Brooks, A.R.J. Ogborne, S. Bashir.

Hampshire. J.J. Weatherley, F.S. Middleton, N.R.T. Gubbins, J.M. Vince (c), B.C. Brown (w), L.A. Dawson, J.K. Fuller, K.H.D. Barker, F.S. Organ, K.J. Abbott, Mohammad Abbas.

Overnight. Somerset 500. Hampshire 330 and 34 for 2. Hampshire trail by 136 runs with eight second innings wickets standing.

Final day 12th July – Experience and application prevail

Hampshire’s second innings followed the pattern of their first, and of Somerset’s only innings, lending credence to the Kookaburra ball’s reputation for losing its bite after about 30 overs. In all three innings, the fifth wicket had fallen by the 31st over, six in Hampshire’s first innings, and in all three cases with the score not having reached 90. In Somerset’s innings, the last five wickets added 420 runs, in Hampshire’s first innings the last two wickets had added 178 runs, and in Hampshire’s second innings the unbroken eighth wicket added 100 runs and lasted 47 overs.

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