Matches on the Move – Somerset v Northamptonshire – County Championship 2022 – 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd September – Second Day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Somerset v Northamptonshire. 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd September 2022. Taunton.

Jack Leach was unavailable for selection for this match.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, Iman-ul-Haq, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L. P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory, C. Overton, K.L. Aldridge, J.H. Davey, Sajid Khan.

Northamptonshire. W.A. Young (c), E.N. Gay, L.A. Proctor, J.J. Cobb, R.I. Keogh, R.S. Vasconcelos (w), S.A. Zaib, T.A.I. Taylor, L.B. Williams, B.W. Sanderson, C. White.

Overnight. Somerset 271 for 4.

Second day. 21st September – Matches on the move

This was a day in which the eye was on the smartphone, or the ear on the conversations of those with their eyes on smartphones, as well as on the cricket, for the tensions of the relegation zone bubbled through the day. All three matches were on the move. Kent gained the upper hand against Hampshire, Warwickshire’s match with Gloucestershire edged towards the other West Country side, but not decisively, and Somerset pulled ahead of Northamptonshire. By the end of the day Somerset had built on the position they had worked so hard to establish the day before. There was no attempt to accelerate towards a fourth batting point, just steady accumulation towards as large a total as could be mustered, presumably prioritising the drive towards a winning position over the extra bonus point. Some wanted an assault on the extra bonus point, but someone said, “Better 380 all out with three bonus points than 340 all out trying for four.”

Read More »

Abell Shapes the Day – County Championship 2022 – Somerset v Northamptonshire – 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd September – Taunton

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Somerset v Northamptonshire. 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd September 2022. Taunton.

Jack Leach was unavailable for selection for this match.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, Iman-ul-Haq, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L. P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory, C. Overton, K.L. Aldridge, J.H. Davey, Sajid Khan.

Northamptonshire. W.A. Young (c), E.N. Gay, L.A. Proctor, J.J. Cobb, R.I. Keogh, R.S. Vasconcelos (w), S.A. Zaib, T.A.I. Taylor, L.B. Williams, B.W. Sanderson, C. White.

Toss. Somerset. Elected to bat.

First day 20th September – Abell shapes the day

Somerset entered this match, the penultimate of the season, locked in a relegation tussle with Kent, who they play at Canterbury in the final match, and Warwickshire, both eight points beneath them in the table. Yorkshire are nine points above Somerset and 17 above Kent and Warwickshire, and probably safe since all three of those counties would have to pass them for them to be relegated. Gloucestershire, 41 points below Kent and Warwickshire, are already effectively relegated. But, with eight points for a draw and 16 for a win, the situation around the second relegation spot is devilishly tight.

Read More »

Cricketing Annihilation – Kent v Somerset – County Championship 2022 – 26th, 27th and 28th September – Canterbury – Final Day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Kent v Somerset. 26th, 27st and 28th September 2022. Canterbury.

Jack Leach and Imam-ul-Haq were unavailable for this match.

Kent. T.S. Muyeye, Z. Crawley, D.J. Bell-Drummond, J.L. Denly, J.A. Leaning (c), O.G. Robinson (w), J.D.M. Evison, Hamidullah Qadri, C. McKerr, N.N. Gilchrist, M.R. Quinn.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, A.R.I. Umeed, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L. P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), B.G.F. Green, C. Overton, K.L. Aldridge, Sajid Khan, J.A. Brooks.

Overnight. Somerset 202. Kent 405 for 7. Kent lead by 203 runs with three first innings wickets standing.

Final day 28th September – Cricketing Annihilation

Kent, their First Division status secure, cavorted through the third, and in the event, final day of this match as if it were a victory parade. It was a performance to which Somerset had no answer. Perhaps their energies had been spent in the Herculean defeat of Northamptonshire the week before which had confirmed their own First Division status. On the first two days of this match, they had been swept aside with, Goldsworthy’s first day resistance and Aldridge’s second day wickets apart, barely a whimper. Overton’s efforts with the ball may have been more than they appeared because, with the third morning barely underway, he limped off the field mid-over for the second time in the match. He had too, kept Kent to three and a half runs an over, less than any other Somerset bowler. Brooks, Green and Abell had all conceded five to the buoyant, irrepressible march of the Kent batters.

Read More »

Swamped – Kent v Somerset – County Championship 26th, 27th and 28th September – Canterbury – Second day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Kent v Somerset. 26th, 27st and 28th September 2022. Canterbury.

Jack Leach and Imam-ul-Haq were unavailable for this match.

Kent. T.S. Muyeye, Z. Crawley, D.J. Bell-Drummond, J.L. Denly, J.A. Leaning (c), O.G. Robinson (w), J.D.M. Evison, Hamidullah Qadri, C. McKerr, N.N. Gilchrist, M.R. Quinn.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, A.R.I. Umeed, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L. P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), B.G.F. Green, C. Overton, K.L. Aldridge, Sajid Khan, J.A. Brooks.

Overnight. Somerset 195 for 9.

Second day 27th September – Swamped

Kent, perhaps driven by the importance of bonus points in their drive to remain in the First Division by staying ahead of Warwickshire, hurtled across the second day like a speedboat crossing a lake with only the occasional ripple to impede its progress. The Somerset bowling, for the most part, was swept aside by Kent’s bow wave and left trailing in its wake. Kent’s pursuit of batting points was only rarely ruffled. In short, it was a rout. By lunch, 30 overs into their innings, Kent were 149 for 0. On one occasion three fours were struck in three balls during a segment of play in which 31 runs came in three overs. By the 21st over, Somerset were using their sixth bowler. In the first hour of the innings Kent scored at a run a minute. The musings of the previous day that a score in excess of 180 might give Somerset a chance had been pushed aside like a floating twig in the path of Kent’s boat.

Read More »

Goldsworthy stands against the tide – Kent v Somerset – County Championship 2022 – 26th, 27th and 28th September – Canterbury

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Kent v Somerset. 26th, 27st and 28th September 2022. Canterbury.

Jack Leach and Imam-ul-Haq were unavailable for this match.

Kent. T.S. Muyeye, Z. Crawley, D.J. Bell-Drummond, J.L. Denly, J.A. Leaning (c), O.G. Robinson (w), J.D.M. Evison, Hamidullah Qadri, C. McKerr, N.N. Gilchrist, M.R. Quinn.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, A.R.I. Umeed, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L. P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), B.G.F. Green, C. Overton, K.L. Aldridge, Sajid Khan, J.A. Brooks.

Toss. Somerset. Elected to bat.

First day 26th September – Goldsworthy stands against the tide

My day began as it ended. With a Somerset wicket tumbling. Overnight rain and a heavy morning shower delayed the 10.30 start until midday. Forty minutes before the players walked out, I discovered I had forgotten to take the pills which regulate my heartbeat. Watching Somerset with an unregulated heart seemed less than wise. A quick calculation involving my best walking speed and the distance to the hotel revealed I might just make it there and back before the umpires called ‘Play’. I didn’t quite make it. As I returned through the gate, peering towards the middle, I heard a snick and saw Jack Leaning falling smartly to his left at second slip. The ball, which had flown from the edge of Tom Lammonby’s bat, disappeared into Leaning’s hands, Matt Quinn the bowler from Canterbury’s Nackington Road End. Five hours later, with ominous clouds designed for inclusion in a biblical epic producing eerily Transylvanian light, Nathan Gilchrist, once of Somerset, ran in from the Pavilion End. He sent a thunderbolt scything into Sajid Khan’s pads. It was his second wicket in two balls and my regulated heart had suffered a day of almost constant pummelling from the Kent bowlers.

Read More »

Gregory and Khan raise the spirits – Warwickshire v Somerset – County Championship 2022 – 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th September – Edgbaston

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Warwickshire v Somerset. 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th September 2022. Edgbaston.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died on 8th September. Before the start of the first day a one minute silence was held in her honour.

Jack Leach was unavailable for selection by Somerset due to being on international duty and Craig Overton had not fully recovered from his injury.

Warwickshire. D.P. Sibley, A.L. Davies, R.M. Yates, W.M.H. Rhodes (c), S.R. Hain, Y. Yadav, M.G.K. Burgess (w), D.R. Briggs, H.J.H. Brookes, M. Siraj, O.J. Hannon-Dalby.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, Iman-ul-Haq, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L. P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory, K.L. Aldridge, J.H. Davey, Sajid Khan, J.A. Brooks.

Toss. Somerset. Elected to bat.

First day 12th September – Gregory and Khan raise the spirits

The day began with the players, coaches and officials lined up facing the Pavilion. The two or three hundred people in the crowd, there were no more to my eye, joining them as respects were paid to the late Queen Elizabeth II. A short statement was read before a perfectly observed minute’s silence was held. The silence, a passing lorry apart, was palpable. Every minute’s silence I have witnessed being observed by a Championship crowd, even ones more than ten times the size of this one, is the same. Not a person moves. Not a syllable is spoken. This morning, for that minute, peace and intensely quiet contemplation reigned.

Read More »

The drum beats on – Essex v Somerset – County Championship 2022 – 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th July – Third day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Essex v Somerset. 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th July. Chelmsford.

Josh Davey, Sonny Baker and Ned Leonard were unavailable due to injury.

Somerset. M.T. Renshaw, T.A. Lammonby, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L.P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory, K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton, P.M. Siddle, M.J. Leach.

Essex. N.L.J. Browne, Sir A.N. Cook, T. Westley (c), D.W. Lawrence, P.I. Walter, M.J.J. Critchley, A.M. Rossington (w), S.R. Harmer, A.P. Beard, S. Snater, J.A. Porter.

Overnight. Essex 505 for 8 dec. Somerset 99 for 1. Somerset trail by 406 runs.

Third day 27th July – The drum beats on

On the third day, the rhythm of the drum to which this match was played beat more slowly still. There was no approaching declaration to drive the score along as had happened towards the end of the Essex innings on the second day. Somerset merely responded to Essex’s 505 with a relentless, grinding beat of their own. Essex had scored 281 for the loss of three wickets on the first day. On the third, facing the threat of Harmer, Somerset scored 20 runs less for the loss of two wickets, only one of them, the slightly more adventurous Bartlett, to Harmer. It might have been a long watch for the neutral observer. For the Somerset supporter, needing evidence that the top order batting was able to continue the form it had begun to develop over the last two matches, it was at least a day, if a gruelling one, of affirmation and slowly burgeoning hope that a corner might be being turned.

Read More »

Batting to the beat of a funereal drum – Essex v Somerset – County Championship 2022 – 25th, 26th, 27th and 29th July – Chelmsford – Second day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Essex v Somerset. 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th July. Chelmsford.

Josh Davey, Sonny Baker and Ned Leonard were unavailable due to injury.

Somerset. M.T. Renshaw, T.A. Lammonby, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L.P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory, K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton, P.M. Siddle, M.J. Leach.

Essex. N.L.J. Browne, Sir A.N. Cook, T. Westley (c), D.W. Lawrence, P.I. Walter, M.J.J. Critchley, A.M. Rossington (w), S.R. Harmer, A.P. Beard, S. Snater, J.A. Porter.

Overnight. Essex 281 for 3.

Second day 26th July – Batting to the beat of a funereal drum

This was a day on which the sun barely shone, the Somerset bowlers stuck firmly to their task and the Essex batters painstakingly built a score designed to give Simon Harmer the strongest of bases from which to entangle the Somerset batters. That at least appeared to be the Essex script and the Somerset fear, at least among its supporters. Essex’s efforts to apply that strategy, and Somerset’s to resist it, were the story of the day. By the end of it Essex had laid a long, hard road for Somerset to travel, but Somerset had taken the first steps along that road with an assuredness that has gradually asserted itself in their last two matches.

Read More »

Century on a Broken Ankle – James Hildreth – Somerset Steel

'farmer white'

Century on a Broken Ankle – James Hildreth – Somerset Steel

James Hildreth has retired from professional cricket. His career will one day, no doubt, make a classic cricket book. But now, as Somerset supporters everywhere are remembering one of the last great single-team domestic careers here, as a special tribute, are one person’s personal memories of the greatest moment of his Somerset career. A personal appreciation of more of James Hildreth’s great innings for Somerset appears in the preceding post to this one. This is an extract from that article. There is a link to the full article below.

Read More »

James Hildreth – Somerset Steel – Batting Genius

'farmer white'

James Hildreth – Somerset Steel – Batting Genius

James Hildreth has retired from professional cricket. His career will one day, no doubt, make a classic cricket book. But now, as Somerset supporters everywhere are remembering one of the last great single-team domestic careers, here are one person’s personal memories of some of the greatest moments of Hildreth’s Somerset career. There was more, much, much more that I did not see, but I hope this will give something of a flavour of the joy of watching James Hildreth, once Somerset cricketer, now Somerset legend, playing at the top of his game.

Read More »

Essex ahead after a day of production line cricket – Essex v Somerset – County Championship 2022 – 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th July – Chelmsford – First day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Essex v Somerset. 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th July. Chelmsford.

The author was unable to travel to this match due to illness. The match was therefore watched on the Essex CCC live stream, with the knowedge of Essex CCC, without which this report would have not been possible.

Josh Davey, Sonny Baker and Ned Leonard were unavailable due to injury.

Somerset. M.T. Renshaw, T.A. Lammonby, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L.P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory, K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton, P.M. Siddle, M.J. Leach.

Essex. N.L.J. Browne, Sir A.N. Cook, T. Westley (c), D.W. Lawrence, P.I. Walter, M.J.J. Critchley, A.M. Rossington (w), S.R. Harmer, A.P. Beard, S. Snater, J.A. Porter.

Toss. Essex. Elected to bat.

First day 25th July – Essex ahead after a day of production line cricket

After two and a half years of avoiding COVID I contrived to develop a dose when Somerset were playing cricket! Mild fortunately, but the recommended isolation period meant travel to Chelmsford was impractical and so it was back to the live stream for the first time this year, the final day of the Yorkshire match apart. Few matches were live streamed when I began writing match reports in 2017, and the few that were, tended to be on such a narrow bandwidth the picture occupied a few square inches of the screen, came without commentary and from a fixed camera. What a transformation the intervening five years have brought. Full screen streaming, several moving cameras following the action, commentary, although I watch without, and action replays. A veritable feast of cricket-watching for the committed supporter who is unable to attend a match.

Read More »

Playing on the face of the moon – Essex v Somerset – County Championship 2022 – 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th July – Chelmsford – Final day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Essex v Somerset. 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th July. Chelmsford.

Josh Davey, Sonny Baker and Ned Leonard were unavailable for selection due to injury.

The author was unable to travel to this match due to illness.The match was therefore watched in its entirity on the Essex CCC live stream without access to which this report would not have been possible.

Somerset. M.T. Renshaw, T.A. Lammonby, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L.P. Goldsworthy/T. Banton*, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory, K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton, P.M. Siddle, M.J. Leach.

*T. Banton replaced L.P. Goldsworthy under the ECB Concussion Protocol on the final day.

Essex. N.L.J. Browne, Sir A.N. Cook, T. Westley (c), D.W. Lawrence, P.I. Walter, M.J.J. Critchley, A.M. Rossington (w), S.R. Harmer, A.P. Beard, S. Snater, J.A. Porter.

Overnight. Essex 505 for 8 dec. Somerset 359 for 3. Somerset trail by 146 runs.

Final day 27th July – Playing on the face of the moon

The pitch on which this match was played could have done service on the face of the moon so little life was there to be found in it. Wickets fell, across the match, at the rate of four a day, and some of those when attempts were made, as Essex approached 500 and Somerset 600, to accelerate ahead of a declaration. Had the match been timeless, ten days might not have been sufficient to complete it. It took nearly 177 overs of the Somerset innings for six wickets to fall, and one of those fell to a run out with Gregory halfway up the pitch, suggesting he had fallen asleep when he set off, and another when Craig Overton tried to send a ball back to Taunton and was stumped by nearly as much as Gregory had been run out by.

Read More »

A Bowlers’ Day – T20 Finals Day 2022 – Edgbaston

'farmer white'

After travelling back to Somerset from Southport on Friday afternoon, a six-hour journey, I was on the supporters’ coach to Edgbaston at 7.00 a.m. on Saturday morning. It was a wonderful day at the cricket. Could have done with some shade. The Somerset seats, at least the tranche I was with, were in the R.E.S. Wyatt Stand, full in the face of the sun all day until the sun finally set behind the stand half an hour into the final which made it a very pleasant evening. I watched most of the second innings of the first match on a screen in an open fronted bar to ration my exposure to the heat and the sun. It really was quite fierce in the morning, less so in the afternoon.

Read More »

The Return of Jamie Overton – Somerset v Surrey – County Championship 2022 – 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th June – Taunton – First Day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Somerset v Surrey. 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th June. Taunton.

Sonny Baker was unavailable for selection by Somerset due to his continuing back injury while Jack Leach was on Test duty with England and Matt Renshaw on international duty with Australia.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, B.F.G. Green, T.B. Abell (c), T. Banton, L.P. Goldsworthy, S.M. Davies (w), L. Gregory, R.E. van der Merwe, C. Overton/M. de Lange, J.H. Davey/K.L. Aldridge*, P.M. Siddle.

*J.H. Davey was replaced by K.L. Aldridge on the first day and C. Overton by M. de Lange on the second under the ECB Concussion Protocol

Surrey. R.J. Burns (c), R.S. Patel, H.M. Amla, B.B.A. Geddes, J.L. Smith (w), W.G. Jacks, C.T. Steel, J. Clark, J. Overton, A.A.P. Atkinson, D.J. Worrall.

Toss. Somerset. Elected to bat.

First day 12th June – The return of Jamie Overton

If anyone needed a reminder of what Somerset might have missed when Jamie Overton left for Surrey two seasons ago, they received one if they were at the Cooper Associates County Ground on the first day of this match, and many were. Perhaps not as many as might have been present on a good pre-pandemic day, but not far short, and for a post-pandemic crowd it suggested the old cricket-watching habits are returning. In a piece of controlled, precise, destructive fast bowling Overton ripped the heart out of Somerset’s middle and lower order. Three wickets, two opposing pace bowlers forced to retire hurt, if only temporarily in the case of brother Craig, and pace rarely seen in the modern County Championship, the sum of his contribution. He was not alone in breaking the back of the Somerset batting. With less pace but similar accuracy, Dan Worrall and Gus Atkinson formed the perfect backdrop against which Overton struck, each taking three wickets of their own. Somerset, largely courtesy of three of their own pace bowlers, two hobbled by Jamie Overton en route, scrabbled their way to 180 on a pitch which, with Surrey 56 for 1 at the close, looked to have had significantly more runs than that to offer.

Read More »

An almighty fightback – but just one point – Somerset v Surrey – County Championship 2022 – Division 1 – 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th June – Taunton – Final day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Somerset v Surrey. 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th June. Taunton.

Sonny Baker was unavailable for selection by Somerset due to his continuing back injury while Jack Leach was on Test duty with England and Matt Renshaw on international duty with Australia.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, B.F.G. Green, T.B. Abell (c), T. Banton, L.P. Goldsworthy, S.M. Davies (w), L. Gregory, R.E. van der Merwe, C. Overton/M. de Lange, J.H. Davey/K.L. Aldridge*, P.M. Siddle.

*J.H. Davey was replaced by K.L. Aldridge on the first day and C. Overton by M. de Lange on the second under the ECB Concussion Protocol

Surrey. R.J. Burns (c), R.S. Patel, H.M. Amla, B.B.A. Geddes, J.L. Smith (w), W.G. Jacks, C.T. Steel, J. Clark, J. Overton, A.A.P. Atkinson, D.J. Worrall.

Overnight. Somerset 180 and 319 for 8. Surrey 382. Somerset lead by 117 runs with two second innings wickets standing.

Final day 15th June – An almighty fightback – but just one point

The moment of the day was the sight of Jamie Smith’s off stump being sent cartwheeling by Kasey Aldridge and the delight from the bowler which followed. This was Aldridge’s second Championship match as a playing substitute and his third in all. He had finished the first two matches wicketless. He had finally taken his first first-class wicket in the first innings of this match, and another to break Surrey’s racing opening partnership in this innings. Now, the sight of that stump careering out of the ground set the Somerset blood coursing, for here was a young man making a mark. Cheers rent the air, for with three wickets in two overs Aldridge and Roelof van der Merwe had stopped a Surrey team hurtling towards a crushing victory in its tracks. “There may be only two or three hundred here,” someone said, “but what a noise they are making, what an atmosphere they are creating.” It was three quarters of an hour into the afternoon session, Surrey were 70 for 3 and the spark of Somerset hope had been kindled. Fifteen minutes earlier, With Surrey on 65 for 0, scored at five runs an over, a target of 193 had seemed only a few skips down the wicket away and the cheers were coming from the small enclave of Surrey supporters in the Lord Ian Botham Stand.

Read More »

A formidable base – Gloucestersire v Somerset – County Championship 2022 – 12th, 13th and 14th May – Bristol – First day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Gloucestershire v Somerset. 12th, 13th and 14th May. Bristol.

Sonny Baker was unavailable for selection by Somerset due to his continuing injury.

Gloucestershire. M.S. Harris, G.F.B. Scott, J.R. Bracey (w), M.A.H. Hammond, G.L. van Buuren (c) R.F. Higgins, J.G. Bethell, Z.J. Chappell, Zafar Gohar, M.D. Taylor, B.T.J. Wheal.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, M.T. Renshaw, T.B. Abell (c), T. Banton, J.C. Hildreth, S.M. Davies (w), L. Gregory, C. Overton, J.H. Davey, P.M. Siddle, M.J. Leach.

Toss. Gloucestershire. Elected to field.

First day 12th May – A formidable base

The large proportion of Somerset supporters present among a smallish crowd was obvious when I arrived two overs after the start. A two-hour bus ride, a walk through the centre of Bristol and another bus ride to reach the ground my excuse for a late arrival. For the record, the scoreboard, always the first thing a cricket supporter will look for on arrival, read Somerset 2 for 0. After a lengthy meander to identify a vantage point, and looking for a bit of height, I took a seat in the second row from the back of the Mark Alleyne Stand at the Ashley Down Road End with the sightscreen to my right.

Read More »

Hampshire with the edge – just – Somerset v Hampshire – County Championship 2022 – May 19th, 20th and 21st – Taunton – Second day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Somerset v Hampshire. 19th, 20th and 21st May. Taunton.

Sonny Baker was unavailable for selection by Somerset due to his continuing back injury.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, M.T. Renshaw, T.B. Abell (c), T. Banton, J.C. Hildreth, S.M. Davies (w), L. Gregory, C. Overton, J.H. Davey, J. Leach, P.M. Siddle.

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

Overnight. Somerset 211. Hampshire 29 for 0. Hampshire trail by 182 runs with ten second innings wickets standing.

Second day 20th May – Hampshire with the edge – just

The rain that fell for a few minutes towards the end of the afternoon session looked as if it was auditioning for a part in a blockbuster film about Noah. It could be seen from the top of the Trescothick Pavilion before it fell, first approaching from the west, blotting out the view of the Brendons beyond the Brian Rose Gates, before spreading like a primordial duvet along the Quantocks. When it began to fall on the ground, the players fled to the Caddick Pavilion while umbrellas blossomed like mushrooms in the stands. Cricket in England. Within minutes, the ferocity of the deluge became apparent to the occupants of the elevated section of the Trescothick Stand as it dropped what sounded like heaven’s entire supply of tin tacks on the roof.

Read More »

An Almighty Tussle – Somerset v Hampshire – County Championship 2022 – 19th, 20th and 21st May – First Day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Somerset v Hampshire. 19th, 20th and 21st May. Taunton.

Sonny Baker was unavailable for selection by Somerset due to his continuing back injury.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, M.T. Renshaw, T.B. Abell (c), T. Banton, J.C. Hildreth, S.M. Davies (w), L. Gregory, C. Overton, J.H. Davey, J. Leach, P.M. Siddle.

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

Toss. Somerset. Elected to bat.

First day 19th May – An almighty tussle

Hampshire were a different proposition to either Warwickshire or Gloucestershire. The pitch too was of an altogether different nature. The ball asked questions of both sides all day. Playing and missing was an occupational hazard. Hampshire were 29 for 0 after 15 overs at the close. Somerset had been 31 for 0 after 15 overs at the start. After 78 overs Somerset were 211 all out, or 2.68 an over, and that after a calculated assault of 44 in 54 balls from Craig Overton. It was that sort of day. Bowlers offering batters next to nothing. Batters, Overton apart, scavenging for runs among the scraps of thick edges, pushed or guided singles, and the occasional ball of doubtful length or line. And yet, all day, the cricket held the attention. Eyes, at least those around me in the elevated section of the Trescothick Pavilion, were rarely diverted from the action being played out on a strip of green set on an increasingly lush, newly seeded outfield. It was a day of cricket of the old sort.

Read More »

Descent Into Oblivion – Somerset v Hampshire – County Championship 2022 – 19th, 20th and 21st May – Taunton – Final Day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Somerset v Hampshire. 19th, 20th and 21st May. Taunton.

Sonny Baker was unavailable for selection by Somerset due to his continuing back injury.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, M.T. Renshaw, T.B. Abell (c), T. Banton, J.C. Hildreth, S.M. Davies (w), L. Gregory, C. Overton, J.H. Davey, J. Leach, P.M. Siddle.

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

Overnight. Somerset 211. Hampshire 144 for 5. Hampshire trail by 67 runs with five second innings wickets standing.

Final day 21st May – Descent into oblivion

Early on the third morning Hampshire were 59 runs behind Somerset’s first innings total with six wickets down. There was even talk of a small Somerset first innings lead among some home supporters. Peter Siddle had just removed Ben Brown with a vociferous leg before wicket appeal, a replay showing there could have been little doubt in the umpire’s mind and, from the nature of his appeal, there was none in Siddle’s. By tea, the match was over, Somerset having staved off an innings defeat by just one run. It had been a devastating day for Somerset supporters. Disbelief, the look ingrained in every face. “Embarrassing,” the only comment I heard in my part of the River Stand, for most had been rendered speechless. The afternoon had, for Somerset, been a headlong descent into oblivion and the end came as the clock registered four minutes past four.

Read More »

A Day to Gladden the Somerset Heart – Somerset v Warwickshire – County Championship 2022 – 28th, 29th and 30th April – Taunton- First Day

'farmer white'

County Championship 2022. Division 1. Somerset v Warwickshire. 28th, 29th and 30th April 2022. Taunton.

Sonny Baker and Peter Siddle were unavailable for selection by Somerset due to being injured.

Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, M.T. Renshaw, T.B. Abell (c), T. Banton, J.C. Hildreth, S.M. Davies (w), L. Gregory, C. Overton, J.H. Davey, J. Leach, J.A. Brooks.

Warwickshire. R.M. Yates, D.M. Sibley, W.M.H. Rhodes (c), A.L. Davies, S.R. Hain, M.J. Lamb, M.G.K. Burgess (w), N.J. McAndrew. C.N. Miles, D.R. Briggs, O.J. Hannon-Dalby,

Toss. Warwickshire. Elected to field.

First day 28th April – A day to gladden the Somerset heart

This was a day to gladden the Somerset heart. After those seven successive defeats the Somerset batting raced ahead of Warwickshire and barely missed a step as they went. Only James Hildreth did not deliver full measure from his innings, and his contribution was not inconsequential. Matt Renshaw brought back memories of his astonishing first sojourn with Somerset four years before with a century of measured class, his fourth in six home matches for the County. Tom Lammonby, who has been battling to establish himself as an opener, posted his first fifty of the season and crucially, with Renshaw, saw Somerset through to lunch without the loss of a wicket. There was a typically robust half century from Tom Abell, and by the end of the day Somerset had registered four batting points, kept six wickets in hand for the morrow and left the Warwickshire attack, Oliver Hannon-Dalby apart, flailing in their wake.

Read More »