County Championship 2025. Division 1. Somerset v Durham. 22^nd and 23^rd July. Taunton.

Somerset. T. Kohler-Cadmore, J.H. Davey, T.A. Lammonby, J.E.K. Rew (w), T.B. Abell, T. Banton, A.M. Vaughan, L. Gregory (c), C. Overton, M.J. Leach, J.T. Ball.

Durham. A.Z. Lees (c), E.N. Gay, C.N. Ackermann, D.G. Bedingham, O.G. Robinson (w), G. Clark, B.A. Raine, G.S. Drissell, M.J. Potts, N. Wagner, C.F. Parkinson.

Overnight. Durham 145 and 5 for 2. Somerset 250. Durham trail by 100 runs with eight second innings wickets standing.

Final day – Helter-skelter cricket

This was a day of high, white cloud, sunny weather and cricket played at the same helter-skelter pace as that played on the first day. Somerset held the upper hand at the outset, and the day began with the prospect of a two-day victory which might move Somerset closer to Nottinghamshire and Surrey at the top of the table. But, in front of a crowd of around 1,200, Durham soon made their presence felt with a pummelling assault on the Somerset bowling. In a match in which 400 runs had been scored and 22 wickets had fallen on the first day, Durham were soon demolishing Somerset’s 105-run first innings lead at over six runs an over. Leading the charge were two left-handers, Emilio Gay, the Durham opener who had survived the three overs of the Durham innings on the evening before when two wickets had fallen, and Neil Wagner, sent in as a second night watcher when the first, Callum Parkinson, was leg before wicket to Jack Leach.

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County Championship 2025. Division 1. Somerset v Durham. 22^nd and 23^rd July. Taunton.

Somerset. T. Kohler-Cadmore, J.H. Davey, T.A. Lammonby, J.E.K. Rew (w), T.B. Abell, T. Banton, A.M. Vaughan, L. Gregory (c), C. Overton, M.J. Leach, J.T. Ball.

Durham. A.Z. Lees (c), E.N. Gay, C.N. Ackermann, D.G. Bedingham, O.G. Robinson (w), G. Clark, B.A. Raine, G.S. Drissell, M.J. Potts, N. Wagner, C.F. Parkinson.

Toss. Somerset elected to field.

First day – Overton and Lammonby – two artists ply their trade

From the top of the Trescothick Pavilion, the pitch looked green, the sky looked grey, and the fields of the Quantocks looked brown. The Taunton outfield, protected from the ravages of an endless hot summer by attentive ground staff, must, from one of the light aircraft that occasionally fly over the ground, have looked like an emerald-coloured oasis in comparison with the apparently dead, straw-coloured fields of the hills beyond. And then, with the match ready to begin, a bolt of reality. The start was delayed for half an hour by an unseasonal, in 2025 at least, burst of rain. Then, when the umpires were finally about to make their appearance, someone behind me said, “That pitch looks very green. This will be over in two days.” A brave prediction before the start of a match, especially given the history of green-looking pitches at Taunton levelling out and taking matches to the end of the fourth day. As to the pitch in front of us, it was set well over to the Somerset Stand, the sight screen sheeting reaching to the end of the Lord Ian Botham Stand adjacent to the Hildreth Stand and two thirds of the outfield standing between the pitch and the Priory Bridge Road boundary. In the days when spectators could sit square of the wicket in the Somerset Stand for Championship matches, if you sat in the front row when the wicket was set that far over, you could hear some of the conversation in the middle.

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

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

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

Overnight. Durham 277 and 159. Somerset 172 and 71 for 1. Somerset need 194 more runs to win with nine second innings wickets standing.

Final day – Lammonby and Abell show the way  

There were hopes and fears as Somerset supporters got off the Newcastle train at Chester-le-Street on the Bank Holiday weekend Sunday morning. With nine wickets standing, Somerset required another 194 runs to beat Durham. An overnight score of 71 for 1 gave hope that the target was in range. And yet, in a match of descending totals, that the last two innings had been completed for less than 194 brought fears to match the hopes. A long morning was in prospect. As we walked out of the station, one of my co-supporters said, “We’ll know by tea,” adding, to emphasise the uncertainty, “One way or the other.” When we reached the ground, the crowd, as is usual for final day crowds, was small. There were about thirty on the members balcony as opposed to the hundred or so of the first two days. The weather, more optimistic than the forecast, was generally bright with scudding clouds, although a few spots of rain fell during the lunch interval, the match ran uninterrupted to its conclusion.

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

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

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 395 for 6.

Second day 30^th August – An arm wrestle      

Justin Langer used to say that every match in the County Championship was an arm wrestle. The second day of this match, particularly the Durham innings, was just that. There was push and counter push. Half an hour after tea, Durham’s arm was leaning back, almost to the horizontal, but an unbroken seventh wicket partnership of 102 from Brydon Carse and Ben Raine kept their hopes alive. Before that, they had lost their first six wickets for 170 to some accurate, pressurising bowling from the Somerset spinners. At that point, Somerset’s lead was 325 with hopes among Somerset supporters of seeing Durham bat again before the close. By the close, Somerset’s lead had shrunk to 223. Durham, although still six wickets down, were also still a long way behind, but avoiding the follow-on, 74 runs away, was now a reasonable hope.

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

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

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

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.

Toss. Somerset. Elected to bat.

First day 29^th August – “What a day that was!”

You would think that starting a circumnavigation of a small ground like Taunton forty minutes before the match is due to start would give you ample time to get back to your seat in time for the first ball. Not when you have been coming to the ground to watch Somerset since 1958 it doesn’t. I met seven people I knew, and talking cricket to seven people consumes more than forty minutes. The last conversation was still going on behind the covers store when the first ball was bowled. Ben Raine bowled it from the River End, Andy Umeed came forward to defend and edged the ball towards the right shin of Ashton Turner at second slip. Turner reached down, knocked the ball up a few inches and caught it. As Umeed walked off, the Colin Atkinson Pavilion clock showed the time as four minutes to eleven. Someone checked their phone which claimed it was 10.59. Out before the start.

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

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 and 263 for 5 dec. Durham 336 and 15 for 3. Durham need 405 runs to win with seven second innings wickets standing.

Final day 1^st September – Leach supreme

“Did you see that ripper from Archie Vaughan to get Borthwick last night?” was the first question I was asked as I passed the Caddick Pavilion on my pre-match circumnavigation. “Yes,” my reply. “Several times.” Oh, the joy of the Somerset live stream highlights. It was a masterpiece of a ball from the student member of the team, angled in before straightening perfectly off the pitch, passing the edge of the bat and rattling the off stump.

It was one of those circumnavigations which take time to complete. Anticipation was everywhere and when anticipation rules, people want to talk. To talk about that ball, about Vaughan’s debut, about Jack Leach’s rejuvenation, about Abell’s innings, about Somerset’s dominance of the match, about Gregory’s masterstroke of a declaration, about Surrey looking like they might struggle to beat Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, about Essex, climbing the table behind Somerset, looking like they would overwhelm Worcestershire at Chelmsford, and, with anxious eyes turned upwards, the sky. The forecast hinted at patches of rain in the morning clearing by mid-afternoon. The sky was as worrying as the forecast. High cloud, more off-white than grey, and smooth, covering the entire sky. Smooth cloud, in my experience, is liable to produce rain. Too long a rain delay would embolden Durham. It would be a morning of eyes on the middle and eyes on the sky.

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Durham v Somerset 24^th and 25^th 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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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Durham v Somerset 24^th and 25^th 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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