County Championship 2024. Division 1. Kent v Somerset. 5^th, 6^th, 7^th  and 8^th 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 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. Somerset 374 for 7. Somerset lead by 90 runs with three first innings wickets standing.  

Final day 8^th April – And the labrador slept on

That Tom Banton ended up bowling the final overs of the day from the Nackington Road End, and a labrador, fast asleep at its owner’s feet, had, by that time, more life in it than the cricket, tells you most of what you need to know about the final day, at least after lunch. However, the first day having been lost to rain, and given Somerset’s history of poor starts to the season, most Somerset supporters were satisfied with the outcome. Above all, the top order had produced runs in early April, albeit on a white pitch. There were also 15 points on the board, enough to secure second place in the embryonic Division One table. Further bonuses were Tom Lammonby looking comfortable in his number three shoes and Kasey Aldridge looking a better bowler than he had hitherto whilst still performing well with the bat. Early days to judge it was true, but it at least brought hope that progress was being made. As to the weather for the final day, the cloud was white and high, thin enough for the sun to cast weak shadows. In its sallow glow, its warmth could be felt, but in the shade a chill wind still blew. There was little in the conditions to encourage Somerset hopes.

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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Kent v Somerset 5^th, 6^th, 7^th  and 8^th 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 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 6^th 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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County Championship 2024. Division 1. Kent v Somerset 5^th, 6^th, 7^th  and 8^th 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 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 5^th April – No play – wet outfield

Second day 6^th 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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County Championship 2022. Division 1. Kent v Somerset. 26^th, 27^st and 28^th 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 26^th 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.

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County Championship Division 1. Kent v Somerset. 10th, 11^th, 12^th and 13^th June. Canterbury.

Overnight. Kent 139 and 24 for 2. Somerset 169. Kent trail by six runs with eight second innings wickets standing.

Fourth day. 13^th June – “Incredible. Just incredible.”

“Incredible. Just incredible.” said the text. And incredible it was. Eight Kent wickets in less than an hour and the sight of Somerset’s Overton brothers gathering slip catches at second and third slip as if they were catching tennis balls thrown to them on a beach. That is the overriding picture that sticks in the mind after a final afternoon sitting in the top of the Frank Woolley Stand at the Pavilion End of the St. Lawrence Ground. Sitting among the images of those Overton catches is one of Davies flying effortlessly down the leg side at full stretch to snare a ball which had found the inside edge of the bat. Seen from behind on a small ground the view of slip and wicketkeeping catches is to my mind one of the great sights of cricket. The action is close, nothing impedes the view and you can watch the arc of the ball all the way to the hands of the fielder unless it flies straight to him. Whereas the ball which flew off the edge of Dickson’s bat and straight into the hands of Hildreth at the far end disappeared into a flurry of distant movement from bat, batsman, bowler and keeper. Only the instantaneous celebration of the cordon and Overton running to the far end, arm held aloft, set the heart racing yet again.Read More »

County Championship Division 1. Kent v Somerset. 10th, 11^th, 12^th and 13^th June. Canterbury.

Toss. Uncontested. Kent required to bat.

Overnight. No play. Rain.

Second day. 12^th June – Astonishing things on an astonishing day

Riding the top deck of the bus from Whitstable to Canterbury and back was rather like watching a team bat on the first day of play in this match. Never restful and full of unpredictable and frequent jolts to the system. Indeed, it soon became apparent that the only thing that was predictable was the unpredictability. There seemed to be more potholes on that road than craters on the face of the moon as every piece of repair work seemed to have settled into the soft subsoil. No-one was likely to fall asleep on that bus. Or at the cricket. 22 wickets fell in the day and the day ended with the match in the balance although with Somerset holding the faintest of edges. Only the faintest of edges because partnerships of any size were at a premium. As someone said to me, “Somerset are ahead by two decent partnerships to one.” And a 2-1 lead is always fragile especially when unpredictability is the order of the day.Read More »

County Championship Division 1. Somerset v Kent. 5^th, 6^th, 7^th and 8^th April 2019. Taunton.

Final day. 8^th April – The will to win

Overnight. Somerset 171 and 171 for 7. Kent 209. Somerset lead by 133 runs with three second innings wickets standing.

There are times when cricket can truly lift the spirits to the heights. If you were a Somerset supporter this was one of those times. Somerset had spent the latter part of the third day desperately trying to pull this match back from the brink of defeat. For that is what the nadir of 32 for 4 in their second innings, still six behind Kent, had represented. The faces of most in the crowd had spoken of resignation to defeat. Tinged perhaps with hope but hope limited to that which could only be provided by a miracle.

It is clear now, looking back, that the Somerset team had other thoughts. Thoughts of turning a lost cause into a winning one through their own efforts. There would be no reliance on miracles on that side of the boundary. The fightback had started at the fall of that fourth wicket. By the close of the third day Somerset had reached 171 for 7, 133 runs into the lead in bowler friendly conditions. Much would depend on what those last three wickets could add on the final morning.Read More »

County Championship Division 1. Somerset v Kent. 5^th, 6^th, 7^th and 8^th April 2019. Taunton.

Third day. 7^th April – Repair job

Overnight. Somerset 171. Kent 84 for 2. Kent trail by 87 runs with 8 first innings wickets standing.

It was a morning of sustained Somerset brilliance. The bowlers, particularly Gregory, Davey and Overton attacked, pressurised and harried the Kent batsmen. It is true the conditions favoured the them. The Quantocks had retreated behind the haze that had shrouded them on the second afternoon. On the third day the scene was even darker than on the second. Taunton’s newly installed lights were on before mid-day and they stayed on until mid-afternoon and, as the evening light faded, for the final over. How many extra hours of Championship cricket they will afford Somerset in a season would be worth monitoring. It may be enough one day to give Somerset the time they need to win a Championship, or to avoid relegation.

I arrived an hour before the start, the Sunday bus timetable and the gathering Taunton marathon seeing to that. It may have been darker than the previous morning but it was much warmer too. The wind had dropped. In two coats it was actually quite pleasant and two teams of cricketers playing football brought an air of familiarity which had been strangely absent from the scene on the previous morning.Read More »

County Championship Division 1. Somerset v Kent. 5^th, 6^th, 7^th and 8^th April 2019. Taunton. 

First day. 5^th April – No play. Rain. 

Second day. 6^th April – ‘Rushing your fences’

There was a heavy mist on the Quantocks as if they had not quite kicked off their winter duvet in time for the start of the season. The point, which, viewed from the top of the Somerset Pavilion, sits neatly on the end of the Sir Ian Botham Stand, was virtually invisible as it slumbered in the mist. The ground was just as somnolent. The crowd rather lazily gathered itself together.Read More »