Somerset Vitality County Championship Div 1 at Taunton Day 4 Draw 10 points

 

Day 4

Farmer White's View

BICKNELL + WELTON CAN RELAX AS RAIN CAUSES ABANDONMENT

Just nine overs were possible at Taunton today with Notts adding a further 22 runs.

Play started on time in very dank conditions with Overton (Trescothick End) and Pretorius sharing the bowling duties.

Young went passed his previous career best of 162 for Central Districts versus Auckland at the Eden Park Outer Oval in March 2018. With Notts on 434 for 2 off 114.5 overs the ball was replaced and its replacement started to move and bounce as suddenly batting became much harder. At 1139 very little rain stopped play with Notts 440 for 2 off 119 overs with Clarke on 213 and Young on 174. Interrmittent drizzle hung around and play was abandoned at 1330.

The stand of 392 was 14 behind club record partnership, the unbroken stand of 406 between Darren Bicknell and Guy Welton against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 2000. MAG

Day 3

NOTTS ALL TIME THIRD-WICKET PARTNERSHIP RECORD FALLS

as magnificent Clarke and Young halt Somerset charge

A magnificent day for Notts saw them close on 418 for 2, now leading Somerset by 157 runs. After losing Haseeb Hameed in the 3rd over of the day, Joe Clarke (209 off 304 balls, 25x4, 1x6) and Will Young (156 off 303 balls, 14x4, 2x6) batted superbly to bat the remainder of the day in a superlative act of concentration. So far they have added 370 for the third wicket in just under six hours beating the 121 year old club record for that partnership. Both innings were chanceless.

On a cloudy morning, Somerset made an early breakthrough when in the 17th over, Hameed (20) was bowled, playing down the wrong line, by Overton, 48 for 2. The fourth time this season that the skipper has been bowled this season. It was clear from early on, the wicket held no real demons and remained very slow and Clarke and Young saw off Overton and Pretorius relatively easy. Gregory and Davey replaced them with Young and Clarke standing firm. Skipper Gregory constantly changed the bowlers. Bashir came on and then both Goldsworthy and Lammonby had overs from the River End. In the 44th over, a single for Clarke off Bashir saw him to 50 off 88 balls. Notts 140 for 2 off 45 overs at lunch with Clarke on 51 and Young on 41. Notts having added 102 in 31 overs for the loss of Hameed in the morning session.

Bashir switched ends straight after lunch, bowling in tandem with Pretorius. The South African bowled the best spell of the day straight after the interval getting a number of balls to keep low. The Notts 150 was achieved in the 49th over. Young got his 50 off 135 balls with a well timed four through square leg off Bashir. Clarke hit Bashir for six over mid wicket in the 51st over. Pretorius conceded 16 in the 56th over including three boundaries for Clarke as Notts passed 200. Clarke was playing the situation superbly. There was then a double bowling change when Overton and Gregory replaced Bashir and Pretorius for the 57th and 58th overs respectively. A boundary through point off Gregory saw Clarke to to third ton of the season off 136 balls, the dual role of batting and keeping clearly having a beneficial effect. Renshaw had a twirl with his off breaks from the 68th over with Notts reaching 250 via a lofted four from Young. A cover driven four by Clarke off Renshaw saw Notts take the lead in the 72nd over. Bashir returned from the Trescothick End for the 73rd over and Lammonby for the following over from the River End. Notts got to tea on 281 for 2 off 78 overs with Clarke on 140 and Young on 89. Neither batsmen in any real trouble underneath the afternoon sunshine.

The two batsmen added further 137 runs in the remaining 32 overs. The new ball was taken with Notts 291 for 2 off 80 overs with a mid wicket boundary by Clarke off Overton taking him to 150 off 217 balls. In the following over bowled by Pretorius Notts reached 300. The new ball holding little potency on the flat deck with tiring bowlers. A four through point by Young off Pretorius took him to 100 off 234 balls. The Notts 350 was achieved in the 95th over via a cover driven boundary by Clarke off Bashir. In the following over, Young hit Bashir for a straight six. Harrison's efforts so far this match have exceeded England's new spin kid on the block. Next over, Young hit Goldsworthy for a six over long off. Clarke reached the second 200 of his career off 284 balls with a single off Goldsworthy. The Notts 400 was achieved in the 105th over. Young reached his 150 off 297 balls with a single off Pretorius. In the last over of the day, a pulled boundary by Young off Pretorius took their partnership passed the Notts 3rd wicket partnership record of 367 by Gunn uncle and nephew (William and John) versus Leicestershire at Trent Bridge in 1903. Notts closed on 418 for 2 off 110 overs. Clarke and Young had both batted superbly to put Notts into a position of gaining a draw, which 24 hours earlier seemed unlikely.

With the wicket so flat, it's unlikely that Notts will declare so all onus is on the Somerset bowlers to knock over the remaining Notts batsmen in the first half of tomorrow. MAG

Day 2

NOTTS' STRUGGLES CONTINUE

This was another painful day's cricket for any Notts fan to endure. Somerset gained a massive lead of 261 and then removed Slater as Notts closed with a deficit of 223 with two days still to play. The Cidermen were standing on 262 for 7 with a lead of 69 when the second new ball was taken but then added an unbelievable 192 in 32.5 overs with Craig Overton with an unbeaten 95 (off 111 balls, 9x4, 1x6) and South African all rounder Migael Pretorius with 77 (70 balls, 8x4, 2x6) Notts lacked spark and imagination throughout most of the day. The captain over bowling his four right arm medium pace seamers and criminally under bowling Calvin Harrison (4 for 93) who was the lone shining light in a soul destroying day where Notts played to what they currently are, namely a bottom of the table side

Somerset started another sunny day on 116 for 1 off 33 overs. Notts picked up an early wicket when in the 37th over, Dickson (72 off 108 balls, 12x4) was caught low down in the covers by Jack Haynes off Fletcher (Trescothick End); 126 for 2. Nightwatchman Davey hit three boundaries off the 44th over bowled by Paterson to bring up the Somerset 150. Notts made a double bowling change in the 46th and 47th overs with Hutton and James coming onto bowl. Notts suddenly started to get the ball to move. In the 50th over, Hutton had Lammonby lbw for 17, 167 for 3. Goldsworthy (3) became the fourth wicket to fall when he edged James into Clarke's gloves , 170 for 4 in the 53rd over. James bowled a six over spell from the Trescothick End before being replaced by Paterson. Next over, Fletcher replaced Hutton. Somerset 194 for 4 at lunch time off 62 overs with Davey on 44 and Banton on 13 having added 78 in the morning session.

Banton hit three successive boundaries off Fletcher to guide Somerset past 200 in the 64th over. Harrison had his first bowl of the day in the 68th over and with his second ball he bowled Davey for 45: 218 for 5. A short ball from James, in his second over of his new spell stopped in the pitch and Rew (12) mistimed an attempted pull shot and the ball balloned to Haynes at short square leg who took the catch; 243 for 6 in the 75th over. Next over, Gregory (1) was dismissed leg before to Harrison: 246 for 7. Banton reached his 50 off 80 balls with a single off James. The first Somerset batting point was achieved in the 78th over. The new ball was taken by Fletcher and Hutton with Somerset 262 for 7 off 80 overs, from this point the Notts wheels well and truly dropped off as they became increasingly dispirited, 2019 all over again.

Banton and Overton attacked the new ball with Somerset reaching 300 in the 86th over. Paterson came on to bowl the 87th over. Harrison returned for the 90th over. Banton finally departed for 83 (off 114 balls, 11x4) caught low down by substitute Patterson-White at mid wicket off Paterson. 314 for 8 in the 91st over. Overton, went into overdrive reaching his 50 off 67 balls with two off Harrison in the 96th over. Overton hit James for six over long leg during the last over before tea. Somerset 347 for 8 off 97 overs at tea with Overton on 57 and Pretorius on 10. They were to add a further 117 in 15.5 overs in the last session.

The 50 partnership between Overton and Pretorius ceme up in 50 balls with successive boundaries by Overton off James. Pretorius, who despite batting at ten, boasts a first class batting average of 27, hit James for a straight six in an over which went for 18. In the following over the 104th, Somerset reached 400. Harrison changed ends for the following over. The 100 partnership came up in 95 balls and the 29 year-old Pretorius reached his 50 off 52 balls in the 107th over bowled by Harrison. Pretorius was dropped on 57 by James at mid wicket off Harrison, a difficult chance above his head and blasted at him. Somerset 437 for 8 off 110 overs, Notts only picking up two bowling points. Pretorius hit Harrison for six over square leg in the 111st over. Montgomery belatedly came on for the 112th over and with his fourth delivery bowled Pretorius for 77, 453 for 9. The ninth wicket stand had added 139 beating the previous Somerset record against Notts which was the 110 added by Harold Stephenson and Ken Palmer at Bath in 1962. In the next over, Bashir (0) skied Harrison to Hameed at extra cover. Somerset 454 all out off 112.5 overs. Overton 95 not out not for the first time making mincemeat of the Notts bowling attack. Harrison 4 for 93 stood out as Paterson, Fletcher, Hutton and James had little effect on the very slow surface. Paterson and Hutton looking pale shadows of the bowlers they were in 2023. Somerset led by 261 runs after the first innings. There is a chasm between the abilities of the Somerset and Notts respective tails.

Overton (River End) and Davey opened the bowling. In the 4th over, a mistimed pull from Slater (8) saw him well caught by Dickson running back a considerable distance from mid wicket off Davey, 8 for 1. After four over spells for the new ball pair they were replaced by Pretorius and Bashir. Hameed (16 not out) and Young (12 not out) saw Notts to the close on 38 for 1 off 14 overs.

Notts saved matches against Warwickshire at home and Kent at Canterbury, against the odds last season, they probably need to bat for the best part of five sessions to save this one. MAG

Day 1

SOMERSET DOMINATE ON DAY 1

Somerset completely dominated the opening day at Taunton, closing 77 runs behind with nine first innings wickets still standing.
On a very slow surface Notts elected to bat and after a disappointing display could only muster 193 in the Taunton sunshine. The Somerset bowlers,without Jake Ball who was left out of the eleven, got the most out of the somnolent surface by bending their backs. Too many Notts batsmen were out when seemingly well set. The best partnership was the 66 added between Clarke and Montgomery for the 4th wicket. When Somerset batted the medium Notts attack could get little from the surface which made for a very one sided day.

Notts mistakenly rested the pacy Pennington, dropped Patterson-White and had Duckett unavailable. In came Hutton, Paterson and Young.

Somerset were on top from the word go. Craig Overton (River End) took a wicket with the third delivery of the day as a leaden footed Hameed played on, 0 for 1. Overton's opening partner was Jack Davey. Young joined Slater in the middle and they had appeared to have led Notts to calmer waters.

South African Pretorius came from the Trescothick End in the 10th over. Skipper Lewis Gregory had a bowl from the River End and in his fourth over had Slater (25) caught behind by Rew, 49 for 2 in the 19th over. Davey returned for the 20th over. In 21st over things turned bleaker for Notts , Young was adjudged lbw to Gregory for 27, the balĺ looking like it was going over the stumps, 52 for 3. Pretorius swapped ends and replaced Gregory in the 25th over, Clarke hitting him for two boundaries. Overton replaced Davey for the following over. Notts 72 for 3 off 29 overs at lunch with Clarke on 11 and Montgomery on 9. There was a bit of life in the wicket during this session, but the wicket played a lot easier in the remaining two sessions.

Notts had a terrible afternoon session. Gregory and Overton were bowling in tandem immediately after lunch but Bashir got his first bowl in the 36th over from the Trescothick End and a six off the fourth delivery by Clarke over mid wicket brought up the Notts 100. Montgomery had a let off when on 24 when he was caught behind off his glove attempting a reverse sweep off Bashir, umpire Warren not giving the decision. Davey replaced Overton for the 41st over. Clarke (39) was caught off a shortish delivery at mid wicket by Banton off Bashir 118 for 4 in the 42nd over. A terrible dismissal and was to be the start of another dreadful Notts collapse as seven wickets went down for 75 runs.

Montgomery hit two fours off Bashir's fifth over as Notts briefly fought back. Haynes (5) failing to move hit feet was caught behind by Rew off a moving delivery from Davey, 139 for 5 in the 47th over. After a seven over spell Bashir made way for Overton and with his fourth delivery had top scorer Montgomery (48) caught low down to his left at second slip by Lammonby. Harrison (0) lasted two deliveries before edging Overton to Gregory at first slip; 153 for 7 after 50 overs. Pretorius picked up his first wicket for Somerset as he trapped James leg before for 18, 183 for 8 in the 59th over. Hutton played a delivery from the returning Gregory into the covers and set off for a single and was sent back by Fletcher. Unfortunately he was slow to turn and was run out via a direct hit from Goldsworthy, 185 for 9 in the 60th over. Fletcher (6) was the last wicket to fall edging Pretorius to Rew, 193 all out in 62.4 overs. Paterson 1 not out. Overton was the leading bowler with figures of 3 for 57. Somerset had bowled very few bad balls, too many Notts batsmen were culpable for their own dismissals. Tea was taken between the innings

Fletcher (Trescothick End) and Hutton opened with three successive maidens but did not trouble Dickson and Renshaw. A cover driven boundary by Dickson off Hutton saw Somerset off the mark off the 19th delivery of the innings. After three overs from Fletcher on came Paterson. Fletcher swapped ends and returned from the River End in the 12th over. Renshaw was beaten by Fletcher off the 93rd ball off the innings, the first time Notts had beaten the bat during the innings. Hameed turned to James for the 17th over. The Somerset 50 was clocked up in the 19th over. Paterson replaced the economical Fletcher for the 24th over. Harrison's first ball was hit for a single by Dickson as he reached his 50 in 68 balls in the 25th over. The scoreboard was periodically putting winviz on display, such was magnitude of Notts' first day performance their chances of winning were quoted at seven percent.

Somerset reached 100 in the 29nd over with Notts very quiet in the field. Finally a wicket came. Renshaw departed caught by Montgomery at slip off Harrison for 34, 111 for 1 in the 31st over. Somerset closed a day of nearly complete sunshine on 116 for 1 off 33 overs with Dickson on 70 and nightwatchman Davey on 1. A very poor day for Notts, which reflected their position in the table, in front of a large Taunton crowd. MAG

18/04

The Notts thirteen: 

Haseeb Hameed c

Ben Slater

Will Young

Joe Clarke x

Matthew Montgomery

Jack Haynes

Lyndon James

Liam Patterson-White

Calvin Harrison

Brett Hutton

Luke Fletcher

Dillon Pennington

Dane Paterson

17/04

Has Will Young joined the squad? (tick, yes he has)

Has Ben Duckett done enough to satisfy his England masters?

Is Monty going to get another chance?

Will they drop LPW to bring in another seamer?

Is it a case of who's fit from Dane, Fletch, Dill or Brett, and hoping they can muster three names ?

But at least the Duke ball is back, until September...

Haseeb Hameed c

Ben Slater

Will Young

Joe Clarke x

Matthew Montgomery

Jack Haynes

Lyndon James

Liam Patterson-White

Calvin Harrison

Brett Hutton

Luke Fletcher

Dillon Pennington

Dane Paterson

Ben Duckett