Somerset Rothesay County Championship Div 1 at Trent Bridge Draw 13 pts Report

 

01/08

Day 4

HARRISON SHINES THROUGH IN A FOURTH KOOKABURRA DRAB DRAW

As expected the fourth of the Kookaburra game ended in a draw today with Notts taking 13 points and Somerset 12 points. The last day though deviated slightly off script.

 

Play got under way on the time in a murky conditions after mid-morning light rain. Notts though only batted for 40 minutes losing their last four wickets in 50 balls as they went for quick runs against the very old ball. In the second over of the day, Patterson-White (48) was caught at mid-wicket by Leach off Ball;  514 for 7. Hutton was out for a golden duck caught and bowled by Davey;  521 for 8 in the 154th over. Pennington (7) trying to make room was bowled by Ball; 542 for 9 in the 159th over. Harrison (31 off 34 balls; 3x4) was caught at cover by Leach off Davey. Notts 544 all out off 159.2 overs with Abass 2 not out. Jake Ball 3-76. Notts led by 106 runs with 85 overs remaining.

 

Abbas (Radcliffe Road End) and Hutton shared the new ball. With Somerset 30 for 0 off 7 overs, Pennington replaced Hutton. The game suddenly game to life when Davey (9) was brilliantly caught by Harrison at second slip off Pennington,  32 for 1 after 8 overs. Two balls later, Gregory (17) was caught by Clarke after getting an inside edge off Abbas, 32 for 2. Lammonby found the ropes twice in the 11^th over bowled by Abbas - Patterson-White replacing him for the 13th over. Somerset 72 for 2 after 15 overs at lunch with Lammonby on 24 and Rew on 11.

 

Harrison and Patterson-White were bowling after lunch. In the 19^th over bowled by Patterson-White Rew reverse swept him and then next ball hit a six over long on. Lammonby (38) lost his off stump Calvin Harrison getting the ball appreciably;  100 for 3 in the 20th over. Four overs later, Rew (27) was caught at short leg by Haynes off Harrison, 103 for 4 in the 24th over. Somerset three behind with 61 overs left. Suddenly and albeit only momentarily the game had some edge and uncertainty . Harrison was going some bounce and turn but it was noticeable overs bowled went pass 30, the ball was doing a lot less. Abell and Banton looked settled once more against the spin twins.  Abbas came back for the 41st over. Banton on 16 was dropped by James, on his knees, at second slip off Harrison in the 46th over. Pennington replaced Harrison for the 48th over. Abell pulled Pennington for six in the last over before tea. Somerset 168 for 4 off 50 overs at the interval with Abell on 44 and Banton on 18. With Somerset now leading by 62 – the game by now was now dead.

 

Thirty minutes after tea, Harrison got one to turn and Abell (51 off 116 balls, 5x4, 1x6) edged him to Clarke; 190 for 5 in the 60th over. This was the last wicket to fall with Banton (43 not out) and Vaughan with a 23-ball 0 not out playing out the last 38 balls before Hameed agreed at 16:52 that Somerset could declare on 200 for 5 after 66 overs. Harrison who has clearly benefited from his extended loan at Northants bowled impressively finishing with figures of 24-3-57-3 along with taking yet another outstanding slip chance.

 

Notts after an indifferent first day looked the better team over the last three days. Somerset in my opinion had a far too negative mindset throughout the contest – their need for winning the match being far greater. Notts remain second in the standings nine points behind Surrey and 17 above the Cidermen. MAG

31/07

Day 3

HAMEED DOUBLES UP AS KOOKABORER DRAW LOOMS

This game appears to be heading for a certain draw with Notts leading by 73 runs with four first innings wickets still standing. Notts added 322 runs to their overnight score for the loss of four wickets in another 96 overs of Kookaburra cricket.  Somerset showed that they thought their chances of winning the game were remote by refusing to take the second  new ball with the sole intention of slowing the Notts scoring rate – by the end of the day the ball was 151 overs old. Their ploy worked but you could argue it backfired as it had affected their ability to take wickets – Notts having induced a Somerset collapse against the second new ball yesterday morning.

The morning session was a slow moving affair, Notts advancing their overnight score by 82 runs in 33 overs at 2.48 RPO for the loss of Joe Clarke.  

Notts reached 200 in the 63rd over with a single for Hameed off Pretorius – Notts had taken 8 overs to score 11 runs. Gregory replaced Overton from the Radcliffe Road End for the 64th over with Hameed straight driving him for four. Clarke (42) drove Gregory straight to Abell at mid-wicket; 225 for 3 in the 70th over. The third wicket had added 118 runs in 40 overs of accumulation. The old ball proving very hard to get away. Ball came on for the 78th over. An offside single for Hameed off Leach took Notts to 250 in the 79th over. Notts reached lunch on 271 for 3 off 88 overs with Hameed on 137 and Haynes on 30.

Hameed on 137 was dropped in the first over after lunch, a chance down the legside for Rew off Overton. The North Devonian provided most of the entertainment in the middle session concentrating on bowling short and on the legside but with plenty of childish histrionics thrown in for good measure – the crowd clearly getting under his skin.

Hameed reached his 150 off 290 balls with a single off Davey in the 94th over. A four through extra cover by Haynes off the returning Leach took Notts passed 300 in the 96th over. Haynes reached 50 off 90 balls with a single off Overton in the 97th over. Notts got to their third batting point with seven balls to spare with a single for Hameed off Gregory. Notts 353 for three off 110 overs. Haynes (70 off 127 balls; 6x4) was out in identical circumstances to  Clarke caught at mid-wicket by Abell off Gregory; 358 for 4 off 111 overs. The fourth wicket partnership had accrued 133 runs in 42 overs. Lammonby replaced Leach for the 116th over and conceded 10, two boundaries for James. Vaughan came back for the 117th over. Notts on 387 for 4 off 119 overs at tea with Hameed on 194 and James on 19. The score had moved on by 116 for the loss of Haynes in 31 overs in the session. Notts advancing steadily but against the very old ball they could only score at 3.74 RPO.

The scoring rate increased slightly after tea (3.88 RPO) – the session producing 124-2 in 32 overs. A cover driven four by Hameed off Vaughan took the skipper to his second double ton of the season off 380 balls in the 123rd over, Notts reaching 400 in the same over. In the 125th over, James, attempted a risky single playing Vaughan straight to Lammonby at extra cover. Hameed (208 off 388 balls; 23x4, 2x6) was run out via an accurate throw from Lammonby - Rew breaking the stumps, 406 for 5.  Hameed with 1,108 runs @79.14 is the leading run scorer in the 2025 County Championship. Notts took the lead in the 135th over via a single for Patterson-White off Vaughan. Notts reached 450 in the 138th over. Overton returned for the 140th over and  a single for James saw him reach his 50 off 76 balls. James inside edged a four off Overton then hit him for six over mid-wicket in the 144th over. Patterson-White hit Vaughan for six over long on in the 147th over. Pretorius returned and had James (72 off 94 balls; 7x4, 1x6) caught by Abell at deep mid-wicket, 494 for 6 in the 148th over. The sixth wicket partnership between James and Patterson-White worth 88 in 23 overs. Off the last ball of the Pretorius over a scooped four by Harrison took Notts to 500. Stumps were drawn with Notts 511 for 6 off 151 overs with Patterson-White on 47 and Harrison on 9. Another very dull day of Kookaburra cricket had finally been put to bed.

Meanwhile, 150 miles further north, Surrey beat Durham by five wickets to cement their position on top spot further. The only unknown for tomorrows “action” at Trent Bridge relates to the size of Notts lead and thus whether the handshakes may be delayed by ten minutes due to Notts still having a lead! MAG

30/07

Day 2

SOMERSET INNINGS COLLAPSES BEFORE HAMEED CENTURY 

Notts trail Somerset by 249 runs with eight first innings wickets standing after having the better of the second day at Trent Bridge.

After two hours of early morning rain, the sun burst through at 10:00 and play got underway on time. Pennington had three balls remaining of his uncompleted over from yesterday and with the first ball of the day Leach (0) was caught by James in the gully; 338 for 5. The Somerset 350 came up in the 102nd over. Rew (166 off 278 balls; 14x4, 3x6) miscued an attempted pull shot with keeper Clarke taking the catch down the legside. A third wicket for Pennington, 355 for 6 in the 104th over. Hutton  came on and had Banton (14), chasing a widish delivery, caught behind by Clarke with his first ball of the day, 361 for 7 in the 107th over. James came on for the 110th over, Somerset 367 for 7 at the bonus point cut-off. Vaughan (15) edged James and Clarke took his third catch of the morning diving to his right, 379 for 8 in the 114th over. Patterson-White came on for the 117th over. Harrison bowled the last over before lunch Somerset 396 for 8 after 120 overs at the interval with Overton on 18 and Pretorius on 7. Notts had fought back well - Somerset scoring 58 for the loss of four wickets in 26.3 overs.

In the second over after lunch, Pretorius (8) tamely hit Harrison straight back to his hands; 397 for 9 in the 122nd over. Somerset had lost 6 wickets for the addition of 59 runs. Notts were then frustrated by a last wicket partnership which proved to be the second largest of the innings. Pennington replaced Patterson-White for a single over from the Radcliffe Road End before Patterson-White immediately came back on for the 125^th over. Ball, after hitting three boundaries, was dropped at slip by Harrison off Patterson-White when he had 21. Pennington returned for the following over (131st). The last wicket partnership between Overton and Ball had added 41 before Ball was caught and bowled by Patterson-White.  Somerset 438 all out off 132.3 overs with Overton on 31 not out. Notts had done a magnificent job in restricting Somerset to only 100 runs today. Abbas and the impressive Pennington with three wickets apiece.

Notts had 55 overs to bat until the close. Gregory opened the bowling from the Pavilion End. In the second over, Slater (4) was bowled shouldering arms to Overton; 6 for 1. Any worries of an early Notts collapse were erased when Hameed and McCann added 101 for the second wicket in 27 overs. Hameed hit Gregory for two boundaries in the 5th over. Leach replaced him for the 7th over - McCann hitting him for two fours. Hameed lofted Leach for six over long off in the 11th over. Pretorius' opening delivery was cover driven for four by McCann in the 12th over. Notts got to tea on 78 for one off 23 overs with Hameed on 40 and McCann on 30.

Ball and Leach were bowling after tea. McCann hit two boundaries off Ball in the 26th over. The following over McCann edged two off Leach to take Notts to 100. Hameed got to 50 off 87 balls with a quick single off Leach in the 29th over. McCann (48) was playing far too loosely and it was no surprise when he edged a widish delivery from Ball to keeper Rew; 107 for 2 in the 30th over. Clarke joined Hameed and batted out the remaining 26 overs of the day whilst adding an unbroken 82 for the third wicket. Overton replaced Ball from the Radcliffe Road End for the 34th over. In a double bowling change skipper Gregory brought himself to replace Leach. Notts reached 150 in the 41st over. Ball replaced Gregory for the 43rd over. Pretorius conceded nine in the 44^th over with boundaries for both batsmen. Hameed was dropped on 91 an extremely difficult caught and bowled chance to Pretorius. Vaughan came on for the 49th over, Hameed hitting him for a straight six. Davey came on for the 50th over. A straight drive for four by Hameed off Vaughan took Hameed to three figures in 172 balls and also to 1000 first class runs for the season. Hameed’s composed innings was a joy with shots all round the wicket. Hameed was 103 not out (off 179 balls, 15x4, 2x6) and Clarke 26 not out when stumps were drawn at 18:15 with Notts 189-2.

With the pitch flat, a draw looks the most likely result. Notts though had very pleasingly redressed the balance from 24 hours previously. MAG

29/07

SOMERSET DOMINATE ON DAY 1

after initial Abbas trio 

A county record fourth wicket stand of 313 between James Rew (162 not out off 256 balls, 14x4, 3x6) and Tom Abelll with a career best 156 (off 254 balls, 19x4) dominated the opening day of Notts penultimate championship home game today. Somerset closing on 338 for 4 off 93.3 overs after being inserted.

Kyle Verreynne was back in South Africa at a reception celebrating their recent victory over Australia in the final of the World Test championship so Clarke took the gloves. Into the team came Pennington and Calvin Harrison making his first championship appearance for Notts this season. Making way was Farhan Ahmed who needed a rest following his large recent workload.

Mohammad Abbas bowled a fantastic opening spell from the Radcliffe Road End. Rain had fallen for two hours after sunrise and the sky was initially cloud leaden. With the second delivery of the day he had Gregory lbw for a duck playing no shot; 0 for 1. Lammonby fell for a 10 ball duck caught by Harrison at second slip off Abbas; 0 for 2 after 3 overs. With Somerset 16 for 2 off 9 overs Pennington replaced Hutton from the Pavilion End. Davey (12) became the third victim for Abbas caught behind by Clarke - the 800th first class wicket of his career. Somerset 25-3 after 12.1 overs. The time 11:53, little did we know that Notts would not take the fourth wicket until over 6 hours later with Rew and Abell staying together for 81 overs. Hutton replaced Abbas (9-5-15-3) from the Radcliffe Road End for the 19th over. James came on for the following over and Abell hit his first two deliveries for fours to bring up the Somerset 50. With the Kookaburra now 20 overs old batting had become much easier- the ball hardly ever beating the bat for the rest of the day on the straw coloured pitch.

Rew hit Hutton for three boundaries in the 23rd over, Harrison immediately replaced him. McCann bowled the 28th over. Somerset 90 for 3 off 29 overs with Rew on 45 and Abell on 30.

Notts never looked like taking a wicket in the middle session with Somerset advancing the score by 137 – the sun now shining brightly. Patterson-White and Pennington bowled straight after lunch. Rew reached his 50 off 75 balls with a straight six in the 32nd over. Rew hit three boundaries off Pennington in the 33rd over as Somerset went passed 100. Harrison returned for the 38th over with Rew hitting him for six over mid-wicket. Rew hit Harrison for another six over mid-wicket in the leg spinners following over. The Somerset 150 came up in the 42nd over. Abbas and Hutton came back for the 43rd and 44th overs respectively but this time lacked any potency. Patterson-White returned for the 53rd over. Rew on 92 edged a Patterson-White delivery the ball agonisingly just above Harrison's grasp at slip. A cover driven two for Rew off Hutton saw him to his 100 off 138 balls and Somerset passed 200 in the 54th over. A three to mid-wicket off Harrison saw Abell to his 100 off 165 balls in the 63rd over. At tea, Somerset were 227 for 3 off 64 overs with Rew on 108 and Abell on 103.

Rew and Abell batted with unerring concentration after tea - Somerset reaching 250 in the 70th over. Harrison got the odd delivery to turn but proved expensive. Notts took the new ball with Somerset 281 for 3 off 80 overs but Abbas and Hutton although bowling tidily never really looked like breaking through. A cover driven four by Rew took Somerset to 300 in the 86th over. Next ball, Rew (148) was dropped by Harrison at second slip off Hutton, a very difficult chance above his head. Rew got to his 150 off 239 balls with a single off Hutton. A four through third man by Abell off Pennington saw him to his 150 off 265 balls and also the 300 partnership in the 90th over. Much to everyone’s surprise and relief, Rew finally fell pulling a short ball from Pennington straight to James at long leg, 338 for 4 in the 94th over. The 4th wicket stand had beaten the previous Somerset record of 310 added by Peter Denning and Ian Botham versus Gloucestershire at Taunton in 1980. Abell had also achieved a career best surpassing the 152 not out he made against Warwickshire at Taunton in 2024. Nightwatchman Jack Leach (0 not out) had faced two balls when umpires Bailey and Burns halted play at 18:00 hours for bad light. Play was called off minutes afterwards, 15 balls lost from the play.

Rew and Abell had batted with great concentration on the featherbed pitch against tidy bowling - Notts sticking to their task all day and doing well to restrict Somerset to 3.61 RPO with a short boundary on the Bridgford Road side.

I expect Somerset to pile the runs on tomorrow and it will all come down to how the Notts batsmen handle the scoreboard pressure. The wicket at the moment offers the bowlers next to nothing after the ball loses its shine. It’s looks like it will be hard watch for Notts supporters tomorrow. MAG

Notts squad:

Haseeb Hameed c
Ben Slater
Freddie McCann
Joe Clarke x
Jack Haynes
Lyndon James

Matt Montgomery
Liam Patterson-White
Calvin Harrison
Brett Hutton
Farhan Ahmed
Mohammad Abbas
Olly Stone
Dillon Pennington

Somerset squad: 

Tom Kohler-Cadmore

Josh Davey

Tom Lammonby

James Rew x

Tom Banton

Archie Vaughan

Lewis Gregory c

Lewis Goldsworthy

Craig Overton

Migael Pretorius

Alfie Ogborne

Jack Leach

Jake Ball

28/07

Josh Tongue, and Ben Duckett are as expected retained in the Test squad for the final Test which starts on Thursday, so no Kookaburra vindication exercise for Rob Key this week.

Rob Lord and Dane Schadendorf are both included in the eleven playing in Newport.

27/07

The last hopefully of the Kookaburra ball rounds for the foreseeable future. If Notts put out another fair wicket, then this game too will be a mundane draw by Friday unless one side plays extraordinarily poorly, just like Notts' three other Kookaburra rounds.

No Kyle Verreynne again for this match, as the South African Test squad have been recalled to RSA for an official knees-up.  Might this give someone an opportunity from the second eleven?

Silver foxed

Newell says Clarke or Schadey are in the frame for the gloves...

Would three spinners plus the golden arm Freddie be going over the top? How flat a surface will Notts produce?

Tongue will resume in the England cocoon you have to presume, he was able to get bounce, where everyone else failed, so could the skiddier pace of Rob Lord or Tom Giles be employed, as Brett, Mo and Lyndon haven't had the kookaburra talking...

Might Olly Stone roll up? We might know that the sly old silver fox is is puzzling over once we know the Second Eleven's squad on Monday (away in Newport) against Glamorgan.

It's all about the pitch, just ask Somerset.