Turning the tables
County Championship Division 1. Warwickshire v Somerset. Day 3
Warwickshire 419 and 146; Somerset 308 and 8/0
Vic Marks likes to recall how Brian Rose, as captain of Somerset, would give the same team talk before every big game. “This”, he would announce to his troops, “is the biggest day in Somerset’s cricket history.”
The day in prospect as I write maybe doesn’t quite qualify for such hyperbole, but it does certainly have the potential to make or mar Somerset’s 2019 County Championship campaign. Essex having rolled Kent over for 40 in the second innings down at Canterbury, and knocked off the 153 they needed to win, it means that Somerset will also need to win if they are to keep pace at the top of the table. Defeat won’t destroy their challenge, but it would leave it holed below the waterline.
But I suppose the remarkable thing is that we are even in a position to talk about winning, when you consider that less than an hour into yesterday’s play, Somerset were 193/6, still 226 behind, with Steve Davies walking back to the pavilion, 109 to his name. The height of our ambition then was to save the follow-on. Given that Warwickshire would probably be happy with a draw, that would be a big step towards saving the game. A batting point or two would be a welcome bonus.
That still looked to be the situation, even after an innings of great determination and common sense from Dom Bess and some well-judged blows from Craig Overton had kept the first innings deficit to 111. My firm expectation at that stage was that, on a still largely unresponsive pitch, Warwickshire would bat until just before lunch on the fourth day, leave Somerset an impossible target, and the game would peter out as a draw. But that was to reckon without some complacent batting from Warwickshire and an inspired burst of genuinely fast bowling from Jamie Overton, well supported by his captain, Tom Abell, with 3/26 and 4/39 respectively. There was pace from Overton and swing from Abell, and before you knew it, Warwickshire had been bowled out for 146. So, 258 to win and plenty of overs in which to get them. Just as at Canterbury, the tables had been turned with a vengeance.
There was time for only 2.5 overs before the light faded and the umpires took the players off, much to the relief, no doubt, of the Somerset openers. When I spoke to Steve Davies afterwards, he was optimistic as to Somerset’s chances of scoring the 250 more runs that they need, which is of course what you would expect him to be. But there are genuine grounds for hope. There is a bit more in the pitch, but it’s helping the seamers more than the spinners, so perhaps Jeetan Patel won’t be quite the fourth innings threat he might appear. With Babar Azam in the team, this is, on paper, as strong a batting line-up as Somerset have fielded all season. And, Patel apart, Warwickshire’s is very far from being the strongest attack in the first division.
I’m making no predictions. A big day lies ahead!
Warwickshire 419 and 146; Somerset 308 and 8/0
Vic Marks likes to recall how Brian Rose, as captain of Somerset, would give the same team talk before every big game. “This”, he would announce to his troops, “is the biggest day in Somerset’s cricket history.”
The day in prospect as I write maybe doesn’t quite qualify for such hyperbole, but it does certainly have the potential to make or mar Somerset’s 2019 County Championship campaign. Essex having rolled Kent over for 40 in the second innings down at Canterbury, and knocked off the 153 they needed to win, it means that Somerset will also need to win if they are to keep pace at the top of the table. Defeat won’t destroy their challenge, but it would leave it holed below the waterline.
But I suppose the remarkable thing is that we are even in a position to talk about winning, when you consider that less than an hour into yesterday’s play, Somerset were 193/6, still 226 behind, with Steve Davies walking back to the pavilion, 109 to his name. The height of our ambition then was to save the follow-on. Given that Warwickshire would probably be happy with a draw, that would be a big step towards saving the game. A batting point or two would be a welcome bonus.
That still looked to be the situation, even after an innings of great determination and common sense from Dom Bess and some well-judged blows from Craig Overton had kept the first innings deficit to 111. My firm expectation at that stage was that, on a still largely unresponsive pitch, Warwickshire would bat until just before lunch on the fourth day, leave Somerset an impossible target, and the game would peter out as a draw. But that was to reckon without some complacent batting from Warwickshire and an inspired burst of genuinely fast bowling from Jamie Overton, well supported by his captain, Tom Abell, with 3/26 and 4/39 respectively. There was pace from Overton and swing from Abell, and before you knew it, Warwickshire had been bowled out for 146. So, 258 to win and plenty of overs in which to get them. Just as at Canterbury, the tables had been turned with a vengeance.
There was time for only 2.5 overs before the light faded and the umpires took the players off, much to the relief, no doubt, of the Somerset openers. When I spoke to Steve Davies afterwards, he was optimistic as to Somerset’s chances of scoring the 250 more runs that they need, which is of course what you would expect him to be. But there are genuine grounds for hope. There is a bit more in the pitch, but it’s helping the seamers more than the spinners, so perhaps Jeetan Patel won’t be quite the fourth innings threat he might appear. With Babar Azam in the team, this is, on paper, as strong a batting line-up as Somerset have fielded all season. And, Patel apart, Warwickshire’s is very far from being the strongest attack in the first division.
I’m making no predictions. A big day lies ahead!
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