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Day 2 Report: Somerset v Lancashire, 30th June 2014
by John Ward


Ground:County Ground, Taunton
Scorecard:Somerset v Lancashire
Event:LV County Championship 2014

DateLine: 30th June 2014

 

Match Report: SOMERSET v LANCASHIRE
Day 2, from John Ward at Taunton

Close of play: Lancashire (266) v Somerset (193/2)

 

Marcus Trescothick was in determined mood on the second day of Somerset’s match against Lancashire at Taunton. He made a painfully slow start and can rarely have begun an innings so slowly, but he hung in there until he was assured, and then he forced his way through to reach three figures, being still unbeaten with 107 at the close. With him was Alviro Petersen on 57, out of 193 for two, which gave Somerset very much the better of the day’s play.

 

The day began with a minute’s silence in memory of Damian D’Oliveira and Brian Roe, the former Somerset opening batsman of the early sixties. Lancashire resumed at 221 for six wickets, with Tom Smith on 16 and Wayne White on 1. White hammered the first ball of the day for four through the covers off Luke Gregory, but this was no foretaste of the morning’s events.

 

It was to be a keen struggle, but with few memorable achievements. Gregory struck back in his next over by removing Smith lbw for 14, but his third over of the day saw Glen Chapple hitting him for 14 runs, including three fours. This was a rare oasis in a rather bleak morning for the batsmen. A couple more slogs, more widely space, made Chapple the second batsman of his team to reach 20, but in the meantime he lost White, who played a ball from Alfonso Thomas on to his leg stump for 13; 249 for eight.

 

Kyle Hogg dug in with Chapple, neither batsman aiming to take control, but when George Dockrell came on to bowl he wrapped up the innings within an over. His first ball had Hogg caught at slip for 4, and he was much too good for Simon Kerrigan, lbw third ball, closing the innings for 266. Chapple was unbeaten with 27. In an hour and a quarter Lancashire had lost their last four wickets for the addition of 45 runs. Three bowlers took three wickets apiece, Thomas, Gregory and Dockrell, of which Thomas, who conceded only 34 runs from his 23 overs, had been consistently the best.

 

The slow, dry pitch reportedly pleased neither batsmen nor bowlers, and certainly the Somerset top order regarded it with the utmost suspicion. Their openers scored a solitary run off the first six overs, and had managed to amass a total of 10 without loss off the same number of overs when lunch came to their rescue. Trescothick took 31 balls to scrape his first run, and had 2 off 36 at the interval.

 

The trench warfare continued into the afternoon session. Chris Jones was the first batsman to depart, beaten and bowled by Chapple for 11, the total being 19 for one in the 17th over. Nick Compton also showed few signs of his ability, crawling to 9 off 49 balls before he too was bowled, with the board now reading 49 for two in the 35th over. The next over saw the team 50 finally reached.

 

With Petersen in to accompany Trescothick, the scoring rate now started to improve, partly because Lancashire were now bowling in tandem the inconsistent White and the alluring Kerrigan. White did have Trescothick dropped in the slips on 25, a difficult chance, but he began to climb into the bowling now, although almost running himself out in stealing a risky single to bring up his fifty off 144 balls. It contained eight fours, a six and a large quantity of dot balls. His third run actually made him the highest scorer ever in first-class cricket on the Taunton ground, beating the 7228 of Lionel Palairet, set up more than a hundred years ago.

 

Tea came at 91 for two, Trescothick on 50 and Petersen 16. In the final session Chapple and Hogg returned to force down the scoring rate again with their great accuracy; Hogg’s first 11 overs cost 7 runs. But the batsmen plodded through until they were rested, but Steven Croft then had Petersen, on 37, missed off a difficult high catch on the midwicket boundary, the ball bouncing off Kerrigan’s upstretched hands for six. The century partnership soon followed, obtained within 30 overs.

 

Trescothick finally completed his century, which took his 219 balls; it was his 54th in first-class cricket. Petersen soon followed with his own fifty, off 116 balls. The rest of the Lancashire bowling looked quite innocuous to these international batsmen who were intent on building a good lead for their team in a pitch they didn’t trust, however long it took them.

 

At the close, therefore, Somerset had closed the gap on Lancashire to 73 runs, and still had eight wickets in hand. Victory is in their sights, and looks likely to be achieved if they show the same concentration and determination until it is completed. Lancashire have a lot of ground to make up.

 

(Article: Copyright © 2014 John Ward)

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