Somerset
Fox Hunt CC1
By Farmer White et al
April 25 2021
The first Farmer front page of the season - I did an intro into the Middlesex game so held off creating two front pages and We didn't do ourselves justice in our second game so.... here we are people. Thanks to FW for his work in advance. I will use the first day report when I can and link people into the rest on Farmer's own site from there. All good stuff. Finally Tom L gets some runs but i'll leave the rest to the author.
This match was played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus restrictions in place. This report was therefore written following a day watching Leicestershire CCC’s live stream of the match, without which this report would not have been possible. The stream was watched with the commentary muted and with notes being taken to enable the author to replicate as far as possible his experience of watching matches live.
County Championship Group 2. Leicestershire v Somerset. 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th April 2021. Grace Road.
Leicestershire. M.S. Harris, M.H. Azad, H.E. Dearden, C. Ackermann (c), L.J. Hill, H.J. Swindells (w), B.W.M. Mike, C.F. Parkinson, C.J.C. Wright, D. Klein, G.T. Griffiths.
Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, T. Banton, T.B. Abell (c), J.C. Hildreth, G.A. Bartlett, S.M. Davies (w), C. Overton, L. Gregory, J.H. Davey, M de Lange, M.J. Leach.
Toss. Leicestershire. Elected to bat.
First day. 22nd April – A seesaw of a day
As far as could be told through the lens of the live stream camera at the start of play it had looked a good toss to win. There was not a cloud in the sky, at least in that part of the sky which the camera revealed above the houses stretching along the edge of the ground. Neither, from the distant view offered by the camera, could I see any sign of grass on the pitch. It looked white when compared to the deep green of the two strips on either side of it but had more of a brown hue when the camera produced a closer view.
The heart, at least this Somerset one, sank therefore when Abell lost the toss. If Somerset are to build a challenge for a place in Division One in the second phase of this competition, they may need to win this match, for Hampshire and Gloucestershire have already opened up a significant gap at the top of the Group 2 table. By the end of the day, there was still not a cloud in the sky, in Leicestershire or in Somerset for that matter, as the sun shone bright the day long. The perceived advantage of winning the toss however had faded in the face of 13 wickets, the fall of which was aided by movement in the air and off the pitch.
Leicestershire started brightly enough as Hasan Azad and Marcus Harris negotiated the opening overs from Overton and Davey, although both bowlers caused the batsmen more trouble with movement than the early score suggested. When Azad steered Overton safely over the slips for four and Harris drove Davey through the covers for four more it seemed a long day in the field beckoned for Somerset. When Harris edged Gregory short of slip at one end and Azad edged Overton short of and past a diving slip fielder for four at the other, I edged a little forward in my armchair. Only a little, because long decades of cricket watching teach the seasoned supporter that such narrow escapes for batsmen can be harbingers of wickets to come or mirages of hope which fade with the passing overs. Somerset supporters would have been glued to their screens hoping for the one, Leicestershire ones hoping for the other. And so, the thoughts of rival supporters sit at opposite ends of an emotional seesaw. A seesaw which, as that second edge ran to the boundary, would have had the emotions of both sets of supporters suspended precariously in midair.
At 39 for 0 after 15 overs Leicestershire hopes might have been a little higher than Somerset ones. When lunch was taken at 68 for four after 29 overs, the seesaw of emotions had Somerset supporters riding high in relief or hope, depending on whether they were of the glass half empty or glass half full variety. Leicestershire supporters, their end of the seesaw beginning to sink, might have been worrying about what might follow once play resumed. The shift in fortunes was assisted by the help for the bowlers which came off the pitch and in the air. The Somerset bowlers at least had made the most of it and added to the pressure it created with testing accuracy.
That shift in fortunes began when the left-handed Harris, perhaps trying to break the tight lines of the Somerset attack, had attempted to drive Gregory through the covers. The ball was perhaps a little wide for the stroke, he overstretched and edged the ball back into his stumps. A sigh of relief passed my lips as it felt like the match was back in balance. Now Azad, Leicestershire’s second left-handed opener, pushed for Leicestershire as the pressure from the Somerset bowlers continued unabated. A square drive when Gregory overpitched in his next over raced to the boundary. In his next Gregory struck back at Leicestershire with an inswinger. It hit the pad of Dearden, another left-hander, and persuaded the umpire to raise his finger. Leicestershire were 56 for 2.
Azad continued to resist, and Leicestershire inched forward at just over two runs an over. It was seven more overs of continuing pressure from the bowlers before a ball reached the boundary when Azad cut Tom Abell, Somerset’s fifth bowler of the morning, square for four. Again, Somerset struck back. A full ball from Marchant de Lange, in a testing and quick spell, defeated a slightly late stroke from Ackermann. The ball struck the pad in front of middle and leg stumps. 68 for 3 with lunch fast approaching was beginning to look like Somerset’s morning. There was no doubt when Azad attempted to cut and edged a wide ball from a spectacularly delighted Abell into the gloves of Steven Davies. A score of 68 for four as the players left the field, with the four wickets being taken in 14 overs for 29 runs, made it Somerset’s morning, particularly so as Azad had looked capable of building a significant innings.
It really began to look like it might be Somerset’s day when, after lunch, Harry Swindells was beaten by a sharply lifting ball from Overton. The line was a foot outside off stump, Swindells ducked away to leg whilst trying to swat the ball with a flailing bat. From the bat, the ball flew towards Leach’s midriff at second slip, Leach only succeeded in knocking the ball in the direction of James Hildreth’s head at first slip, Hildreth’s stretching hand knocked it towards his ankles where he caught it six inches above the ground. That demonstration of cricketing slapstick should have caused my heart to miss a beat, but it all seemed to happen in less time than it takes a heart to beat. 74 for 5 though soon set it beating a little faster. The game, or the day at least, was now moving quickly Somerset’s way, and the mood of Leicestershire supporters must have been somewhere near the lower reaches of the arc of their end of the seesaw.
The Somerset bowlers did not relax. They continued to apply the pressure through Overton and de Lange who both challenged the batsmen incessantly in the forty minutes or so after lunch. The last six overs of their post-lunch duet cost just five runs. Hill and Ben Mike were given no leeway and took none as they fought Leicestershire’s corner equally hard. When Gregory and Davey took up the attack the batsmen began to look more settled, runs began to flow and Hill in particular began to look for attacking opportunities. Davey was driven through extra cover while Gregory was clipped off Hill’s toes and then cut, all to the boundary. Abell and the left-arm Lammonby took up Somerset’s cause and briefly applied the brake with just one run coming in four overs from their medium pace before Hill and Mike began to move the score along again. Mike brought up the fifty partnership when he drove Abell through extra cover for four. Leicestershire had reached 127 for 5 and their overall scoring rate was rising towards two and a half runs an over. The seesaw was still, it felt, angled in Somerset’s favour but Leicestershire’s fortunes were beginning to pick themselves up.
I received a text, “Time for Leach.” Abell soon came to the same conclusion. Leach’s first ball defeated Mike’s forward lunge and struck the pad directly in front of the stumps. It ended an innings of 26 scored in an hour and a half of determined defence alongside Hill. At 133 for 6 it felt, to the Somerset supporter at least, that Leicestershire had a toehold, if a flimsy one, in the game. The toes began strengthening their grip as Hill, supported by Callum Parkinson and with the ball now softening, took the attack to Somerset. Twice in an over he drove Leach to the boundary, once through point and once through backward point. Then he brought up his fifty with a square drive for four off de Lange. With Parkinson rotating the strike, ones and twos added to the increasing momentum as their partnership reached four an over. Somerset, it seemed still had the edge, but the Leicestershire end of the seesaw must have been continuing to rise.
Now, in a match that was showing signs of becoming one of ebbs and flows, Overton and Lammonby applied a brake on the scoring. Two runs, and those from an edge dropped by Hildreth as it fell low to his left at first slip, came in three overs. Then, when Hill tried to turn Overton behind square, the ball struck the leading edge and looped to Banton at midwicket. Leicestershire were 180 for 7 and Hill was out for 68 ground out in over two and a half hours of determined defence and judicious attack. When Chris Wright was bowled by an exceptional ball from Lammonby which was bowled across him and cut in markedly to straighten and hit the off stump, Leicestershire were 185 for 8 and Somerset’s hold on the day was tightening again. The Leicestershire mood must now have been falling and the Somerset one rising as the seesaw of emotion continued to move the mood of the two sets of supporters, as any cricket match does, in opposite directions.
No sooner had the eighth wicket fallen than Leicestershire’s fortunes began to rise again. Callum Parkinson, first in a stand of 28 with Dieter Klein for the ninth wicket and then one of 20 with Gavin Griffiths for the tenth, took Leicestershire to 233 all out. Parkinson drove the miserly Lammonby square for four and Klein drove de Lange through the covers for an all-run four. Again, the call went up for Leach and again Leach delivered to the relief of Somerset watchers. Bowling from wide of the crease he angled the ball in and bowled Klein through another defensive stroke. Twice in succession Gavin Griffiths, batting at eleven, edged Abell between slip and gully for four before Parkinson ended the over by driving him through the off side for another four. Such end of innings partnerships have their term of course and eventually Overton, heading an impressive performance from the Somerset attack, induced an edge from Griffiths to Davies with a hint of away movement.
What sort of score Leicestershire’s 233 was on this pitch will, as always, become clear as the match progresses. Somerset were left with 11 overs to bat, at the end of which we were no nearer knowing the strength of that score. Somerset went onto the attack from the first ball of their innings and plundered 53 runs in those 11 overs. It reduced the deficit to 180, but those 53 runs came at a stiff price as the Leicestershire bowlers removed three of Somerset’s top four batsmen and forced Somerset into deploying Leach as nightwatchman.
Wright’s first over gave little hint of what was to follow and cost Leicestershire 17 runs. Banton drove the first ball through the covers for four, then turned the second to leg for three. Lammonby, having failed to score in his last three innings, drove his second ball impressively past the bowler’s stumps to the boundary and edged his third wide of third slip for another four. A no ball made up the 17. Klein, bowling the second over to Banton, suffered too as an off drive and an on drive through midwicket both reached the boundary. Banton had 15 from 8 balls. It is how he plays, as the saying goes, but he is yet to convince as a red ball opener and Somerset supporters would have been simultaneously crossing their fingers and holding their breath as he attacked the bowling.
Lammonby looked less sure of himself as he faced Wright’s second over and was out to the fifth ball. It was the perfect ball for the situation, pitching on middle and straightening off the pitch. It struck Lammonby on the pad as his bat made to turn the ball behind square and then stopped in mid stroke. The Somerset heart sank, for Lammonby had shown enormous promise with centuries in the Bob Willis Trophy but now looks woefully out of sorts. When Klein, bowling left arm over, swung a ball into Banton, Banton failed to adjust and was also out lbw. Somerset had fallen from 25 for 0 to 25 for 2 in the space of three balls. The seesaw was fast levelling up.
Somerset’s two most experienced top-five batsmen were now together in Abell and Hildreth, and every Somerset supporter would have been willing them through their screens to hold on until the morning and then regroup. Hildreth rarely plays a holding on game. His instinct is always to attack the ball if it presents itself for an attacking stroke. Having survived a big lbw appeal from Klein to his second ball he steered his fourth neatly wide of third slip for four. Such is Hildreth’s approach. When he is out early, he attracts criticism from some, but by such an approach has he scored 46 first-class centuries and 17,400 first-class runs at an average of 42, although that has edged back from 43 over the last two years. That average, and Somerset’s prospects in this match, suffered further damage when, with four overs remaining before the close, he attempted to repeat the steer past third slip, edged it low to Ackermann at second and Klein had his second wicket. Somerset were 39 for 3, still nearly 200 behind. From there Abell and Leach took Somerset to 53 for 3 at the close.
Neither set of supporters will sleep easily, for there is little comfort in a match resting on a knife edge. With Somerset still 180 runs behind, Leicestershire supporters may rest a little more easily than Somerset ones with their end of the emotional seesaw perhaps rising just above the horizontal.
Close. Leicestershire 233 (L.J. Hill 68, C. Overton 3-39). Somerset 53 for 3. Somerset trail by 180 runs with seven first innings wickers standing.
More can be read on Farmer's own site www.farmerwhite.co.uk
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:04:27:14:52:08 by Grockle.
[farmerwhite.co.uk]
And, for anyone who had the misfortune to miss it ... here is the link to my second day report:
[farmerwhite.co.uk]
Farmer
But the Foxes will be without opening batsman Sam Evans, who made a first innings 138 in a run-fest at The Oval last week. He was hit on the head by a Jamie Overton delivery, and has to undertake a regulatory concussion break.
Leicestershire have named a squad of 13: Ackermann (c), Parkinson, Hassan Azad, Dearden, Alex Evans, Griffiths, Harris, Hill, Klein,, Mike, Patel, Swindells (wkt), Wright.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:04:21:22:53:49 by Grockle.
Whether they will play is another thing but as neither of them are front line batsmen you have to assume that the top five will remain the same.
In the same order? Well we will see tomorrow but they are in that order on the squad sheet.
Jack Leach may not play?
Josh Davey hardly bowled in the second half of the game last week, is he fit? One would assume so because he has been picked.
Jack may be back to integrate into the squad again.
They surely won't play two spinners?
Interesting - shame for young Goldsworthy who can do little more but his time will come.
Aside from our batting issues, I thought Jack Leach looked well below par last week, as - to a lesser extent - did Lewis & Josh. No idea why.
Am guessing the team will likely be unchanged, albeit quite possibly with a changed batting order (get the raffle box out).
Meantime, Lewis Goldsworthy must now be knocking very firmly on the door of the Somerset First XI dressing room.
Grizzers
I think Banton and Eddie were both in that situation in the last few seasons and it has certainly happened before that.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2021:04:22:02:09:31 by Grockle.
And now, in the post-lunch sessions, LG and JD are not totally on their game and starting to let Leics back into this a little.
As opposed to playing the same 11 three games in a row & giving no opportunity for any rest or refreshing regardless of form or fitness.
You have to question the decision to have him open this game again.
39 for 3 now..... against Leicestershire Not good at all.
We’ve seen this Somerset movie before.
The bowlers will have to try and save us again.
James. What was that ?
Where is the application chaps ?
Sooo exasperating.
Grizzers
They’re going to have to look long and hard at the opening tandem for the second Middx game, rather than just being stubborn about it.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:04:22:21:53:23 by Devonboy70.
As to the run out, the key question seems to be whether the umpire was even looking.
We must cash in on Lady Luck’s favours!
I’d still rather see Leachy open in red ball than Banton.
We still need to find a way to add another 100 or so here.
Leachy Will be encouraged by the help on offer BUT Parkinson is bowling sufficiently well that I don’t know that we have enough of a lead to off-set the disadvantage of batting last on this dry surface?
Really enjoy watching Steve play, he is just immensely classy with the bat.
Grizzers
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:04:23:16:29:44 by AGod.
Time for Jack to wheel some wonders.
Grizzers
Hill battled very well indeed in the first innings. I assume Tom will revert to Cove and Davey first up and we must hope they can separate this Hill-Patel tandem quickly in order to transfer the pressure back onto our hosts.
Fingers crossed for a couple of early breakthroughs.
[farmerwhite.co.uk]
And, for ease of reference, here is the link to my First Day Report:
[farmerwhite.co.uk]
Farmer
The umpires have a very difficult job at times, and sometimes they make bad errors.
The run-out was one of those times when they said he wasn't even looking. If he was looking there was no way he could have given Tom Abell run-out.
I tried to take a snapshot with the ball hitting the stumps, without any luck. This is the best I could do. He may have been just short of the crease when the ball hit the stumps, the photo show a micro second later he was in.
.jpg?width=960&height=720&fit=bounds)
There seems to be some dispute as to whether or not the umpire was able to see it. There's no dispute that he was retreating, at a rate of knots, and with his back to the stumps, but the question is whether, or not, he managed a glance over his shoulder, as he did so.
The Leics lot claim to have freeze frame photos showing Tom short of his crease. Whether said photos show it to have been sufficiently close that Tom should not have been given the benefit of the doubt, even if the umpire had seen the incident, I do not know.
As an aside, I believe that both sides have generally done a good job of running between the wickets, to try to put some pressure onto the bowlers.
Patel is out though, no doubt about that one.
Something else that I love about MDL is the alacrity with which he gets through his overs. I have never, ever seen a 90mph quick get through his overs so quickly ... and one reason it’s important is that, if he has you under pressure, you have little to no time between balls to compose your thoughts.
I suspect that MDL should be paired with a spinner, more often than not, because a paceman operating at the other end may be less keen on MDL racing through his overs, in the blink of an eye, since the guy bowling from the other end will get naff all breather between overs.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2021:04:24:13:11:18 by AGod.
Would anybody who was watching the live stream be able to advise whether these were due to overthrows, hit helmet or, probably unlikely, all run fives.
Thanks in advance
Jack is presently nowhere near his best and he would be run fodder at the moment against most credible batting attacks. MdL is warming to his task while Brooksie is getting back to normality.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021:04:24:15:33:59 by Grockle.
As for the current situation, I'm not saying anything else until the game is over !
Grizzers
One imagines that Abell has used all of his luck for the season, on the being dropped front!
Needed that - a welcome and much-needed victory after the Gloucester match. And while I didn't watch much, Overton looked a complete handful, and seemed to get wickets at absolutely crucial times. Good to see Lammonby get runs when a few early wickets might have made it a little more stressful.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend, people! I've got washing to bring in, a lawn to mow and then I believe there's a bottle of Aussie chardonnay in the fridge, which I'll indulge in later.
Craig bowled superbly yesterday & today.
We still have plenty of work to do to get back to our best, but this was a very encouraging all round effort.
(I'm still unconvinced that Tom Banton should open though !).
Grizzers
Tougher tasks ahead of course but a good recovery.
I have started a series of blogs related to information links to Domestic Cricket in all of the full member ICC countries. The County Cricket section contains: links to scorecards, full match videos (cued to when the day's play begins), highlights, and match articles from each side in each match. Rounds are linked to each other and for each Round, all information is linked to from a single page, including links to the home side's Youtube site, which is the easiest, least cumbersome way to find the live feeds. In this way, if you are interested, you can easily switch from one feed to another. Round 3 has been updated through Day 3:
County Cricket, Round 3, Day 3
I have also completed work on the New Zealand Domestic 2020-21 season (they also have lots of full match videos and highlights), and on the latest from Afghanistan. Am working on the other countries.
Enjoy
Enjoy
County Cricket Links Roun 4, Day 1-2
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