v Worcestershire (FPT) @ Taunton Sunday 18 May 2008

Scorecard

Radio Coverage on Somerset Sound from 2:00 (link on left hand menu)

It is on Radio Hereford ad Worcester @12:00 but I can't access it I'm afraid 

The weather looks a little kinder this lunchtime as we welcome the wet boys of Worcestershire to drier climes.  We rest Ben Phillips and bring in John Francis.  They win the toss and put us up first.  There's a bit of wind and we play;

Trescothick, Kieswetter, Langer, Hildreth, de Bruyn, Blackwell, Trego, Thomas, Francis, Jones, Willoughby.

Why the choice of Francis as the extra batsman and no extra spinner?  Langer must be expecting a few runs today and Frank is an asset in the close field.

Well if he is expecting runs, they aren't coming from our lot at the moment.  Kabir Ali seems keen and comes in steaming for the first over.  Marcus doesn't deal with his fourth ball inswinger at is trudging back without a score to his name or a run n the ball before the end of that first over!.  Justin comes in at number 3 and Magoffin gives him an easy start by no balling first ball and offering a free hit which his fellow Western Aussie deposits very close to the "Centre of Matchday Operations" without a bounce.  We take 10 off his first over and have reached 17 by the end of the second.

Unfortunately while Langer stabalises one end, Kieswetter waddles at one of Magoffin's second over offerings and Davies says "Thanks" and we are 22 for 2 one ball before the end of the fourth heralding James Hildreth to the wicket with a fervent prayer that he will build something huge with his skipper.

Then we get the unwanted bit of genius from a guy who probably shouldn't be here!!  What someone here calls a "careless slap" from Hildreth arrives in the vicinity of Vikram Solanki at a kind of deep point position.  He stunningly holds on to it with his left hand and the hero of the Championship game leaves the field for 2 to have us floundering at 32 for 3 at the end of the 8th.

Gareth Andrew replaces Ali at the OP for the 9th with 33 on the board.  The response of the Worcerstershire press people is interesting.  They don't yet see him as the 'saviour' of the Pears.  They already accept that although he can be dangerous he can also go for many.  His first over yields 7 as Backwell comes out to work some magic - one hopes.  Now Worcestershire people are FAR more worried about him being at the wicket!!  Hope their fears are more than confirmed!!  Batty takes over from Andrew after only one over - we'll probably see him from the River quite soon.

But first Somerset go past the 50 mark off 13.5 before Gareth re-appears at the River.  Blackwell is in 'Mighty blow' mode but not if there is a risk to his wicket.  A towering six onto the OP roof is not the main shot he is utilising but it comes every now and again.  His straight drive is also part of the menu today and a couple of boundaries are saved by the stumps at the other end and a flailing hand of a close fielder (and I bet he wishes he hadn't got there because it nearly takes his hand off).

Meanwhile at the other end Langer is making hay while Gareth fails to shine.  He goes into the 40's from a rank long hop that throttles away to the museum boundary and then the ex-Somerset seamer offers him up exactly the same ball with exactly the same result for his 50 (off 60 balls with 1 six and 6 fours.  Somerset have 84 at 20 overs and the 100 comes up halfway through the 25th.  Given this position one would expect a score quite a long way over 200 (but then again this is Somerset)!

So we get to milestone territory as the partnership passes the 100 mark at 132 in the 29th.  Close on its heels is a free hit to Mr Blackwell on 47 and we all look for a big smack somewhere to bring up his personal half ton.  Unfortunately it goes close to the boundary but also to a fielder and we have to wait another 4 balls before he passes 50 a 145. We had 139 at the 30 over mark so we're looking at something in the 250-270 range.  However that is assuming that these two stay together and start to put the speed on.

That isn't going to happen because after a 59 ball 50 with 2 sixes and 2 fours Ian misjudges a Magoffin ball and loses his stumps and his side move to 146 for 4 as he departs for 53.  In comes Zander de Bruyn not the choice in the press box because we need to move from here and ZdB isn't that batsman.  Peter Trego was probably the choice most of us would have made for the next slot given the situation.

Nevertheless the 150 comes up in the 34th.  Magoffin finishes with 10/1/33/3 and we move off at a run a ball with not a lot of urgency.  250 looks a long way away I'm afraid. But we've hit 194 by the 41st and Justin wants to push it. His 100 comes off 124 balls with the six and 10 fours at 196 and the 200 comes at the start of the 43rd but we've only taken 65 off the last 13 overs and it isn't speedy enough.

Cue two consecutive sixes to the skipper f 43.2 and 43.4 to take him to a quickfire 117.  Unfortunately he tries a third and is caught by a Mr Hick in front of the Colin Atkinson. 217 for 5. Out walks John Francis.  A bit of a shock really because we all thought we would see Trego coming out to push the score along.  However, Frank looks to go for it from the start and to try and stop it Worcestershire bring Gareth back from the OP for the 45th.

John has some kind of 'head fit', comes up the wicket and tries some kind of flip over fielder's heads.  Instead he puts the ball straight up in the air and we all wait for what seems like and age for it to come down into the keeper's hands. 238.  They did cross and Zander faces the next ball tries to belt the cover off it and skies it straight to Solanki to put Gareth on a hat-trick.  Steffan puts that prospect to bed by stoking the next one off the strip and then helps Trigger to take the home side past 250 at the end of the 48th.

Debates about a defendable score?  250 is the minimum and the boys are having to push it when it probably wouldn't have been necessary with a more enlightened selection of the next man in.  Trego looks in form and attacks from the off.  We go to 259 after a six from him but a slightly slow turn around on a certain two leaves Jones too much to do and he is run out.  Alfonso Thomas comes out to face 7 balls and Trego goes for it hugely smacking them everywhere.  Why is this man waiting to bat?  He is finally bowled after 2 fours and 2 sixes take him to 31 off 16 balls.  Why did two batsmen come in before we chose the man for the chase and why put a man so obviously in form with the bat under pressure that wasn't necessary?

Charl comes in to face one ball, he belts one and Alfonso helps him run 2.  We finish on 278.  We should have nearer 300.  Bad start, good recovery, bad end.

Alfonso as opening bowler shock!!

Alfonso opens at the OP against Solanki and Davies and does a failry credible job.  6 off the first is followed by an excellent opener from Willoughby with only 1 run allowed. The Worcs batsmen do get the measure a little in the next two but Davies gets a little too flippant and plops Charl Willoughby straight into the hands of Peter Trego at square leg to give the first opening to the home side at 19 for 1.  The Royals pass 25 at the 5 over mark and Somerset start the variations with Peter Trego replacing Thomas for the 7th at the OP.  His third ball has Moeen pushing at one that snicks something and Kieswetter gratefully receives the second wicket at 27. Trego again?  Is it going to be his day? 

Seems so because he keeps tempting Solanki to try and go over the in-field. Twice he tries it and nearly fails, especially one stop from Ian Blackwell which only just falls short. The third time he gets it just right from a Somerset perspective and clips the ball straight into the hands of Charl Willoughby. 33 for 2 at 10 overs becomes 36 for 3 during the 12th and in comes Mr Greame Hick.

All those times Hick has been the thorn in Somerset's side...well today things are different.  With 6 to his name facing Willoughby he bottom edges a wide long hop to the keeper and it's 43 for 4.  Worcestershire are nowhere near this one at the moment but "topsy turvey" at Taunton is always on the cards and no-oone is calling this one yet.

A double change takes place for the 18th and 19th overs;  Blackwell takes over from Willoughby at the River (and doesn't do a 'Batty'  - going for a bucketload) while Thomas replaces Trego at the OP.  meanwhile the score has hammered over 50 to......60 at the start of the 20th. 

The partnership between Smith and Mitchell is starting to look a little worrying.  So much so that at 25 overs with them on 91 for 4 there is very little in it.  Langer brings Trego back at the OP and finally introduces Steffan Jones at the River (he'll probably bowl him through) to get among them.  Ben Smith could be this game's thorn by the looks of it with Batty and Andrew to come.  Maybe this is the day that Taunton witnesses the batting prowess of Gareth Andrew?

By the 30th very little has changed.  Jones and Trego are making it difficult but they aren't looking like changing the Worcestershire personnel. 113 for 4 is a score that keeps them in touch and this game may very well come down to the difference in the bowling prowess of two England spinners Batty v Blackwell. The run rate is pushing 8 per over and boundaries are in very short supply so the 'press' may make the final score immaterial but both the Royal batsmen are also moving towards 50's at the same time.

But worry is allieviated once again as Peter  gets Ben Smith as plumb as you would like for 39.  A 78 run stand is broken and Somerset are back in the controlling seat of this game.  But they haven't put the last nail in the Worcestershire coffin just yet as Gareth Batty comes out.

It has been pointed out that Trego had nothing to do with this game until the 47th over of our innings and since then he's dominated the game.  He finishes with 10/1/37/3 and must put himself up for a reconsideration of where and how we use him when he is in this kind of form.  Ian returns to the fray from the River end and the encounter moves into its last important phase.  His performance in the next 16 overs is key to a Somerset victory.  Jones moves to the OP end for the 35th and the run rate moves over 9 per over 151 off 16.

Defiance from Mitchell keeps this game just in the possible realms of going wither way but the rate keeps going up.  Deathman Jonah turns the screw at 138.  He cleans up Batty, has Kabir Ali LBW at the same score and then says goodbye to any Andrew highlights by skittling him with out a run to his name.  Mitchell is still tere but he's running out of partners and he starts to look for a boundary an over as he builds a partnership with Magoffin.

Zander is introduced to fill the gap between the present point and the return of Willoughby who has 2 in the locker.  Magoffin lookos better than many give him credit for and the two men move the score towards 200 and the run home.  However the pressure continues to build and as Mitchell goes into the 90's he tries to push it too far and de Bruyn has him caught on the boundary by Charl.  The other Jones tries to keep Magoffin company but ZdB finishes it by bowling the number 11.  We win by 84 runs.

Solid rather than spectacular.  More worrying than it should be because of our inability to defend these targets recently.  But more really impressive bowling from Charl - tight and dangerous with 2 wickets.  Great death bowling by Jones. A 'take notice boys' performance from Trego who is seeing the ball through magnifying glasses at the moment - if only his teammates would appreciate that and get him in earlier!  Another 100 from captain Langer.  The press boys were all commenting on his present miserable demeanor to the press.  Maybe this will get him talking to them and smiling about it.

Gloucestershire at Bath is starting to look like a really important match.

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