v Glamorgan CC2 @ Taunton 3 August 2004

After the hammering of Yorkshire away a fortnight ago and the good performance with half a first tea, against the unbeaten Sri Lankans, we seem to have finally acquired a taste for four day cricket.  Glamorgan are going through a rocky patch at the moment but are still always dangerous this side of the Channel.  Their batting strength outwieghs their, 'bits and bobs' bowlers but they have Simon Jones back to increase the venom quotient.  We welcome back Richard Johnson and say a big hello to Ricky 'Punter' (as it seems I am required to call him) Ponting.  Rob Turner also keeps the rumour mills turning by being handed the gloves with lots of stories doing the rounds about his impending departure.

Winning the toss and deciding to field might have been the first surprise of the day, unless you were in Taunton and saw the overcast and semi-muggy conditions.  It paid off ( the second surprise of the day!) with Johnson making early in-roads by removing two of the top three for 14 within his first four overs - welcome back Johnno!  But as Frankie Senior said on the radio this morning, it only takes one player to get in on the County Ground and you've got your work cut out.

With Matt Elliott in at one end, Powell started to look ominous.  At 85, Simon got into his groove.  He removed Powell (85), Maynard (99), Hughes (113) and, after a bit of resistance, Croft (166) and final C&B'd Harrison (170) to take the middle order out comprehensively.  McLean and Blackwell accounted for Thomas (who stood with his Aussie team-mate for 92 runs making an excellent 8th wicket 54) and Kasprowicz before Nixon cleaned Elliott's clock at 103 and the Dragons had gone for 262.

Francis had 5 for 42 with the other guys giving good overall support and sharing the other 5 around.  We had the whip hand and it was now up to the wood men to keep it.  Losing Frank Junior at 19 was not actually in the master plan but the discussions about whether to play Bowler (who has announced his retirement at the end of the season) rather than Wood were forgotten when he and the Ozman took us to 143 - a stand of 124 before the close of play. No collapse this morning and we are calling the shots for the next two days.

Good plan, good execution and a winning position at the end of the first day.  Can't ask for much more really can you?

Day 2

Well it didn't go EXACTLY to plan... A 210 run partnership between Peter and Ricky put us at 229 for 2 but when Ponting went for an excellent and very much needed 117, it all went a bit pear shaped.  You've got to be looking for a score in the high 500's with that kind of start but we lost the next four wickets for 50 and had to re-consolidate through Rob Turner and a very sedate Ian Blackwell.  Bowler went for 86 (so he isn't the guy to make way for the favoured Wood at the moment), Hildreth didn't bother the scorers (maybe we should rest him instead?) and Burns and Laraman provided a mere 11.

With a small lead, we throttled back and set up for the long haul.  Croft bowled himself a lot (thank God) at a time when the seamers looked to be getting swing and movement but the two Somerset boys accumulated with the odd tonk for four or six off the said Welshman and added 85 without giving any real chances before Noddy was 'slipped' by Maynard.

Richard Johnson played the game he probably ought to have played on Sunday and went for the shots helping Blackie add another 27 but Jones was fired up and it was a question of whether the rest would survive until he hit his well-deserved and intelligent ton.  Unfortunately, this became academic when, two short, he belted one to Matt Elliott and that was really it.  Nixon came out to give it some agriculture, missed and was LBW for one and we had gone for 394.  One hundred short perhaps, we had opened the window of hope for the Welsh but we were still a good way ahead.

Out came Glamorgan with all guns blazing.  Wallace and Elliott took 76 off the first 12 overs, with Simon Francis going for 20 off his first two.  But we pulled them back in and by the close they had only added 21 from the next 13 and stood at 97 for 0.  We are still 34 ahead but this game has swung away from us and we need a consolidated effort one the morning of the third day to get among them and show we CAN bowl a side out and keep our bowling shape under pressure.  Someone needs a tight five-fer to break the Welsh resistance.  It's going to be hot and humid so the conditions suggest it is possible before the haze burns off.  It stands or falls on Thursday I am afraid.

Day 3

Belongs to one man and one mand alone.  Ian Blackwell - batting allrounder and 'occasional spinner' returned figures of;

35.5 overs, 12 maidens, 90 runs and 7 wickets!

Career best figures on a day when he bowled through unchanged and turned Glamorgan's attempt at forcing a win into a 'survival for pride' exercise.  Richard Johnson capped a satisfying return to fitness and wickets with 2 and Simon Francis got the ever popular Robert Croft shouldering arms!!

But it was Blackie who broke the initial 126 partnership of Wallace and Elliott at 126 and then proceeded to whip out the next 4.  Hemp at 136, Powell three balls later without scoring, the very dangerous Matt Elliott for 85 at 188 and Hughes 21 minutes later at 196.  Glamorgan were dead and gone and although they added another 98, Maynard produced 25 of them and the excellent fighting spirit of Thomas generated his second 50 of the game at number 8.  Blackie finished them off and left us just over 160 to get.  The only question he didn't answer was - would we get them before the end of the 3rd day?

Peter Bowler and John Francis were charged with the task of starting our reply and it was strange to see Bowls leading off that reply for one of the last times now that his retirement in 2004 is official.  You can't question the use of PB really.  If you want a stable start to an innings, you can't choose better.  He could continue, he's as fit as a butcher's dog and can still outfield most of the side (as witnessed by his racing around the boundary on Day 1 and the blinder of a catch he took).  he has chosen not to becasue he sees his job as to stand aside for the young guns now that they seem ready.

That has been Peter since he came to Taunton. He came to do a job to the best of his ability.  He plpayed his role to the full rather than sitting out his twilight years and we have had the honour of watching one of the best English (don't let his accent fool you) opening bats never to play for his country.  Over the next few weeks, applaud everything this guy does because it will be a long time before "we see his like again!!"

Back from the plaudits, the openers commenced to put on a stand of 103 with JD playing the swashbuckling role with increasing confidence and PB accumulating in his own inemitable style.  Not for the first time, Bowler reached the quicker 50, even though it didn't seem like it but Frank Junior was the first to go...bringing Ricky Ponting to the wicket.  Now was the Ozman in a hurry?  Well the speed was decided quite early when Bowler was caught for 55 trying a speculative (very speculative) hook.  And out came James Hildreth.  Now he wasn't hanging about, so Punter wieghed anchor at one end and allowed the 'Young Pretender' to have his head. 

Hilda finished the game with a boundary on the floor and a six into the Business Prefab and recieved a handshake from the captains of the World's best team for his trouble.  We walked away with a very impressive 8 wicket victory and 21 points in the pocket.  It was Blackie's  match but the picture of the World's best congratulating the youngest Somerset player on the pitch was well worth seeing as well.

Epilogue (For those of an older disposition, this is not a Quinn Martin production!!)

Where does this put us in the context of 2004 prospects?  Well our one day form is still poor and Ricky hasn't had a major effect on that yet.  BUT our four day form is improving dramatically and the confidence may wear off on other matches.  This win doesn't do our table position much good but it does alter the level of team confidence.  Glamorgan are going through a bad patch and we are passing them going into depression.  However, we had them and they tried to get away and we slapped them down again so we had a level of consistency that has been lacking in past games. 

We go to Durham with vengance in our hearts.  The season's problems started there at the home fixture and they must pay.  If we come away with that game in the bag then the situation could be far more interesting.  We have big players to face in the coming weeks. If Hampshire suffer here and we can take points from Leicestershire and do the double over Yorkshire, we could do some damage in the CC2 table.  The crucial game, from our point of view would be the Trent Bridge clash with the present leaders Nottinghamshire at the end of the month.  If we won that one then there could be something to salvage from this year yet!  It's not quite over yet people.....not quite!  BUT one slip up would do it...can we keep things going post-Ponting?  Let's do the Riverside first and see shall we?

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