Somerset
Not with a Hat-Trick but with a whimper - Hampshire Day 3
By Farmer White et al
October 6 2024
It could have been a historic last game of the season. A day to eclipse all Championship days. But that ended a game ago and this was the last day of a game we had underperformed in. However, hope was still there and Lewis Gregory almost made it possible. But in the end.... I'll let Farmer finish the season.
County Championship 2024. Division 1. Somerset v Hampshire 26th, 27th and 28th September. Old Trafford.
Tom Banton was unavailable due to an ankle injury.
Somerset. A.M. Vaughan, T.A. Lammonby, A.R.I. Umeed, T.B. Abell, T. Kohler-Cadmore, J.E.K. Rew (w), K.L. Aldridge, L. Gregory (c), M.J. Leach, A.R.J. Ogborne, S. Bashir.
Hampshire. T.E. Albert, F.S. Middleton, N.R.T. Gubbins, J.M. Vince (c), T.J. Prest, L.A. Dawson, F.S. Organ, B.C. Brown (w), J.K. Fuller, K.J. Abbott, Mohammad Abbas.
Overnight. Somerset 136 and 60 for 4. Hampshire 196. Scores level with Somerset having six second innings wickets standing.
Final day 28th September – Hat trick …
Out! Hat trick! Third ball of the Hampshire second innings. Hampshire 0 for 3. James Vince gone. That is how quickly the mind works when the ball is travelling from the edge of the bat towards second slip. Lewis Gregory, bowling, lifted his arm, one finger pointing to the sky in triumph. It was the third edge in those first three balls. All flew towards the wicketkeeper and slip cordon. Gregory’s fighting 59 had just given Somerset an unexpected lead of 120 and a ghost of a chance of winning this game. Now, that third ball, speeding from the bat edge, low towards Kasey Aldridge’s ankles supercharged the hope. The entire crowd, in unison, jerked forward in their seats.
Two balls before, the first of the Hampshire innings, I had been behind the Trescothick Pavilion when a chorus of sharp cheers erupted. “Sounds like a wicket,” the person next to me said. “It is a wicket,” replied someone just beyond the edge of the Pavilion. Toby Albert had played a straight, defensive stroke to Gregory. There had though been no forward movement from Albert and the ball had swung neatly, if marginally, away. A replay shows a distinct edge and the ball being caught by James Rew diving to his right. Hampshire 0 for 1.
After illness in the winter of 2023/24, it took me the summer of 2024 to rebuild my fitness sufficiently to climb to the top of the Trescothick Pavilion without becoming breathless. Now, back in my seat in the elevated section, I was breathless again so quickly had I rushed up those stairs, some of them two at a time. But I was there in time to see Gregory running in for his second ball. This time, he bowled around the wicket from wide of the crease, the ball angled in, targeting the left-handed Nick Gubbins’ off stump or just outside. Gubbins had to play. He edged the ball low but straight towards Andy Umeed’s ankles at fourth slip. Umeed bent and, in as understated a way as is possible, took the catch. The thousand or so people in the ground let rip a colossal roar, it was so loud in the top of the Trescothick Pavilion that it pummelled the eardrums. It was deafening. Then people chuckled in disbelief, it had all happened so quickly. Hampshire 0 for 2. A lost cause suddenly had hope, visions of the final day against Surrey were resurrected. Miracles do sometimes happen at Taunton.
Eyes back on the middle. James Vince to the crease. Gregory in again. This time the ball took a line just outside the right-hander’s off stump. Vince moved behind it, offered a straight bat, the ball shaded away, clipped the edge again and flew towards Aldridge’s feet. Gregory began to celebrate. Aldridge’s hands cupped around the ball, or so it seemed, but as the hope soared, the ball appeared on the other side of the hands and ran far enough behind them for Vince to run two. Instant deflation. Disbelief of a different sort. The pit of the stomach cavernous in its emptiness. “He’s dropped it,” someone said as if trying to convince themselves it had really happened. The two runs hurt too. When your side is defending 120, any runs hurt. But the drop wounded. It broke the spell that the first two wickets had created, a spell which had the crowd in its grip and seemed to have the Hampshire batters in its grip too. But that ball running away behind the slips took the spell with it and the anguish and disappointment which followed swept away the explosion of anticipation that had filled that instant when the ball was between the edge of the bat and Aldridge’s feet. The pit of the stomach felt heavy indeed.
The day had begun with no thought of such a start to the Hampshire innings. The match scores had been level overnight, with Somerset already four wickets down and seemingly with little hope of forging a lead which might challenge Hampshire. With the ball only 22 overs old, it would mean surviving early spells from Kyle Abbott and Mohammad Abbas, something which Somerset had struggled to do, against Abbott in particular, in recent seasons. Victory seemed an unlikely prospect. Ben Brown standing up to the stumps as Tom Kohler-Cadmore faced Abbas suggested movement. Before Abbas’s second over was out, Kohler-Cadmore had offered a straight, defensive bat, the ball had swung in, but perhaps not by as much as Kohler-Cadmore had anticipated. It passed the outside edge and neatly removed the off bail, its absence looking stark to a Somerset supporter in the top of the Trescothick Pavilion. Somerset 62 for 5. Kohler-Cadmore 17. Somerset lead 2. Hope sinking.
That brought Aldridge to the wicket. His start was not propitious. He edged his first ball between second and third slip. There was, as so often in the modern way, a wide gap between the two. The ball flew through the gap at catchable height and crossed the Lord Ian Botham Stand boundary for four. Another edge past the slips followed. A glance off Abbott steered the ball across the boundary in front of Gimblett’s Hill, but it brought a faintly ironic, “Hooray,” for Aldridge had looked far from secure. When, in Abbott’s next over, he attempted, with no foot movement, to steer a ball pitched well outside off stump past the slips, he edged it low towards the now more traditionally spaced slips. Tom Prest, at third slip, dived fast and low to his left and took a brilliant catch. Somerset 75 for 6. Aldridge 11. Lead 15. Someone in front of me stood up and said, “I have to go into town, this will probably be over before I get back.” No one argued.
Enter Lewis Gregory. Liam Dawson, another thorn in Somerset’s side in recent years, had replaced Abbas at the Trescothick Pavilion End with his slow left arm spin. Gregory, who had already driven his fourth ball, from Abbott, through the covers to the Colin Atkinson Pavilion boundary for four, now set about Dawson. In Dawson’s first over to him, Gregory lofted the ball straight towards the Trescothick Pavilion for four, then straight again, one bounce across the rope, the ball just clearing the flailing hand of the straight deep mid-off fielder as he ran desperately towards it, then through the covers to the old Legends Square and that spot where the ghosts of those who used to frequent the old Stragglers bar reside. They would have gloried in that stroke.
And finally, off the last ball of the over, Gregory struck Dawson straight into the lower level of the Trescothick Pavilion. As boundary followed boundary the cheering grew in intensity. At first defiant, by the end of the over there were cheers of hope. There were 19 runs from the over including the single with which James Rew, at the crease overnight, had presented Gregory with the bowling. It took Somerset to 98 for 6. The cheers subsided into a hubbub of expectant chatter, although perhaps expectant of more defiant boundaries than of any realistic hope of victory. A cold, hard look at the scoreboard revealed that, even after that explosive over, Somerset were still only 38 runs ahead and still had only four wickets in hand.
Now Gregory changed down a gear or two and became speculative in his approach with singles rather than boundaries the main scoring fare as he and Rew edged Somerset forward. Then Rew attacked Abbas. A drive through straight midwicket rapped the Priory Bridge Road boundary boards, but two balls later he attempted to drive through the covers, the ball swung away late and Albert took a stunning catch, leaping high to his left at second slip. Somerset 108 for 7. Rew 19. Lead 48. Virtually all hope gone, the pit of the stomach sinking fast.
Lewis Gregory is the most laid-back-looking cricketer on any cricket field, but his demeanour belies a core of steel and an unbending determination to win. Now, with Jack Leach, not without an inner toughness of his own, he set about trying to make the impossible possible. Gregory made no attempt to protect Leach, both ends needing to perform if Somerset were to make progress. The two of them worked together to keep the score moving and the strike rotating despite hope being a distant prospect.
When Leach edged Dawson past slip towards the Lord Ian Botham Stand, he and Gregory ran their hearts out to turn two into three, no acceptance of defeat in that running. When Leach drove Abbas through the covers to the Somerset Stand for four, someone shouted, “Shot,” with perhaps a trace of hope. Then three singles came from the rest of the over as Leach and Gregory pushed the scoreboard on, 67 now the lead. Not remotely enough, but building. In Abbas’s next over, Gregory drove through the on side to the Hildreth Stand and cut past the slips to the Trescothick Stand. Two more singles took the score to 137 for 7. Lead 77. Gregory and Leach were playing with such intent and precision that it was easy to find yourself wondering, just wondering, might they be able to stay there long enough to add enough to give themselves a wisp of chance with the ball? Until you looked at the scoreboard. That, as always, landed reality in your lap with a bump.
They saw off Abbas, James Fuller replacing him at the River End. When Gregory cut Fuller over backward point to the Ondaatje boundary, the shout of, “Hooray!” was no longer ironic. Then Dawson was withdrawn from the attack to be replaced by the off spin of Felix Organ. Gregory immediately drove Organ straight to bring up his fifty to loud, extended applause. A cut from Leach off Organ brought three more quickly gathered runs to a shout of, “Well run!” and applause from a now fully engaged crowd.
“Returning at the River End, Kyle Abbott,” the announcement. “I think they have had enough of this,” the comment from in front of me. Abbott’s destructive record against Somerset lent credence to the comment. Gregory responded by driving Abbott’s first ball through the covers to the Priory Bridge Road boundary to take Somerset’s lead past a hundred. Then, Abbott’s fourth ball, slightly angled in, pitched a foot outside off stump, Gregory drove down the line and was bowled, the middle stump left drunkenly askew. “That looked like it jagged in,” said the message from the online watcher. A review of a replay shows by just how much. The ball looked unplayable. Somerset 163 for 8. Gregory 59 from 47 balls. Lead 103. Reality had landed again, this time with the clatter of ball on stumps.
Leach resisted for a while and struck back with two more perfectly driven fours, one square off Organ to the Priory Bridge Road boundary and one through the covers to the Garner Gates off Abbott. But the end was coming and it could be felt. Alfie Ogborne was soon caught behind for one off Organ trying to cut, and Shoaib Bashir was bowled by Organ for nought. Somerset 180 all out. Leach had reached 39 not out in an hour and 20 minutes and Somerset had their 120 lead.
Lunch was taken, giving 40 minutes to speculate on Somerset’s prospects and to undertake my final circumnavigation of the season, saying my goodbyes and ‘winter wells’ as I went. “We will need to have them 30 for 5 to have any chance,” one prediction as I stopped on Gimblett’s Hill for a chat. It didn’t seem very far wide of the mark. Even after a couple of early wickets, teams chasing small targets are inclined to recover and there would be no time for Somerset to regroup and reapply pressure. The comment highlighted Somerset’s predicament. Gregory and Leach’s stand had rekindled hope, but it was faint hope and would need the sort of cricketing miracle that 30 for 5 would represent to be realised.
Had Gregory’s hat trick materialised after I had bounced up the Trescothick Pavilion steps, 30 for 5 might just have been possible, for Hampshire might, for a few moments, have been like rabbits in the thrall of headlights. But the sudden release of pressure in the instant of that dropped catch seemed audible. It was as if the hopes of the entire crowd had suddenly dissipated like air from a fast-deflating balloon. It was a devastating moment. Gregory’s hands had briefly encased his head in disbelief as he completed his follow-through before dropping to his side to reveal a wry smile and the regaining of his composure almost before it had been lost.
Gregory and Ogborne beat the bat more than once in the remainder of that over and the next to revive a shadow of the hope which had surrounded Gregory’s start, but Vince and Fletcha Middleton survived. Somerset had no alternative but to commit all to attack. Gregory placed four slips which inevitably left gaps in the field which Vince exploited with three boundaries in two overs, each peeling away chunks of Somerset’s precious lead. Then Gregory struck again, getting a ball to cut in off the pitch enough for the umpire to raise his finger in response to Rew’s appeal for a catch off the inside edge. The delay between appeal and raised finger was long enough for Gregory to reach the slip cordon and start celebrating while Middleton walked off looking less than happy with the decision, but the reaction of the Somerset fielders had been instantaneous, and the scoreboard again revealed the reality. Hampshire 21 for 3. Middleton 2. One hundred more to win. Could Somerset? Could they? Could they yet pull off an impossible win?
Prest replaced Middleton and when he drove Gregory square past the diving point fielder to the Somerset Stand for four, the score reached 31 for 3. “They are more than a quarter of the way there,” the worried comment from the man in front of me, and the comment that Somerset would need to reduce Hampshire to 30 for 5 to have a chance bored into the mind. Gregory, seemingly Somerset’s main hope with Ogborne bowling with purpose but without effect, continued his spell into its fifth over. An edge from Prest teased with hope but fell well short of a brilliant stop at third slip by Lammonby. Then, Prest attempted to cut Gregory’s next ball and edged it inches over Lammonby’s stretching fingertips at third slip. Close, oh so close, but another four runs had disappeared from Hampshire’s target.
Now Leach replaced Ogborne who had conceded 13 runs in his last two overs. Prest, squarely in front of the stumps, attempted to reverse sweep Leach’s third ball. There was a huge appeal for leg before wicket and the umpire’s finger was raised. “Yes!” the shout and Prest was on his way looking as unhappy as Middleton had before him. But Hampshire were 46 for 4, Prest 13, and still needed 74. It wasn’t 30 for 5, but the cheer clung onto the hope.
Dawson, as much a thorn in Somerset’s flesh as Abbott, joined Vince. It would be a crucial partnership for Hampshire and, if they could take it quickly, a crucial wicket for Somerset. There was a huge leg before wicket appeal against Dawson before Leach’s over was out. Kohler-Cadmore at backward point made a spectacular attempt to catch Dawson off a cut but the ball flew just too wide and four more runs fell away from Hampshire’s target which was down to 67. Every Hampshire boundary was like a hammer blow to Somerset’s hopes. When Dawson steered Aldridge through gully to the Hildreth Stand for three, Hampshire passed halfway. It wasn’t just the fast-shrinking target that destroyed Somerset’s remaining hopes, it was the lack of obvious threat when Gregory wasn’t bowling. Even Leach did not look as effective as he had been in the first innings.
The game was moving quickly now, its now inevitable conclusion racing towards us. The hopes raised by Gregory’s first three balls were now gone, Vince was playing with ease and, with Dawson, was scoring at five runs an over. Hampshire reached 78 for 4 when Dawson cut Leach to the boundary and the target had fallen to 43 with no sign of a wicket. When Vince reached his fifty with a four driven through the off side off Bashir, Hampshire’s target was 31. Vince was eventually stumped off Leach for 54 while walking down the wicket to attempt a colossal pull, but by then Hampshire needed only 16 and the wicket made no impact. Dawson hit the winning runs, a steepling miscue for two which Ogborne, running hard towards the Caddick Pavilion boundary, dropped while trying to catch it over his shoulder. “Dawson again!” said the text, as it always seems to be against Hampshire, at least when it isn’t Abbott. But, oh the chimaera of hope kindled by Gregory’s innings and first over.
Result. Somerset 136 (T. Kohler-Cadmore 63, L.A. Dawson 4-28, K.J. Abbott 4-37) and 180 (L. Gregory 59, K.J. Abbott 5-37, Mohammad Abbas 3-54). Hampshire 196 (T.E. Albert 77, M.J. Leach 5-52) and 121 for 5 (J.M. Vince 54, L.A. Dawson 44*, L. Gregory 3-30) Hampshire won by five wickets. Hampshire 19 points. Somerset 3 points
Other pieces written by "Farmer" can be found HERE including the other two days of the last game of 2024
WINTER WELL EVERYONE Grockles will be staying open for business for the non hibernating
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:12:18:55:24 by Grockle.
[somersetcountycc.co.uk]
Anyway added to that, the last hame of the season starts tomorrow with less on it than hoped but it is still a ยฃ100K as that is the difference between prize money for 2nd & 3rd (I think.there's even a possibility we could drop to 4th in certain circumstances!! ๐ฑ
Tom won't play but many others have things to prove beforw the winter.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024:10:01:07:44:36 by Grockle.
Lewis Gregory, Andy Umeed, Tom Lammonby, Tom Abell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Archie Vaughan, James Rew, Kasey Aldridge, Craig Overton, Josh Davey, Brett Randell, Jake Ball, Alfie Ogborne, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.
Both Jack and Bash have been included after fears England would have calls on them. One of them will probably miss out and it would probably be fitting for it to be Shoaib. Would love to see Alfie play but they'll probably play Randell as it is his last game then it's no Goldsworthy... so Umeed may open? Maybe Archie in which case a sensible bat at 5... i'd say Umeed but we'll probably get TKC
Tom L opening with Archie. 3 spinners, no Craig, Josh or Mr Randell Seam attack is Alfie, Kasey and Lewis
Whoopeedoo!!
Bye Andy - 2 wickets for Abbott in his first over and I flaming well despair!!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:26:10:40:14 by Grockle.
Why didn't we choose to bowl having won the toss? Easier to get the three bowling points needed to overhaul Hants than batting points this late in September with weather likely to prevent a result I would have thought
In comes TKC... so we may be 4 down before he settles in
Little factoid... Andy has been out 4 times in the last 6 balls he has faced... not in a lot of form
Official statement from Kirbs out in the car park: โitโs nibbling around a bitโ.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:26:14:31:32 by Shepton Paul 2.
I cannot understand why there can be any possibility of George Thomas being allowed to move on. He has, as far as I know, never had a chance to open the batting in first-class cricket, but he could not possibly do worse than poor Umeed (out four times in his most recent six balls without a run to his name).
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
In the 1860s my great great grandparents entrusted their life savings to the care of Middleton, Albert and Gubbins, a respectable firm of Winchester solicitors, and never saw a penny of their money again. The firm's clerk, Mr Vince, is believed to have emigrated to Argentina and was not heard of again.
Just saying...
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Somerset v Hampshire 1st day photos, I thought something might happen like this playing this late in the season.
James Rew, ct Toby Albert bld Muhammad Abbas.
Jack Leach ct James Vince bld Liam Dawson.
Archie Vaughan lbw Liam Dawson.
Archie Vaughan a very fine leg glance for 4 runs
Andy Umeed ct Ben Brown bld Kyle Abbott.
Tom Lammonby lbw Kyle Abbott.
Tom Abell bld Muhammad Abbas.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore 4 runs.
What will tomorrow bring??
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:26:21:46:49 by Grockle.
There's a strong (hopefully) drying North wind coming in and the sun is out.... we have hope
In the final round of CC matches the follow-on is reduced to 50 runs.
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
A top class opening bat to open with Vaughan next season is an absolute must. The rest of the squad has enough to compete, but to win that elusive championship I'm not sure. However I would rather see our youngsters continue to develop than bring in too many players and have them all leave.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:27:16:31:18 by Rod1883.
A heavy defeat awaits, one would would imagine.
They've knocked 11 over off and there is 14.2 overs left to play today - we're 6 behind with 6 wickets left.
So we'll stagger into Day 3....
To watch a county match you are trying to win, seeing the last over of the third day when the batsmen should be trying not lose their wicket, play a bad shot and get out.
Team selection for a fifty over match, have spinners in the team and not using them.
This match, bad fielding somebody said we have dropped four catches โ this leads me to today's photos. Not many because of the weather.
Archie Vaughan, 4 runs. I hope he stays with Somerset.
James Fuller hitting 6 runs.
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Ben Brown, being convinced somebody is out is not good enough unfortunately.
Toby Albert ct James Rew bld Kasey Aldridge.
Tom Lammonby ct Ben Brown bld Muhammad Abbas.
Do I sound disappointed, don't response to that.
I do feel sorry for him though, because he was signed when his unique selling point was that he was an opener who could grind it out until lunch. Exactly what Somerset is missing. So, of course, Somerset wouldn't give him a game.
All credit to him for forcing himself to play an unnatural attacking game to get in the side, and doing rather well at it too. But the end result is that he currently looks scrambled. No clarity about what he's trying to do.
It would be great if the club could take stock during the winter, and say to him, look, we made a mistake. We now realise that opening in April, May and September is terribly difficult. Forget about the scoreboard. No pressure if you only average 30, just as long as you take at least 30 overs doing it. Do that, and you'll be the hero who wins us the Championship.
Likewise Jack Leach, who batted beautifully.
Tough to see us defending 121, but you never knowโฆ.
Grizzers
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:28:13:31:11 by Grockle.
Sorry to say it, but I think Bashir should stick to Test cricket; he has achieved very little at county level.
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
a) England tell Bashir to move county (or he makes his own call, with Leachy ahead of him for us)
b) Leachy totally outbowls Bashir in Pakistan.
c) England decide that they can still pick Bashir for Down Under (their long term plan) without picking him next summer, and Leachy is picked by England instead next summer.
That would leave an awful lot of pressure on Archie Vaughan!!??
No pressure, young man - at 18/19 you must open the batting in a side with serious opening issues AND be the number one spinner....................
Last day of the season photos, I hope to be taking them next season.
Tom Prest lbw Jack Leach
Shoaib Bashir bowled Felix Organ.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore bowled Muhammad Abbas.
Lewis Gregory bowled Kyle Abbott
Nick Gubbins caught Andy Umeed bowled Lewis Gregory.
James Rew ct Toby Albert bld Muhammad Abbas,
Fletcha Middleton ct James Rew bld Lewis Gregory.
Lewis Gregory going more than some, scoring 50 runs.
I wish you all have a good winter months, with luck I will see some of you next season around the ground
Brilliant throughout the season, as always!
You are a fantastic asset to the site.
Keep on clicking!
If we'd been offered any of these three final positions in April we would have probsbly taken all of them.
We over performed massively in the CC1... we got here without winning once away!!
We probably just got more than we deserved by getting past Surrey in the Blast
We really achieved massively in the Metrobank and we ought to probably be proudest of that for our future.
Anyway people. Winter well and shall we all meet again for Season 150 next March perhaps??๐๐ผ๐๐ผ
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:28:19:52:22 by Grockle.
If only (oh if only) Kasey A was on the same page...then they really would have been steamin' and a rollin'
After the punctured balloon of the last four weeks, I reckon:
- We looked like a busted flush after the Surrey games. Energy levels dropped as did self belief (Kasey, Umeed and even Tom Abell).
- We are in desperate need of a reliable (or even semi reliable) opener to partner Archie.
- Likewise a quality quickie (yes I know theyโre rarer than henโs teeth).
- As one of our renowned former players said to me today when I struck up a conversation, โlosing vital games has become a little ingrained into our dnaโ. We have to break that and perhaps not be so accepting of defeat.
- Lots of positives to take into next year. Tom Banton, James Rew, Archie, Lammers, Craig & Jack included. Plus Lewis Gregory, who seemed to grow into the role of skipper as the season progressed.
- Iโm personally unconvinced re Kasey (simply too erratic & inconsistent), Andy Umeed or Shoaib.
- Finally, good to hear Jason Kerr describe our season as good rather than great, noting that winning titles etc. is a prerequisite for the latter.
Winter well everyone !
Grizzers
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:28:20:27:35 by Grizzers.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:29:20:06:48 by Grockle.
Then on impulse I set out for Taunton in brighter weather. Immediately got lift to County Ground and arrived during lunch interval. Immediately met mum and dad. I half regretted going as Somerset appeared to be letting match slip by dropping two catches. But suddenly we were left with 148 to get in 82 minutes. Graham Atkinson started side off with a bang and they went very fast. Fortyy needed in last eighteen minutes and 30 in last ten. Amid tremendous excitement we won off penultimate ball and ground was flooded with cheering spectators. Wonderful end to season at Taunton, putting Somerset third in table.
(I didn't always write complete sentences in those days and I won no prizes for style. Sorry about that)
Great to contrast that final day on which we were delighted to come third in the table with the events of last Saturday when the same position brought disappointment. Graham Atkinson had had a splendid season (1363 runs) and in this match he scored 123* in the first innings and 53 in the second, fortifying our indignation that he never won a Test place. The winning runs came in a rapid partnership of 42 between two of my heroes, Harold Stephenson and the late great Ken Palmer, who scored 692 CC runs that season and took 121 wickets. He was twelfth man in one Test that season but his only Test cap came in South Africa.
It was only 61 years ago, a time when county cricket was allowed in August and there was a sizeable crowd even on a Tuesday. I think Fred Rumsey is the only surviving member of that side.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:30:12:00:22 by Loyal of Lhasa.
It was around that time that I first got the Somerset bug when my dad took me to matches at Bath. Only much later did we venture to Weston and then Taunton, probably after I learned to drive and could share what my dad considered to be a longish journey from the other side of Trowbridge. Whatever the era, those who appreciate the subtleties of cricket will look forward to moments like the one you describe LoL, making up for all those overs where not much happens. If you love Championship cricket both of these times are crucial parts of the experience. That, above everything else, elevates the longer form of the game from limited overs cricket, exciting as that can be at times.
There have been some great matches this season, in spite of the disdain with which the ECB treats county cricket. Letโs hope for more of them in 2025 and beyond. Much as I would like Surrey to be banned or deducted a large number of points, when we finally win the trophy it will be all the sweeter if we can beat them twice in the process and then keep the momentum going right through September.
Just one reflection on what could have made a massive difference this year - what would we give for a time machine and the power to persuade Dean Elgar to return last April (and still be here at the end of the season)?
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024:09:30:14:36:55 by Wiltshire55.
For the masochists among you, here is an opportunity to re-live the final day against Hampshire, entitled Hat trick ...
Oh, the chimaera of hope kindled by Gregory's innings and first over.
[farmerwhite.co.uk]
Farmer
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