Somerset Battle Hard For Thrilling Final Day Draw
Somerset secured a second draw of the County Championship season after an action-packed finale against Surrey at the Oval saw the home side unable to chase down a winning target of 285.
Batting first on the opening day, Somerset looked in fine form with the bat as – despite losing opener Sean Dickson early on – the Vertu Motors-backed side started to build up a decent total, with Tom Lammonby and Matt Renshaw putting on 178 for the second wicket.
Renshaw’s departure on 87 when he was run-out by Jordan Clark sparked a collapse however, with Lammonby following shortly after when Clark caught him LBW for 100.
Despite Lewis Gregory putting up some resistance with a knock of 50, Somerset would be bowled out for 285, with Surrey reaching 42-0 by the end of day one.
An opening partnership of 167 between Dom Sibley and Rory Burns provided Surrey with a solid base on which to build, with Sibley hitting a century as the home side moved ahead on day two before being bowled out on day three for 428.
That left Somerset with work to do going into bat for a second time, and things didn’t start well when Dickson was dismissed in the second over without scoring.
Although Lammony and Lewis Goldsworthy both passed 50 before being dismissed, Somerset could only reach the end of the day with a lead of 61 and with only four wickets in hand – making Surrey hot favourites to wrap up victory on the final day.
Captain Gregory had other ideas however, and after a rain delayed start, he produced a fine innings of 80 to help steer the visitors to 351 and leave Surrey needing to reach 209 to win in just 19 overs.
Dan Lawrence and Jamie Smith put on 90 for the first wickets in just over eight overs, but Smith’s dismissal on 45 by Gregory would trigger a mini collapse – with Kasey Aldridge grabbing 3-14 as Surrey slumped to 118-5.
Just six more runs were added before the two sides shook hands with five overs left to bowl, with Somerset taking eleven points from the game to sit fourth in the table.
Looking for a new car near Taunton?