Tanya's roundup
The last day at Old Trafford dribbled to a tedious draw after Somerset locked the doors of the shop. They batted all day, to finish with a lead of 433, in front of a bemused few hundred, after the teams were unable to come to an agreement about a suitable chase.
Lancashire used nine bowlers for the first time since 2003 as even the wicketkeeper George Bell stripped off his pads to send down 10 overs of offspin. Kasey Aldridge reached his maiden first‑class century with a pulled six into the concrete – an achievement that won’t match the dream. The highlight was a second century of the match for the teenager James Rew, whose appetite for Lancashire bowling remains unsated and who in the process became the highest run‑scorer in Division One. Both teams remain winless in 2023.
After the match the head coach, Glen Chapple, said of Jimmy Anderson’s recovery from injury. “I don’t think it’s anything too serious. We should be positive about his recovery, but obviously he’s done it badly enough not to take any part today or yesterday.” Would he be having a scan? “That’s for England to sort out. It seemed like a tweaked groin to me.”
A highly strung first hour at the Riverside, complete with a dislocated finger for Jordan Thompson, and a last-gasp wicket with the new ball, finished with a one-wicket victory for Durham as the injured No 11 Brydon Carse, batting with a runner, pinched the winning runs. Durham extend their lead at the top of Division Two while Yorkshire’s winless sequence stretches to 18 games and they sink to bottom.
Ben Foakes snaffled six catches as Middlesex slipped from 128 for three to 240 all out, with four wickets for Jordan Clark, leaving Surrey to buff their nails at the top of Division One.
Rishi Patel’s third century of the season, and Wiaan Mulder’s first, earned Leicestershire a draw against Sussex. Steve Smith gobbled a spectacular slip catch. Kent batted out the day against Hampshire, with half‑centuries for Zak Crawley, Ben Compton and Jack Leaning. Derbyshire’s rain‑affected match with Gloucestershire also ended in a draw.
Joe Root made 10 in his first Indian Premier League innings for Rajasthan Royals.
Differing opinion from the dressing rooms at OT.
Tom Abell, Somerset captain, said: “It was obviously a bit of a damp squib for the majority of today.
“We went to Lancashire yesterday afternoon before the second new ball about the possibility of making a game. We felt we needed the best part of 96 overs to bowl a side out and it wasn’t right for them at the time, which is fair enough.
“So we had to build our lead and losing those wickets last night probably affected our ability this morning a little bit to push on. A chase of only 50 or 60 overs only plays into their hands.
“We wanted to set up a game where both teams would have a chance of winning but ultimately it didn’t feel right (to us). Fifty of sixty overs on that surface wasn’t going to be enough.
Lancs Head coach Glen Chapple: “It’s a good pitch but scoring quickly wasn’t easy and a good target could have been set to give both teams a chance.
“That’s not down to how we’ve played our cricket. We set a really good declaration at Nottingham last week which, credit to Nottinghamshire, they went for it from ball one. We didn’t get over the line but it was a good game of cricket. Today was the opposite. There was a good game in prospect and for some reason Somerset weren’t interested. I’ve got no explanation for that.
And with that, it’s time for me to sign off. We’ll be back for the last round of this block of Championship cricket on Thursday. Till then, good night!
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