Which road to Taunton Jimmy?

HAD to use it!!
By Grockle
July 15 2012

Craig Kieswetter returns to the one day sqaud after the Oz Massacre and we have to hope he brings some of that one day magiuc dust with him. One point from a rained off Welsh fixture is all we have in the bank and we need to get our 40 over season moving against the Scots today. Steve Kirby sits this out so Craig Overton may be able to carry from his SA foray!

v SCOTLAND CB40 @ Taunton Sunday 15 July 2012

Scorecard

Commentary

The side initially given out on the scorecard is;

Kieswetter (W), Compton, Trego, Buttler, Hildreth, Gregory, Meschede, Thomas(C), Waller, Dockrell, Overton C with Alex Barrow identified as 12th man. So the name of Rehman is not yet gracing the Taunton paperwork. The pitch looks greener than many of us have seen it half way through July for many a year and there is promise of a dry day but the grey clouds are still there saying... don't count us out yet.

Play starts at 1:45. I will do the first half of the game and leave you loverly lot to comment on the second half. Commentary is available from the ball by ball team - as he looks for gaps and scoring opportunities all over the place. With the introduction of Davey at the OP for the 7th it seems quite obvious that CK is sizing up bringing up the 50 with a six as he smacks the living daylights out of it past the bowler for a four. He actually brings up the 50 off the third ball with a guided single.

Symes and spin arrives for the 8th, the speed of scoring decreases a little but we still reach 10 overs without loss and with 64 on the board. All goes well until Compo feathers a ball from Jos Davey to Wallace and is caught behind at 70 in the 13th for 23. Pete Trego marches out but misses Davey's straight fourth ball and follows Compo back to the Caddyshack without worrying the people oin the scoring box. 70 for 2 with Davey claiming 2 and looking at Hildreth to be his third of the over, he is rewarded with a double wicket maiden instead.

Symes and Davey cut the run rate down considerably - Somerset manage 11 runs in 5 overs. However, during the 16th Craig hits his 50th run (the half ton came off 47 balls with 1 six and 7 fours) but the Scottish press is definitely on early. At 10 the 250+ was on without a doubt but when CK misses a Goudie delivery and is LBW at the end of the 17th 89 for 3 does not suggest such a score. Jos Buttler is in against the slow men and they haven't been his forte during this season. Things have changed in the second quarter of this game.

Haq and Buttler contend the 20th over to see whether the wicket comes before the 100. Jos wins on the third ball courtesy of a misfield in the deep which takes his county to 103. It is 106 at the half way point so the predicted 250 odd after 10 has been brought down to a more modest 210-ish by the 20th. Evans has changed ends to the OP for the 21st after the excellent work of Goudie from there.

Hildreth and Buttler look to re-establish Somerset's hold on the game and do a fairly creditable job to push it along with a 50 partnership coming up halfway through the 25th. Unfortunately that man Symes is bowling it and after nagging at James for four balls, he gets him to pop the fifth back and takes it nonchanlently to send him back to the dressing room. 139 for 4 nearly becomes for 5 as the new man, Lewis Gregory, is dropped in the slips by Mommsen off his first ball to give the home side a let off. Mommsen then comes on to take the 26th over and brings some credibility back by only going for 2 runs off it.

Symes hasn't finished yet though and during the 27th he gets the second ball to spit at Jos who is surprised by the way it goes over his bat and cleans him up! 142 for 5 with 13 and a half overs to go. Big job for Craig Meschede, the new man and his partner Lewis Gregory.

The partnership takes Somerset past 150 in the 29th (bowled by Berrington from the OP) - a solid cover drive from Craig Meschede bringing a much needed boundary - but the rate is not suggesting anything near a 250 mark up even though 100 off 10 overs is not surprising in these games. The two men seem to be capable of keeping the scoreboard ticking but big shots are not all that forthcoming at the moment, though as I type that Lewis sends the next ball from Mommsen deftly to the Somerset Stand boundary with a neat little sweep shot. 161 at 30 overs suggests 240 is on but we have 5 wickets in hand and not a lot to come after these two men with Thomas, Dockrell, Waller and Overton J to follow.

The 250 score all but disappears as a possibility when Haq ensures that Craig Meschede is the third LBW victim of the innings at the end of the 32nd over. Alf comes in with 166 on the scoreboard and 8 overs to do something significant. However Berrington is determined to stop big runs coming and looks to tie Gregory down at the River. He fails courtesy of a delightful late cut ball fromthe Somerset man that goes down to the Botham Stand boundary almost directly behind the keeper it was so late. 172 for 6 with 7 overs to go. 200 has to be the first target for these two and they move towards it at 6 an over - 178 by the end of the 34th.

Goudie returns with his medium pacers at the OP for the 35th, we happily take the 5 wides off his first ball and his 6 official deliveries provide us twith enough rund to move to 188 with 30 balls to go.

Majid Haq is also not finished however and Lewis is found to be LBW with the first ball of the the 36th. Max is in to face 29 balls. The start is not filled with promise as he tries to slog sweep the first ball and has a leg before shout turned down from the second. We waddle to 190 at the end of the 36th (Max reckons his first slog sweep attempt was close because he tries to do the same to the last delivery of the over.)

The batting powerplay is called as Symes returns for the 37th and is right through the Somerset captain with his first ball. 190 for 8 and the county side is in danger of not batting out the overs. Jamie Overton is the next man in and his first ball is a positive punch to long off followed by a sweep to the Caddyshack boundary. No boundaries but we stroll towards 200 with 6 from the over. Symes finishes with 3 for 31 off his 8 - excellent figures.

Max is sweeping everything - not particularly effectively and when he tries to reverse Haq and sends the ball to Davey he spends so long watching the shot that he fails to run and when he finally does, Davey has sent the ball to Haq and he is run out by a mile. 197 for 9 with the last pair at the crease... collapse? Think so but under some very good Scottish bowling. James restores some faith with a boundary to take us over 200 with 12 balls to go.

George is in to face Josh Davey at the start of the 39th and takes a single off his second. Overton gets a top edge boundary off the next and then is bowled comprehensively to leave us 8 balls short on 206.

Not too impressive one and all. It looked sooooo good for the first 10 but then it looked sooooo normal for this one day season I am afraid.

I'm not going to be about for most of the second innings but I don't personally think that this is enough unless someone in the Somerset bowling has an inspired 8 overs.

But that's just me and I hope to be proved massively wrong by about 8 tonight.

The Reply

First thing to mention is that Jos Buttler will keep wicket - the men up here think that is because Craig Kieswetter may be called on to bowl on this slowish track - how they must regret leaving Arul out on this.

Alf opens from the OP to Davey who drives the second ball hard but directly into Max's hands about 6 inches off the floor and it is 0 for 1 off 2 balls. Waller may only seem to know how to sweep with the bat but he has lightening reflexes and an excellent pair of hands!! MacLeod hasn't been near the ball and is already welcoming Stander to the wicket - he nearly plays on to his first ball. A leading edge four flies past Pete at a wideish first slip and prompts Alf to send Max to second slip. The skipper then nearly cleans Stander up with a straight one.

Overton takes the second over from the River allowing MacLeod a look at the ball. Stander nearly runs himself out backing up off the first ball. He beats the Scots batsman all end up with the second and has him p[laying defensively to the third. A boundary off the fourth ball eases the pressure a little but we may very well have a game on here as Scotland go to 11 off the first 2 overs.