After a poor performance where Gloucestershire gave us a 'Get out of Jail Free' card when they ought to have put us away we went to Birmingham with trepedation.... and played quite well with Lewis Gregory and late signing Pakistan's Sajid Khan providing some interest at the start of the game. Here is Farmer's take on the beginnings
County Championship 2022. Division 1. Warwickshire v Somerset. 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th September 2022. Edgbaston.
Jack Leach was unavailable for selection by Somerset due to being on international duty and Craig Overton had not fully recovered from his injury.
Somerset. T.A. Lammonby, Iman-ul-Haq, T.B. Abell (c), G.A. Bartlett, L. P. Goldsworthy, J.E.K. Rew (w), L. Gregory, K.L. Aldridge, J.H. Davey, Sajid Khan, J.A. Brooks.
Toss. Somerset. Elected to bat.
First day 12th September – Gregory and Khan raise the spirits
The day began with the players, coaches and officials lined up facing the Pavilion. The two or three hundred people in the crowd, there were no more to my eye, joining them as respects were paid to the late Queen Elizabeth II. A short statement was read before a perfectly observed minute’s silence was held. The silence, a passing lorry apart, was palpable. Every minute’s silence I have witnessed being observed by a Championship crowd, even ones more than ten times the size of this one, is the same. Not a person moves. Not a syllable is spoken. This morning, for that minute, peace and intensely quiet contemplation reigned.
And then, the day moved quietly into the cricket. Oliver Hannon-Dalby bowled the first over to Tom Lammonby. No appeals disturbed the peace, no runs disturbed the scoreboard. From beyond the boundary the pitch looked uniformly brown, the sky looked uniformly grey, and the outfield displayed cricket’s ageless alternate stripes of bright and dull green. It was cricket in England, autumnal cricket to mark the modern age to be sure, but as restful as it would have been at the start of the latest Elizabethan age. Were it not for the expanse of the modern sports stadium that Edgbaston has become and the quality of the cricket, the start might have had the ambience of a league cricket match in the backwoods of any of the 18 shires that form the first-class game in this country. I quietly watched it all unfold from the heights of the square of the wicket Hollies Stand along which, at the start, housed myself and two others.
In the second over, Lammonby drove Mohammed Siraj, Warwickshire’s end of season fast-bowling Indian Test signing, straight back to the Pavilion boundary for four, the innate smoothness of the stroke reflecting the early tranquillity of the morning. Siraj and Hannon-Dalby, pacey and accurate, now held the Somerset openers to little more than one run an over as the morning moved into a slow, unruffled awakening. At least, it looked unruffled from the vast emptiness of the Hollies Stand. On that brown, innocuous-looking pitch more was happening. “Siraj is swinging it and Hannon-Dalby is cutting it,” said the incoming text from the online watcher. That explained the focused intensity displayed by Lammonby and Iman, and the expectant line of four slips placed by Warwickshire. Only a straight-driven three by Iman off Hannon-Dalby broke the slow accumulation of singles which took Somerset to 12 for 0 at the end of the ninth over.
By the end of the tenth, the floodlights were on and Iman, perhaps trying to break the shackles, essayed a sharp cut at Siraj. He was caught by Mark Burgess moving to his left behind the stumps. Somerset were 12 for 1, Iman was gone for 5 made in 40 minutes and the morning had woken up. Lammonby responded for Somerset by pulling Siraj through wide midwicket to the Family Stand boundary on the far side of the ground from the Hollies Stand. Two balls later, like a flurry of leaves being blown horizontally from a tree by an autumnal gust, the umpires and players left the field while spectators from the uncovered City End fled for the cover of the Hollies Stand’s high winged roof.
“It’s raining,” one of them said, a fact not immediately distinguishable from bad light if you were already under the roof. Soon though there was no doubt. As the great hover-cover was floated into place and its supplementary covers rolled out, the volume of rain falling became apparent as the roof sounded as if all the tin tacks in heaven were being emptied onto it. Half an hour later the rain was still falling, and the announcement of an early lunch came as no surprise. With Somerset on 17 for 1, a further announcement that Northamptonshire had reached 58 for 0 against Surrey tended to confirm the view that avoidance of the second relegation spot would be contested between the two teams that had started here, and Kent who were not playing in this round of matches.
When play finally resumed at 2.15, 28 overs had been lost from the day and Warwickshire’s opening bowlers were completely rested. Two balls after the restart, 17 for 1 became 17 for 2 as Tom Abell came forward in defence to Hannon-Dalby and was bowled. A look at a replay showed the ball cutting in sharply. It was a devil of a ball. It was a reminder too of the risks inherent in batting first, especially at this autumnal end of the modern elongated season. My instinct though remains that that risk is outweighed by the risks of bowling first, for so often sides winning the toss and fielding seem to find themselves facing a larger opposition total than they had bargained for. Who would be a captain at the toss?
Tom Abell’s departure brought George Bartlett to the wicket. Bartlett has had a tough two years and some Somerset supporters will tell you he has had sufficient opportunity. When he gets it right though, he plays with an engaging freedom and style and scores quickly. He has too scored five centuries for Somerset and tends to score his runs when Somerset need them most. Here, he was immediately on the offensive, glancing his first ball to fine leg for a single, and in Hannon-Dalby’s next over calmly guiding a ball between gully and backward point to the gap between the Hollies Stand and the Pavilion where spectators gather to talk. Had there been any spectators there they would have talked of that stroke. Lammonby, quietly establishing himself, then drove Hannon-Dalby through the covers for three as the wet outfield applied the brakes and then drove straight along the ground to the Wyatt Stand for four. Bartlett continued by leaning beautifully into an on drive off Siraj which raced along the ground back to Hollies Stand/Pavilion gap.
That stroke took Somerset to 36 for 2. A stand developing, the hopeful thought. Warwickshire turned to Jayant Yadav’s off spin. Lammonby, who does not always invoke confidence against spin, advanced down the pitch to his second ball. The bat was pushed forward, missed the ball and Burgess had the bails off with Lammonby hopelessly out of his ground. Before the numbness of spirit resulting from that dismissal had had a chance to subside, Bartlett attempted to pull a ball from Siraj, now in the 11th over of his rain-interrupted opening spell. The ball veered wide down the leg side, Bartlett followed it, connected with the top edge, and the ball looped just beyond the empty leg slip position. Michael Burgess, from behind the stumps, took off after the ball, his body looping through the air as he went, took the catch, landed on one hand, and almost completed a cartwheel in retaining the ball. It was an ugly stroke, a brilliant catch, and Somerset were 46 for 4. James Rew, who has made an immense impact in his five County Championship matches for Somerset, attempted to turn his first ball from Siraj to leg. The ball, angled across him, straightened sharply off the pitch, struck the pads and the appeal left no doubt as to the outcome. 46 for 5. It all left a numbing despond in the hearts and stomachs of Somerset supporters as they faced the prospect of defeat, and with it the thought of relegation to the second division for the first time in a decade and a half. A glance at the sky revealed a cloud base a little higher than earlier, but a degree of humidity beginning to make itself felt did nothing to challenge the pessimism.
At the wicket now were the two Lewis’s, Goldsworthy and Gregory. The first has recently enjoyed a series of, perhaps career-establishing, fighting innings for Somerset and now brought the hope that he might stem the cascade of wickets. The second is capable both of stunningly attacking match-turning innings and, less remembered but equally valuable, obdurately defensive match-saving ones. But all too often it seems to many, he can fall early in an innings to a less then judicious stroke. At his best he bats as if he has an average of 40. In fact, his average is 24. Watching the start of a Gregory innings in circumstances such as those he faced on this morning involves an uncomfortable combination of hope that an exceptional innings is about to start, and dread that a bat hung outside off stump will edge a ball to the keeper.
Against the spin of Yadav, the pair made progress, Goldsworthy nicely cutting one ball fine of backward point to the gap between the Hollies Stand and the Pavilion for four. Against Siraj they struggled. In one over, Gregory twice edged short of slip, once for four, was beaten and, finally, struck on the pad to a loud appeal. “Gregory didn’t know much about that over,” said the text from an online watcher, “Siraj is swinging and seaming it,” and balls beating the bat, at either end, were not an uncommon occurrence. When Henry Brookes replaced Siraj he drifted to leg, Goldsworthy followed the ball and edged it to Burgess behind the stumps. He departed for nine and Somerset were 66 for 6. Gregory, as he is inclined to do, briefly counter attacked against Yadav. In successive balls he went up onto the back foot to drive through the covers to the Hollies Stand for four and then lofted an on drive over midwicket to clear the Raglan Stand boundary. But when Aldridge attempted to play Brookes through midwicket he was struck on the pad and departed lbw for 6. Somerset were 82 for 7 and the innings was in complete disarray.
Somerset supporters I spoke to during the rest of the day described that score as the lowest ebb of a desperately disappointing Championship season in which Somerset had lost five of their first eight matches. I thought of 2002 when Somerset, having finished second in the Championship for the first time in their history the year before, slid inexorably through the season to relegation. In 2022, they had played with more conviction in the recent matches against Lancashire, Yorkshire and Essex, but now, against one of their chief relegation rivals, when it mattered most, their first innings had been damaged beyond apparent repair. My spirits were not improved by the text which read, “Yadav is getting big turn. This will not be easy to bat on,” for Warwickshire had two front line spinners to Somerset’s one, and 88 for 7 is no base from which to plan a spin attack. The gnawing in the pit of the Somerset stomach was unbearable as the very real prospect of relegation opened like a chasm.
With tea approaching, Warwickshire turned to that second spinner, Danny Briggs. It felt like a moment of truth. He came on from the Pavilion End, opposite Yadav. With the end of the Somerset first innings now in clear view, Gregory calmly defended two of the first three balls, softly driving the third to mid-on. Then, as if a button had been pressed, he launched the fourth high and long over mid-on and onto the Pavilion terrace, a hopelessly defiant gesture it seemed. But the next ball was launched higher still and squarer. It landed on, and flipped, a seat well to my left in the 21st row of the Hollies Stand, easy to count because the seat was virtually parallel to mine. For good measure Gregory lofted Brigg’s last ball back onto the Pavilion Terrace. A clip to the Raglan Stand at deep midwicket off Yadav by Davey took Somerset to tea on 117 for 7. Still a score of woe, but those three sixes from Gregory had looked so controlled and targeted on removing the threat of Briggs that my teatime perambulation, circumnavigations of Edgbaston are not possible without leaving the ground, was undertaken with the beginnings of a spring in my step. As I walked behind the Barnes Stand at the City End, another Somerset supporter said to me, “The pitch doesn’t look easy. If we could get to 180, perhaps 220, we might just have a chance.” “Indeed,” I replied. “A chance, but 220, even 180, is a long way off.”
The partnership had a different feel to it after tea. The batting was more controlled, less frenetic and the bowling seemed less threatening. References to the bat being beaten were no longer sprinkled through my notes and the total gradually began to mount. When Gregory dropped to one knee to sweep Yadav behind square to the Family Stand, the score reached 140 for 7 and 180 began to feel like a realistic, if still barely adequate, prospect. Gregory had been aided by Josh Davey, playing a typically measured innings. Most of his runs were turned or deflected behind square, including a confident clip off his legs to the Hollies Stand boundary off Siraj who had again returned to bowl. But, on 21, he was struck on the pad by Siraj and had to depart in the face of the umpire’s finger. A score of 140 for 8 felt, to a faster beating Somerset heart, a lot better than 88 for 7, but to the pit of the stomach it still felt painfully short of where it really needed to be.
And then, a partnership that, with Gregory’s three sixes, changed the feel of the day, if not of the match. Sajid Khan, in his second match for Somerset, with a combination of skill and inventiveness combined with some sterling defence and strike rotation from Gregory took Somerset past that dreamed of 180. A drive and a miss from Khan off Hannon-Dalby, bowling from the City End, was followed by four runs driven with an angled bat through the on side to the vertiginous West Stand. In two overs, Khan subjected Siraj to a flick to the fine leg boundary, an uppercut which flew over fourth slip to the Wyatt Stand, another flick towards fine leg which resulted in two runs driven by an insistent, Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” from Khan and another four from a cannon-powered pull in front of midwicket reminiscent of Nick Compton in his Somerset heyday.
As the clouds and the light closed in and began to overwhelm the lights, a late cut of perfection from Khan was matched by a glance with just enough deflection to defeat the keeper. Both were off Hannon-Dalby, and both ran to the Pavilion boundary. It was a spirit-raising late charge complemented by a flat-batted four to the Barnes Stand, again off Hannon-Dalby, from Gregory. When the weather finally demanded an end to the day a further 12 overs were lost, 40 in total in the day, but Somerset closed on 182 for 8. It was not where they would have wanted to be when they won the toss and batted, and an attempt at a detached view deemed it a barely adequate score, especially if Khan’s assault was an indicator that the pitch was losing some of its venom. However, Gregory’s three sixes and Khan’s assault had given Somerset impetus, and with Gregory on 60 and Khan on 31 from 33 balls, a chance that had not seemed possible at 88 for 7.
Close. Somerset 182 for 8.
Lewis and Sajid raise spirits
Posted by: Grockles.com (IP Logged)
Date: 21/09/2022 12:17
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022:09:26:11:01:58 by Grockle.
I'm assuming we are ready to go for Monday at Edgbaston but in this 'interesting' present sport scenario who the hell knows?
We will probably go with roughly the same if not the same side as last week unless Craig Overton IS available and fit to play.
Personally I'd like to see the guy we signed because he is a supposed specialist opener open with the international guy we signed as a specialist opener Umeed with Ul Haq. Is he any good? Don't know. We signed him for a reason, if it wasn't to open then what was it?
Would also possibly go with Banton at 5 but that is certainly more of a maybe. The whole Lammonby, Bartlett, Banton issue is going to be further complicated when KTC arrives.
Sonny Baker? Well we are looking after him but if we're bowling him in the seconds then bowl him in the firsts!!
Anyway enjoy those who are going. Hope the weather and the Somerset cricket is better and more promising than last week. We need this one for safety.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2022:09:16:10:45:53 by Grockle.
Looking like the same 13 travel as were in the squad last week.
Just Sonny In, Banton OUT
Possible showers tomorrow, set fair days 2, 3, 4.
Kent playing Hampshire next week should keep us alive until the last round regardless of the next 2 weeks, but 20/25pts from the next 2 games keeps us in much better shape.
Good to see Sonny in... but they've been rotatng him and this might be an 'off' game. Bants may not be fit, it was talked about during the game last week though nothing confirmed by anyone official. Or he's just not 'there' at the moment
Again the question is asked... what was the point of signing Umeed if he isn't being considered to play red ball cricket in a failing batting attack? If he isn't good enough then why? If he is considered good enough then why not blood him with a confident international opener? Not really sure what the plan is to be honest.
Certainly not sure Tom Lammonby will ever be a solid opening punt but he is welcome to prove me wrong.
"Jack Leach is unavailable (international duty) and Criag Overton is still not fully fit. Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr has therefore named an unchanged squad: Tom Abell (c), Kasey Aldridge, Tom Banton, George Bartlett, Jack Brooks, Josh Davey, Lewis Goldsworthy, Lewis Gregory, Imam-ul-Haq, Tom Lammonby, James Rew, Sajid Khan and Roelof van der Merwe."
So the questions remain. Where is our Number 2 bat? Will Bartlett or Banton play? Plus the Sonny & Umeed queries
Roelof will not play unless they produce a pitch with enough for the double spin option.
Will the batting fold and who the hell in that squad is going to take the lion's share of 20 wickets?
Warwickshire will be without five experienced seamers at Edgbaston tomorrow because of injury - Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Ryan Sidebottom, Liam Norwell and Craig Miles (the last two ex-Glo`shire).
They have signed Indian Test quickie Mohammed Siraj and spinning all-rounder Jayant Yadav for the last three matches of the season.
If we can see off OHD and Siraj, then hopefully we might be able to show more initiative Vs the change bowlers (since we could do with some batting bonus points from this match).
He did not specify, Hayseed, but Gibson seldom predicts a Somerset win unless our attack is at full strength as he has spent many years watching us “bat.”
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022:09:12:15:42:47 by AGod.
The steam coverage is poor also! Missing deliveries playing replays and no cameras following the ball beyond the square. So much for these Test playing Counties!
Clearly anthony gibson didnt take into account we cant play cricket in the evening even with all the floodlights on...i'm thinking my third day ticket will not be wasted...
No one has said I’m unavailable for the rest of the season to me so not sure where this has come from. I’m doing my best to be available for the next game. This week came too soon for me
We can shuffle the batsmen as our limited squad allows but the end result is always the same ……capitulation. Once again the bowlers are fighting for every run and seem to apply themselves so much better .
For such an important game for both sides the local bears supporters appear to have forgotten to turn up!
At a rough guess about 400 here yesterday, at a push.
And that includes a good sprinkling of familiar Somerset faces.
Lewis batted well, we have got "a score"
If we can push it to 220+ who knows.
The pitch was doing all sorts, it is very unlikely to get better.
We used to get 180/200 regularly at Taunton when it spun and win matches comfortably. Sometimes cricket games are about finding a way to win, not batters scoring 100s and it going past tea on day 4.....
Well played Sajid Khan... worked hard for that and good support from Jack Brooks at the end. 219 is a hell of a lot better than we thought after the loss of the 1st 5
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022:09:13:11:34:47 by Grockle.
With the pitch generally getting better for batting, rather than worse, and Us a bowler down, we will have to bat far, far better than usual in our second innings… as in well enough to set Warks a good 300 or so target.
Well.. what will count is not what has gone before but what actually happens next season.
Either or both could be out injured or anywhere from excellent through average to useless. What they do next year will ultimately determine whether the calls were the right ones.
Genuine question, do you want any of our top 6 to succeed?
You love pointing out their failures, but it feels it would spoil your agenda should the 2 Tom's get 50 each this morning or even more.....
Anyway sun is out already on the outskirts of Birmingham and no rain is due so let those of us here risk turning up today & seeing what our abject top 6 can muster.
Any target over 140 will not be easy, towards 200 and it would look very tricky.
Yep, I want them to succeed - for once - when conditions are a little bit difficult. It is their general inability to do that - over several years - that has us where we are. And when I say "their," I'm not talking specifically about the six guys that have been selected for this match. Obviously, Imam and Rew have seldom been involved in the past. I just mean the unit of whatever six guys we send out there. For the avoidance of doubt, I don't care whether it's " the two Toms," or Lewis Gold or James Rew. I just want the unit as a whole to answer the bell!!
I'm not so impressed with folks running up scores on tracks like Chelmsford (the track we played on this year, I mean).
Batsman who only score when conditions are loaded in their favour are the equivalent of bowlers incapable of taking wickets on tracks that aren't minefields - not so useful!!
I'm not so sure about your target, sums, WSM. After all, I think they were about 140/4 in their first innings. A team that knows it got to 140/4 in its first innings is most unlikely to be unduly intimidated by a target score of 140 unless the pitch has deteriorated sharply in the intervening period ( I don't see any signs of that - I thought that batting looked easier, yesterday afternoon, than it had done for most of our first innings).
Warks have also only been bowled out for less than 200 three times this season although, admittedly, a problem for them could be that two of those three occasions have been vs Somerset!!
There are, obviously, some issues with Lewis Gregory and his knee. It is not predictable whether or not he will be able to play a full part, with the ball. I'm not convinced that Sajid has looked particularly threatening, tbh.
I think Warks will feel comfortable with anything under 180 and will probably win with any target between 180-220.
I wouldn't feel fully confident unless we had a good 275 or so to defend.
I want to see our top six at least manage to get us to a point where we're 150 ahead...... because expecting what's left of numbers 7-11 (there are only four of them now, in this innings) to make, say, 70 or so might not be totally unrealistic. Expecting the final three wickets to put on 137 again, would clearly be unreasonable. So if we're only 80 or 90 ahead by the time the top six are gone? I don't think we will be prevailing in this match.
I think today is one of the most important in the Club's recent past. All 9 remaining batsmen must sell their wickets as dearly as possible. We need to be still batting at close of play. A win would be invaluable but we must make sure that we don't lose.
Was thinking a lead of anything over 250 would make us favourites...would take anything between 200 and 250. As said previously depends a bit on whether Gregory is fit to bowl...
No.. and if pitch continues to apparently flatten, then there’s lots more batting to be done. Three more sessions worth to be done, if at all possible.
Very responsible innings from the two Toms. We are in a much better position at lunch than I would have dared to hope. Important, obviously, that the batsmen - and especially the two that have got a start - build on these foundations.
Think we bat until we stop and then see where the game is. As you say, we don't need to win as much as they do. Anything over 250 with time to have a go would be interesting
I think Bartlett has the freedom to push on a bit while Tom is carefully ticking over the other end. 7 wickets in the bag I think we can aford to take some risk now. Making the game safe is priority
I don’t think we’ll declare at all soon and nor do I think we should.
Warks have Gloucs next so I’m not sure they’ll be as desperate for a win as some seem to think.
And this track now looks very, very flat, so I see little prospect of our forcing a victory.
After the absolutely disastrous start to this match, we have done well to salvage a draw from the game…. and one that extends our advantage by one point.
No, they battled well this morning and eschewed daft shots or anything that could let Warks in. They have done well today as the pressure was on, match situation wise. It is true that the pitch is now pretty dead.
Devonboy70 For those who maligned the new one year contract for Jack Brooks in my opinion it’s far more deserving than the extension to George Bartletts !
That aged well. I'll be happy when both players have this kind of thing as the usual and the other is the not so often situation.
Warwickshire are no bastions of first class cricket in the same way Glos weren't last week. Do it against Northants then we can start discussing merit.
Having said that both are contributing well to this game so 'things are looking up'
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022:09:14:18:33:10 by Grockle.
Devonboy70 For those who maligned the new one year contract for Jack Brooks in my opinion it’s far more deserving than the extension to George Bartletts !
You were saying???
George is class, we have to give him a run & back him because he has IT for red ball, great temperament.
All 4 batters did a great job today, Lammers blocked the £&#@ out of it which was a joy to watch live.
His innings helped the rest later on.
He's not alone in needing to improve it - of regular players (so not including Imam nor Rew, since James has just started) they all of them need to improve their averages.
Anthony seems to expect a declaration around 11.45.
I do not.
I think that we might well take it down to just a two session game. I think Tom can see there’s not a lot left in this track and we want zero chance of losing.
George has provided it when we've needed it more than once. If we survive this year this innings may very well have justified his contact extension on its own!! Hope it is the start of something far more special for the man. He does have the red ball 'head' he just needs more consistency and so do Somerset
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022:09:15:11:12:11 by Grockle.
When we do eventually Bowl, I’d think our best bet is to bowl a wicket-to-wicket line, to field only a couple of slips (helmeted) since there isn’t much movement and ball won’t carry far anyway and otherwise set a field designed to save one (the intention being to stop rotation of strike). Possibly we might set a short mid-on or mid-off in case they try to drive and get through the shot too early).
Red ball is the pinnacle of the game, the best team over 3/4/5 days will come out on top. But targets are needed for each session to see where we're heading... 2 wickets by lunch please
We must be very, very careful in the last two games not to give the ECB an excuse to deduct immediate points from us as their only way of keeping Warwickshire from relegation.
Well that got pretty uncomfortable for a while. Such are the joys of being a Somerset supporter !
Still, a much better effort than last week. A big achievement by George and plenty of other good supporting performances , especially from Tom A & Jack.
Really hoping that Craig might be available for the Northants game.
We're not safe yet, but our destiny is definitely in our own hands.
Grizzers
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2022:09:15:17:42:00 by Grizzers.
I’m pretty sure we’ll try to produce an absolute Road Vs Northants, in the hope of a high-scoring draw (with the expectation that Kent will fare poorly Vs Hants).
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