Metro 50 Game 5 v Warwickshire at home. 150 years & counting
By Grockle
August 17 2025
Welcome to our 150th Year Celebration Sunday where the 'Boys from Birmingham' have popped down to help us celebrate the history. We go into this one with a left hand seam attack as Alfie and JT return to the fray at the County Ground. Warwickshire have won the toss and will bowl first.
Metro 50 Game 5 v Warwickshire @Taunton Sunday 17 August 2025
Somerset celebrate 150 years in county cricket on this Sunday and the weather seems to have come along for the day (with luck). Warwickshire are the opponents and they have won the toss and put us in. The actual date is tomorrow in 1875 for the officianados among us. No BBC commentary I'm afraid on this auspicious day which means that Anthony Gibson can probably enjoy the game for a change :-)
The side is:
Vaughan, Lammonby, Goldsworthy, Rew J (c and wk), Rew T, Thomas, Green, Ogborne, Leach, Langridge, Ball
A decidely left hand seam attack with the two youngsters in - with Lammonby as another option along with Leach and Thomas it's very much that sided.
Lammonby and Vaughan take the field at 11 to face the first over from Hannon-Dalby at the MT Pavilion end and take 9 from it. The second comes from skipper Barnard from the River and we are 15 after that one with no real problems being suggested by the pitch.
23 for 0 after 5 against some tight Brimingham bowling in the early overs. Strong but steady approach to the early part of the game.
Booth takes the 9th over from the pavilion and then Barnard finishes off the 'Powerplay' with Somerset on 41 for 0 - the commentary suggests it is 'honours even' in the first 10. A decent assessment.
At the end of the 11th Michael Booth gets one to come back in to Archie and skittles him for 20 from 38 at 41 for 1. It just got enough purchase on the pitch to shift in and took the off stump. Good 'skiddy' bowling from the Woarks man. In comes Lewis Goldsworthy to support in what is quite an important innings for Tom Lammonby who hasn't really got off to any kind of score in this August session yet - a month he hasn't played a lot of cricket in since 2020 to be honest. He is looking to reset himself in white ball cricket and this Metro campaign could be a good one for him to reassess his short form game.
Hannon-Dalby returns to the attack replacing Barnard and up comes the 50 from a short ball which Tom puts into the Caddyshack for six. This moves him onto 24 while Lewis is yet to get off the mark. He finally gets a single off his 10th ball.
Warwickshire introduce spin with Taz Ali from the pavilion end for the 17th. The legspinner has taken 2 5-fers in this tournament already so there is some real interest in this young man. They bring him in before Lintott and he has Goldsworthy looking to sweep a full ball. He misses it and is bowled middle stump for 5 at 69 for 2. In comes the skipper and Ali is off and running while Lewis is back in the dressing room.
The Brummies continue with the spin, but not Lintott again as they go with Yates at the other end, and the dual spin takes us to the 20th over with Somerset operating a little slower than most people would like presently, going at just over 4 an over as the home side reaches 87 for 2 after 20. Lammonby moves into the 40s while Rew starts slowly with 12 at just over a run a ball.
Jake Lintott, Taunton boy, left arm wrist spin comes on for the 22nd and keeps the home side bats under 100 as Lammonby does move on to 49 from 64 and in the next over he gets his FIRST list a 50 for Somerset fom 65 balls with 5 fours and a 6. At 25 he has only just passed 50 for the first time in a white bal in his career!! The state of deomsetic cricket in the new Millennium huh? This is followed by a single that brings up the side's 100 in the 24th
At 25 overs 102 for 2 is pretty slow as an assessment oif the batting progress and Warwickshire will probably be hasppy with that as the opponents foundation. In these games it is difficult to go from a trundle to an accelarated scoring rate immediately. Going through the gears is a skill and we haven't shown a great aptitude for it up to now. It may be pessimistic but many would probably want to see Somerset moving at a faster pace through the backend of the 20s and into the 30 over stage of the game.
144 for 2 by the 30th puts some of the anxiety to bed as James moves into the 40s at a run a ball and Tom moves into the 70s. A very clean paddle swept six hit by the skipper off Lintott looks good and he moves to 50 from 46 balls before the end of the 31st with a single off the next ball. 5 fours and 2 sixes in that half ton.
Booth is re-introduced after the spin emphasis as the run rate moves past 5 an over. He is paired with the legspin of Ali from the other end to try and vary the approach. However, these two bats are into their game now and will be hard to dislodge after a 112 run partnership at the start of the 35th. With 15 overs to go the base is set at 193 for 2 with both bats hitting excellent shots through the covers and Rew chasing hard to pass his partner. Rew has reached 70 from 57 while Lammonby is still in the lead with 89 from 99.
Hannon-Dalby starts a third spell with the 36th - a little earlier than they probably would have wanted him to (he tends to be their 'death bowler' choice usually). He finishes it with Somerset eyeing 200 as they face Lintott in the 37th. A reverse sweep from Rew moves the home side to 200 for 2 and the keeper to 73which he adds to stepping aside and driving through the covers to end the over on 77 and moving Somerset to 205.
A single off Hannon-Dalby in the next over moves Tom to 99 and another takes him to a maiden List A 100 from 110 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes. He needed that and so did Somerset. 212 for 2 with 12 overs to go is a score they would expect to move significantly past the 300 mark by the end of the innings.
Barnard is back to find a breakthrough and his first slow bouncer gets Tom through the strokw too w=early and he does not add to his century as he pops a top edge to Taz Alli. In comes Thomas Rew at 212 for 3. A good knock but a disappointing end though he has done his job today for his county when they needed it.
Booth comes on for the 39th and his skiddy delivery mode gets instant results as James misses one through the gate and goes for 81 from 68 - he's left some runs out there he will feel. Josh Thomas comes out at the start of the 41st at 218 for 4 and the Somerset innings stutters a little.
Lintott meets the younger Rew as the bat sends him into the Ondaatje with a massive slog sweep. As it says on the commentary, "the exuberance of youth". 10 off the over, which is what they will be looking for in the last 20% of this knock.
Taz Ali is back for his 6th having gone for 45 from his first 5. Josh Thomas pulls a drag down straight to the fielder (Yates) in front of the Ondaatje and he goes for 1. He'll be disappointed with that as it was in his arc. Out comes Ben Green at 229 for 5 in the 42nd. Warwickshire's boundary fielding has been a mixed bag but mostly very good with a couple of pretty poor misfields. But these bats will keep asking questions of the fielders in the last overs of this innings. The question is how hard do they go given that this is the last real partnership though Alfie has a some batting experience. No idea what JT is like while Leach and Ball will look to support but aren't front line strokeplayers.
Barnard finishes the 43rd as Somerset move to 242 for 5. Ali then bowls the 44th and gets a slapped reverse six to the Caddyshack from the immensely talented, wristy, Thomas Rew. That is followed by a quick run 2 to bring up the 250. Rew does another 'switch pull' into the NT car park at the end of the over. 258 at the end of the over and Rew is on to 35 from 22.
Barnard gets some revenge in the 45th as he gets Green through his legs trying to hit across. How did he miss that one as it cannons off the middle stump? He made 5 from 7 and Somerset have 'slumped' to 258 for 6. The 300 is probably not on now and Warwickshire have pulled themselves back into this game.
In comes Aflie Ogborne to support Rew, looking to take this innings to the end. With 5 to go it's 265 for 6 as Booth comes back. They are taking twos on a regular basis but the boundaries are a little rarer than they have been and the Warwickshire fielders are like terriers all over the place in these last overs.
269 for 6 and Hannon-Dalby will probably close out from the MT. Rew slog sweeps him for four first ball. He goes large again but the next ball is to a fielder (Jani in front of the Ondaatje) as Rew goes for 41 from 29. He backed himself but probably went a little early given the situation and has now left us with 3 and a half over with Jack Leach on strike. The 47th ends at 278 for 7 with Ogborne as the 'leader' on 13 from 9 supported by Jack who will hit something loose but will look to get the partner on strike.
Booth will bowl out in 48th, if required, Hannon-Dalby will take the 49th and the skipper will take the last if we manage to get to there. Booth's 2 for 39 has been more than useful as he got important wickets when his side needed them and to go for 2 from the 48th is a good effort.
Courtesy of a boundary from a poor misfield from Hamza Shaikh (through his legs), Somerset move to 292 for 7 with Alfie working hard at 24, which becomes 30 with a six from the first ball of the 49th. He bunts it to exttra cover and calls Leach through but Jack doesn't come through and he is run out at 298 for 7. In comes JT to face 4 balls. He straight fours his first ball and brings up the 300. That is followed by a quick run 2. JT then straight fours Barnard again. Then there is a top edged single and we end on 309 which was not as much as we hoped but more than expected at 445 overs. JT Langridge 11 from 4. Can't really ask for more than that. Warwickshire need 310.
The Reply
Jake Ball opens the bowling attack from the Pavilion facing Yates and Barnard (opening bat and bowler!!). They take 7 from the first. Yates gives it the long handle at the end of Alfie's first from the River and sends him for consecutive driven fours. They have moved on to 18 without loss after 2.
As Ball completes the 5th, Warwickshire are somewhere near the RRR demanded of 6 an over - 29 without loss.
In the 6th Alfie changes his angle slightly and has Barnard for 14 from 22 LBW plumb in front. 36 for 1 and in comes Malik at the end of the 6th. This is followed by an exccellent 7th maiden by Jake. Tight bowling from the home side.
By the 10th over, the bowling has pushed the run rate down to 5 as Ogborne is still flying in. A flashed four from Malik moves the visitors to 52 from 56 balls and the 'Powerplay' ends with 55 for 1. Ball once again bowls a very good spell of 6 overs 1 for 27 but now we have the changes as JT Langridge comes on for the 12th. His first however gores for a no ball and so we have a free hit tio start off the 12th. This is followed by a wide so it's all a bit scrappy at the start of his day's bowling work. He's a big lad (6'7") and a bit "gangly" but he has a decent amount of pace and certainly bends his backas Malik edges him through the slip area - that's the second flash he's go away with.
It's 70 for 1 after 12 and on comes Ben Green from the Pavilion to hopefully build up some pressure before we move to the spinners. Warwickshire are moving along though as they take 12 off the first Green visit to the crease so they are presently in control of the game, moving where they want to move in the early stages of the innings.
After 15 overs the bowlers have pulled it back a little and the visitors have moved on to 87 for 1. However the opposition take a pause and then go back to work. Yates looks very dangerous and Malik is starting to take advantage of a couple of early close shaves. They move to 101 in the 17th and have pushed to run rate back up into the 6's. However Ben keeps to his job and varies his pace which gets Yates to waft at a slower one which goes straight to James Rew. Yates goes at 101 for 2 for 47 off 52. In comes Davies.
Unfortunately, Malik is now in and he takes over the aggressive role as Davies beds in which means that the Warwickshire move towards the total doesn't really slow down as we move towards the 20 over mark. We still have seen no slow bowlers in this reply.
This changes with the 20th over which goes to Leach from the River at 119 for 2. After 20 it is 123 for 2 and Green starts the next 10 with an areal drive over the fielders for four from malik. However, the next ball he catches the return from the same bowler and sends the Brummie back to the dressing room at 127 for 3. Shaikh replaces Malik who contributed 44 from his 40 balls.
After Jack's next, Tom Lammonby replaces Ben Green and although there seems little in his first, he gets another breakthrough in the 25th over as he has Davies pulling a bouncer and top edging it to the keeper 144 for 4. Davies leaves for 17 from 22 and in comes Smith. Tom pulls out a second over that takes him to 1 for 6 and it is 146 at the halfway point.
Rew brings Langridge back for the 26th but the 150 arrives from the first ball of the Lammonby 27th but he continues to bowl tightly and only has 8 against his name after 3. The chances are that they will check out how the spinners go and decide on how many overs Tom will bowl based on who goes for the least. The period from 25 to 40 overs is important in this game because the total is well within Warwickshire's ability at the moment. As the game moves past 30 overs it seems pretty certain that Jack is not going to get too much from this and although he has both Smith and Shaikh playing and missing to injudicious shots, nothing goes to hand or wood and the score continues to move. Therefore, Rew stays with his seamers and looks to vary the delivery using Lammonby and Langridge far more and not turning to Vaughan, Goldsworthy or Thomas for any overs at all. Ogborne, Green and Ball provide the variation while Jack only bowls 4 overs for 27 runs with no success.
Smith and Shaikh get down to putting a score on against some pretty solid bowling and they move past 200 in the 37th over with Shaikh eyeing an individual 50 when the re-introduction of JT gets a breakthrough as he gets one to move away off the edge of Hamza's bat into the goloves of his skipper at the very start of the 38th over and with the score n 205 for 5. The Warwickshire man goes for 44 from 56 balls and sets Somerset up to look hopefully at the situation with Jani coming in as probably the first of the bowling allrounders and Warwickshire 'tail'.
Nevertheless, Smith is still looking for scoring shots and despite a couple of near misses from jani he stays in the hunt for the 309 total as the over ount moves towards the 40th and the 250 score. In fact it is in the 41st that Jani finally succumbs to an Ogborne delivery that aslo finds the outside edge into the keeper's gloves. 243 for 6 and Jani goes for 21 from 14.
This brings Taunton boy Jake Lintott to the crease with just over 8 overs left and needing 67 runs from them. You would imagine the advantage was with the batting side but no established bats were still at the crease and there were only 4 wickets left. However the ball wasn't exactly doing much though our attack at this time was experienced in taking a game home from here. Lintott is no slouch with the bat but it is still a big ask for a number 8.
The 250 arrives with Kai Smith scoring at a run a ball. Lintott is not going to die wondering as he goes for shots and gets away with the early ones and the total moves down towards a run a ball kind of score as the overs decrease and the wickets don't come. A high scoring over from Ben Green (going for 15) brings the ask down and increases Lintott's confidence. The boundaries keep coming at opportune moments and nothing seems to get past the bat or to the hands of a fielder. Lintott takes the game away from us and celebrates a 50 at the start of the 48th over from 36 balls with 7 fours and a six while Smith operates as 'second fiddle' and Ogborne finishes with 10 overs 2 for 64, Tom Lammonby ends up bowling 7 overs 1 for 29 and JT bowls 8 for 56.
Needing 1 run to tie and 2 to win, Jake pops a ball from Green straight back to him and does not add to his 50. Green works damn hard and stops the new man Booth from scoring the winning runs in his last over. He finishes at 308 for 7 with figures of 3 for 65. Lammonby bowls the 49th and the tying run comes from a single off his first and then a single wins the game for the visitors from the 3rd ball moving them to 310 for 7 with 3 balls to go. Jake Lintott did the job and took the game away. The other Somerset bowler Jake Ball finished with 0 for 51 and the not out Bats were Smith on 44 and Booth on 1.
Warwickshire take the points. We lost it in the 30 to 40 overs with both the bat and the ball. We did not score quickly enough when batting and lost crucial wickets at times when we needed to accelerate. Therefore we were on for a score in excess of 325 and only staggered to 309 thanks to some good work at the end of the innings. When we had to hold the Brummies we were not effective enough and not trying any of our other slow bowlers when Warwickshire had used a considerable number was a little mystifying. Jack would admit that he is not or most effctive slow man on some pitches in this format while Lewis, Archie and even Josh have sugested that they have something to offer. None were tried even for an over.
Nevertheless we kept in the game until the last over ut came up short. This makes the next 3 games very important because although we are in the top half of the table presently, the points differences are small and we have two away game and the fginal at home next Tuesday so qualification for the next round of matcxhes is not guaranteed.
A good solid game but a disappointing ending showing our need to work on the tightness of our bowling and fielding and the speed at which we move through the gears in a 50 over innings with the bat. Excellent to see Tom Lammonby finally reach 3 figures as a white ball bat... shame he was out when he was but such is the game we watch!!
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:08:21:18:42:32 by Grockle.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:08:16:11:54:31 by Grockle.
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Vaughan, Lammonby, Goldsworthy, Rew J (c and wk), Rew T, Thomas, Hill, Green, Ogborne, Aldridge, Roberts, Davey, Leach, Ball, Theedom
Migael Pretorius is fighting an ankle injury still I'd assume and JT Langridge is the only members of the competition squad not included - hope JT'ss injury from last year has not re-appeared
It has become a bit of a routine that the shanges to the side come in the last 5 places and given the strength of the boys from Birmingham one would assume that Green and Ball will play in this one. Hope to see Alfie back in the line-up and one would assume Jack will also be there though he hasn't had a lot of wicket fun in this tournament so far.
If only I kept up with "August Franchise Fun" I wouldn't keep making these silly silly mistakes
Cheers WSM... good job you've got your finger on the pulse of 'important' UK Domestic cricket
We've brought the left handers back (even though one of them wasn't even in the preview squad!)
JT and Alfie come in for Kasey and James T
Somerset have lost the toss and Warks have put us in.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:08:17:14:51:03 by Grockle.
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2025:08:17:14:45:32 by Loyal of Lhasa.
By comparison his fellow opener has more experience - this is his 12th list A match - but he has only been at the top of the order this year. I think it's all a bit of a learning curve for them.
Two things we simply have to improve on.
Firstly the impetus of our batting in the early stages of our innings. Yes it wasn’t an easy strip to get going on, but we were (again) excessively defensive and made few attempts to seize the initiative. Barely four an over for much of the first half of our innings just isn’t good enough.
Secondly, sloppy and at times erratic bowling. Twenty seven extras including four no balls and thirteen wides isn’t likely to lead anywhere apart from coming second. JTL has a few of AvT’s characteristics, both good and exasperating.
A pity, as it was a tremendous occasion.
Sometimes we really do make life difficult for ourselves.
Grizzers
The Rews and Thomas (also inexperienced but having more freedom coming in with runs on the board) have compensated for slow starts. It’s a decent effort so far but I think we’ll struggle to progress as there are several teams who have more strength throughout the order.
It all bodes well for the future though.
As a postscript to the birthday celebrations, I have been listening to a podcast on BBC Sounds about Somerset CCC - 150 Not Out. It's well worth a listen. There was not much new in the four episodes, but I enjoyed hearing from the likes of Richards, Botham, Marks, etc. I am slightly horrified to have done some mathematics and discovered that I have supported the club for 38.66% of its existence. I know that pales into insignificance compared to some of you who have supported the club for most, if not all, of the 150 years, but it's made me feel rather old!