Notts the start that we wanted?

By Grockle et al
June 22 2014

No Alfonso as we go into this game with only Pete Trego representing the 'Old Guard' in the bowling section of the side. Johann Myburgh also sits it out as we win the toss and choose to bat. Down comes the cloud and the ball is doing all sorts!!

v NOTTINGHAMSHIRE@ Trent Bridge Sunday 22 June 2014

Scorecard

Commentary

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As I wander into the ground at 11:20 I watch Nick Compton leaving the field for a paltry 2. Chris Jones, on for the injured Myburgh, has already departed the centre for 4. Gurney and Siddle are getting lots and lots of bounce but with the odd one also keeping suprisingly low. Alviro and the skipper are being sensible and watchful but even then it isn't long before the first drop in the slips as a ball gets big on Petersen who follows it and luckily raises the ball above the shoulders of Patel and Adams in the slips. You do wonder why we are batting after winning the toss though the cloud cover was non existent at 10:30 and humid an hour later. There is a second slip drop a little later on before Petersen skies one and the whole four man slip cordon turn and sprint towards the boundary with only Wessels having enough faith it is coming down to pouch the catch after what seemd like an age. Hildreth comes to the middle but stays only a short time before shouldering arms to an Adams inswinger which cleans him up 44 for 4 is not good!!

Banger is riding considerable luck and we've moved, by no means confidently past 50.

By lunch Kieswetter and Trescothick have calmed things down a little and a 44 run partnership has got us to 90. However it is just the calm before another storm as Andre Adams 'continues to be a thorn in a Somerset teams side catching CK in front for 17 at 94 and Gurney has Trigger caught behind for 1 almost immediately. Craig Meschede joins his skipper and the now cloudy Trent Bridge atmosphere continues to cause havoc.

The problems remain, even though Marcus starts to look more confident and more expansive. At the other end however, mayhem carries on. The 100 and the skipper's 50 come in quick succession and Meschede looks more solid until he is well caught by Jacques at 137. Hopes are that the next Craig is going to do well after his big score in the last CC1 game. No chance though as Overton scrabbles around for a while beflfe being caught behind at 140.

Marcus now starts farming the strike as George Dockrell splits the twins at number 10. Strange situation to be in during the second session of Day 1 of a four day game.

The 'farming' gets his side past 150 as the Irishman flays a boundary to take it to 152. Then Samit Patel takes a leaping one handed catch at second slip (nearer third IMHO) to send the Somerset captain on his way for 87 at 155. Siddle has taken both openers but some 40 odd overs apart. In comes Jamie Overton to play a few but this is way down on expectations and NO batting points to us today.

At 168 it is done and dusted as first Shahzad bowls a huge wide which Jamie has a massive swipe at. That is followed by one a little closer to the wicket which the Somerset bowler has another mighty swipe at. This time however he snicks it and is out caught at first slip. Marcus 87.... the next highest score from a batsman? 17. Nuff said really.

After Tea Jaqcues and Mullaney start the home side reply in confident and aggressive mood. Peter Trego is targetted and the score starts to move at a rate Somerset can't be happy with. Craig Overton is raising eyebrows at the other end and keeping them in check but they still move past the follow on target in three overs and have a 50 partnership after 3. Jamie Overton does cause early problems because of his pace but he also is leaking runs. Both men have given away over 20 off their first 3 overs. by the end of the 13th over Notts are strolling this at 68 for 0 and a run rate of 5.23.

Listening to the local press ringing in asking for press you can't really argue with their assessment of day 1 of this game. 'Total decimation' seems pretty a curate as Phil Jacques goes to a 57 ball 50 at 94 for 0 after 20 overs. Meschede has tried to stem the tide with 3 overs for 13 since his introduction in the 15th but Pete has 36 off 7 and no-one really looks like breaking through. With 23 overs to go it is highly likely that the home side will overhaul the present total, possibly without loss before the end of the day's play.

Steve Mullaney's 69 ball 50 comes just after the Notts 100 arrives off 131. Nothing looks to be going right, fielding errors follow as 2 batsmen in full flow start to take the already damaged Somerset bowling attack apart. I start typing this part of the report at 108 and by the time I have reached HERE the home team are on 124. This is pretty quickly turning into a rout and at this rate I will be home by the end of Tuesday at the latest!!

And it happens as Notts take the lead off George Dockrell who was introduced with 15 overs of the day to go, why not? How could he be any worse. Phil Jaques took the first six of the day off him and finally hit 2 to take his county ahead with 12 overs and 1 ball of the day to go. Mullaney has 72 and Jaques needs 6 for his hundred. We simply have no answer at all and are a very long way from being in this game in any way at all. Presently the pundits are suggesting that this game will end sometime around Tuesday lunchtime unless something drastically changes. As Jaques goes to 100 off Dockrell's second ball of his fourth over (18 fours 109 balls) you can hear them knocking in the nails of the coffin at 194 for 0 with Mullaney on his way to joining his partner (86 off 104 balls).

But Mullaney does't get there as George tempts him to go for one which he top edges to Trego in the deep and Somerset take a Day 1 consolation wicket at 203 for 1 with the Notts man going for a good 91. To add onsult to injury, the home side send in a nightwatchman in Shahzad to play out the final 3 overs.

And so it goes. Play ends mercifully for South Westerners at 6:25 with Notts on 208 for 1, a first innings lead of 40 runs after Day 1.

More to come in the morning... it has to be better than this!!

Day 2

So here we are again for the start of the second day. Beautiful sunny morning with high wispy cloud, lovely walk in from the station but a distinctly sparse crowd, not suprising given the nature of the match.

Notts start the second day 40runs ahead with 9 wickets in hand, a position it is hard to see them losing from. George Dockrell courtesy of Pete Trego's hands gave us a point by dismissing Mullaney yesterday evening but today will be more about character than points I think. This may be the defining day of the Somerset 2014 season because the players will learn from Sunday's events and commit themselves to getting as much out of this game as possible and making individual promises that this will NOT happen again or this match will sputter to a conclusion with little being learned and with it will go our CC1 aspirations for the year. I'm sure we shall all see.

One hour into the day and the situation has become a little better. We have a bowling point after Jaques swiped an early Meschede long hop to the only legside fielder he could have found and Nick Compton gratefully took a good diving catch. 211 for 2 became 231 for 3 when Shahzad mistimed a ball from Craig Overton and presented Chris Jones with a mid on catch.

At midday on Day 2 Notts have Hales and Taylor at the crease. They face a change in bowling at the press box end as Pete gets his first spell of the day and are 77 runs ahead of the Somerset first innings total with 7 wickets in hand on a pretty unhelpful pitch. But never mind, the sun is out.

And then Notts give us a door back into this game. Taylor is strangled by Pete at 258 and then Hales skies one at 266 and Craig takes a catch off his brother Jamie. Then then the heavens open and the promised thunder shower brings an early lunch with Notts 111 ahead and some glimmer in the Somerset gloom.

Hope is unfounded however as we return after the rain and lunch break. George Dockrell openss from our end and is dispatched twice to the boundary, Jamie opens from the Ratcliffe and has better fortune but in the next 30 minutes, Wessels and Patel go to a 56 ball 50 partnership and the Notts lead goes over 150. Whatever the plan with GD, it doesn't work and we take the new ball with a deficit of 163 and no further inroads into the home side's batting line-up. Craig O and Pete are back in the firing line.

The new ball has almost no effect as Wessels starts to climb into the new ball pair. He goes to 50 just after his side go to 350 and by the time his partner reaches his 50 off 63 balls the optimism that existed when they were 5 down and only 111 ahead has become pessimism that Notts can declare whenever they want as they already have a lead of 224 and Patel and Wessels have a partnership of 135.

The 400 comes up at 3:00pm and prompts the return of Dockrell - are they trying to prompt the declaration? Poor old George the man is on an absolute hiding to nothing.

It does however come right for him as he gets Wessels caught by Cove at 427. Then, just as Patel sets his sights on a century, Craig himself gets reward for his collossal hard work by getting lne to move away from Samit's bat into CK's gloves. Suddenly we are on a roll because he then bowls Read trying to play across one for only 2. Out comes Andre Adams, gets 2 off his first before absolutely bludgening one towards Banger, who, with the reflexes of a teenager, simply snaffles it and rolls it along the floor to the umpire. 454 for 9 sees Craig on 4 for 102. George finishes it off by having Siddle at 461 so its tea taken and Notts ready to come out afterwards leading by 293. As someone posted online, it's over to the batsmen now!!

The long way home starts with Jones and Trescothick playing nothing that is any kind of gamble, no risks, no loose shots, just defence and easy stuff. The skipper looks masterful on this pitch and his understudy is watchful and careful. Gurney is building up a head of steam but for 10 plus overs everything goes to plan. Gurney tries MT out and gets spanked for three boundaries, unfortunately the next one spits off the deck and the skipper gloves it to the four man slip cordon and is ln his way for 22. We have lost our most vital wicket with only 41 to our name.

Nick Compton replaces him and confidently gets on with a job he is admirably suited for, the 50 comes up on the 22nd over but the runs are really immaterial. The important thing is TIME AT THE CREASE. 17 overs in Shahzad starts at the Radcliffe road end and Adams takes the other. 20 overs to go to the halfway stage of the game and we need to go in only 1 down. Andre has other ideas and skittles Nick for 12 at 66. 2 down and still 227 to go to avoid the innings defeat!! One bright spark in this second part of the day is Chris going to 50 off 80 balls with 7 fours at 89 for 2. It would be even more excellent if we are celebrating his highest career score this time tomorrow with his partner Alviro Petersen because any kind of base for survival in this game relies on something VERY special from this pair.

Unfortunately it isn't going to be AP's glory match as Siddle gets him in front for 4. Somerset finish at 106 for 3.

Day 3

It's a day of targets if there is going to be a Day 4 in this game. No special shots, no risks, no concern about the run rate or the total. Half hour by half hour, don't take risks just play all balls on the merits and defend, defend, defend. The Jones century will come under those rules and has to. The James Hildreth ton also must come but on a much longer time frame. Today is about being there at 6:30 and nothing else. Tomorrow is tomorrow and that is for later. Cloud cover and a close atmosphere at 10:30 suggests the first hour, once more, might be tough but it isn't as if we aren't aware of that danger now. Hang in and fight the good fight boys.

For the first 50 minutes it all looked solid. Jones seemed in control, the rate was nothing impressive but Somerset accumulated. James also played it safe and we dealt with everything Notts put in front of us - The opening attack of Gurney and Siddle, Shahzad first change and Adams introduced in the 13th over. All was going swimmingly until Hilda unaccountably wafts at a wide Shahzad delivery and deposits it in Adams' hand. Soft dismissal after 31 hard fought runs when we needed a 1 in front from a man who has struggled to provide 'beef' in the middle order for some time now.

Craig K enters the arena needing a good score for a number of reasons and we pass the 150 behind target shortly afterwards. 4 runs later he is dropped by Wessels at first slip, a difficult diving chance, and we have to hope he will make them pay while doing his own summer some good at the same time. However, Shahzad is giving him a torrid time as we pass 150 and close on the next target...lunch.

The target is achieved without further loss and we go in 105 runs from an innings defeat at 188 for 5. Craig Kieswetter has 28 and Pete Trego has 9. Losing Chris Jones to Gurney's first ball on his return in the 25th over was not anything like what we wanted. His 240 minute innings of 77 with 10 fours was the backbone of this reply and has hopefully put paid to questions about his ability or desire to play county cricket. He simply got beaten for pace and Gurney got his first ball straight. It goes to show that if you have a bowler with a change of pace, get him to hit the stumps straight away because after Adams and Shahzad, Gurney was an unexpected level of speed. Jamie O take note.

After lunch? More of the same. Rebuild the base, keep Pete in check and watch the sneaky Adams. Next target? 2:30. There have been almost no 50 partnerships in the Somerset batting. It would be very nice to have 2 or 3 without a wicket falling!

We get a 50 run partnership. First the 2 Somerset men take the runs needed under 100 and then they bring up the 200 in the 33rd over. CK celebrates with a six. His 50 comes up in pretty short order as he plays solidly but murders any loose stuff. A boundary takes him to 53 off 69 balls at 225 for 5. Notts react by introducing Patel for the first time. A pretty clear indicator that we are getting to them. So the message is 'calm down' and just play. Unfortunately this message does not seem to get through to Craig as he tries to take on Andre Adams and dies in the hands of Hales in the outfield trying to go over the top. 54 wasn't enough for him or for us and that has effe tively closed the door on any real fight as quite soon afterwards Craig Meschede top edges one and Hales, running back takes another one as we slump to 237 for 7 just as hope of making Notts bat again becames a possibility.

Craig Overton arrives to bat with us still trailing by 55 and most people now expect it to be over pretty soon. Craig and Pete look to continue move the score towards the level score but Adams tempts Craig with one that goes away and another Somerset man bites the dust. At 9 for 253 with only the defensive George and the expansive Jamie to come it seems the right time for Trigger to start to go for it. The young Irishman accumulates and rotates while PT heads towards 3 figures in real style, cutting, pulling, driving but with a level head to not try too hard. He and George put on a 50 partnership (Pete 40 and George the rest) and we go into the lead and it isn't until 331 that the spinner is tempted by a full toss which he doesn't get all of and the ball pops up. This is great but with one wicket left we are no where near far enough ahead and Jamie is still an unfinished item as a batsman. Having said that he has a championship 50 from the last game and does not come out looking like he is overawed by the situation. The Trego 100 and the 350arrive about the same time along with rain and bad light and a break in play. We are going to be back tomorrow it seems though everyone seems to be eager to get out and get it sorted. After an early Tea we are out again, the light is not good and the position might be precarious but Jamie seems to have decided to take it on, he begins to outscore Trego to the tune of 3 to 1 and the second 50 partnership arrives from a tailend pair. The young number eleven then goes to a 50 at less than a run a ball (48) before he finally is victom of one that goes away and the excellent work is all over with PT unbeaten on 107.

402 runs scored 110 needed by Notts to win a game they thought would be over sometime mid afternoon. now they have about 24 overs, if they ask for the extra 8 this evening. Some pride has returned to the club and we are all wondering what might have happened if we hadn't capitulated so completely on the first day.

Alex Hales has injured his shoulder and will probably only bat if he is needed so Jaques and Mullaney open again with Taylor moving up the order. We know that because Cove comes steaming in and removes Mullaney with his third ball caught by Hildreth at second slip. Two balls later he forces Taylor to play on and the home side are 2 for 0 and in some disarray. Samit Patel tries to calm things and nearly becomes the third victim but the young Somerset bowler finishes his first over with a double wicket maiden giving all of us a little hope that something amazing can happen. Jaques and the little man look to stop that coming true and gradually they reassert the batting control as Mesch and Trigger try to keep the momentum up. Patel is in his groove though and although he could go at any moment he does pile into Jove while taking a the lion's share of a quick 50 paretnership and putting this all but to bed. He tries to take Craig O on once too often and perishes caught by Craig M. Then the umpires decide it is too dark and take the sides off with Notts on 66 needing 44 while Somerset need the unlikely 6 wickets.

We go into Day 4. Hands up all those who expected that?

Day 4

Thanks to the excellent service of Trent Bridge reception staff and the nice people at Nottingham Forest I am able to witness the final death throes of this morning without it costing me and arm and a leg to do so. High cloud this morning but once again it is 'muggy' first thing. If anyone wants a decent cheap and quiet hotel right in the middle of Nottingham then you can do worse than the Welbeck Hotel on Talbot Street, cheap, cheerful, quiet and no nonsense.

Anyway, the Somerset boys are out warming up with the obligatory game of football though a couple are in the nets. I think Jason Kerr was taking James Burke through his bowling paces on the break yesterday afternoon. Besides the press there are 6 supporters on the ground and Tractor, who is presently the only occupant of the 'New Stand'.

Off we go with Craig O from the Pavilion starting to Jaques and George opening from the Radcliffe. Shahzad breaks his bat the fifth ball into the session and so we have a stoppage and then he nearly runs himself out taking a run that was never on.

11:25 under 20 runs to go and it's all pretty anti-climactical ( ?) after yesterday afternoon. There is little in this pitch and little for the bowling attack to play with. The batsmen are going to take no chances at all so there is nowhere for this game to go but to the inevitable end. No major gains for Somerset this morning have meant the motions are now being gone through and one only wonders why George did not bowl last night. It might have meant more overs in the evening but it would also have probably meant more runs to play with this morning as Jamie got pummelled.

Immaterial I suppose, this game, for all its interesting twists and turns and the glory of the tailend fightback, was effectively over 3 days ago with the abject collapse of our first innings batting and our poor defence of the pathetic total it produced. It has given Chris Jones the chance to stake a claim with Johann sidelined. It showed what a batsman Peter Trego can be on his day. It highlighted the immense potential of Craig Overton as a bowler and the strength of the Somerset tail with the willow. The other positive thing was that this side were never down in this game and there was every excuse to be there. They have fought to regain some pride and taken the Notts boys into the 4th day making them win a game rather than just finish it off.

I'd have loved to see my first win of the season today but if I have to see a defeat I'd rather see this type of fighting loss even if it was inevitable from mid afternoon on Day 1. Shahzad hits the final boundary on the 13th over of the day at 11:38 and we move on with the 3 points we have gained and the lessons of the match. Essex on Friday and then the chance to put this behind us with Lancashire at home ln Sunday.