Somerset’s title dreams hang in balance as bowlers feast on a 21-wicket day

The Vitality County Championship match between title-chasing Somerset and Lancashire, who would likely need to win this match to escape relegation, saw twenty-one wickets fall on the opening day at Emirates Old Trafford. Somerset’s lead over Lancashire was only six runs first innings.

On a seam-bowler’s pitch, Somerset managed to reply to Lancashire’s 140 with an only 146. However, they were ahead by ten runs when they grabbed the crucial wicket of Keaton Jennings for 4. This allowed the home team to cap off an unusual day with 16 for 1.

After Lancashire was bowled out for 140 in 40 overs over the first three hours of play, the only real opposition coming from home team captain Jennings, who finished with 56. Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory both claimed four wickets.

Yet Lancashire’s seamers performed equally well; Somerset gained a seemingly insignificant lead, with George Balderson taking 4 for 50 and Tom Bailey 4 for 37.

The quicker bowlers from Somerset took advantage of the olive-coloured pitch on the edge of the square after the team decided to field, taking four wickets in the opening session.

First out, Harry Singh was dismissed on 7 after edging Overton to Tom Lammonby at third slip, ending his debut Championship innings. After being caught by wicketkeeper James Rew after being hit by a beautiful ball from Overton, Josh Bohannon was out for just four runs after four overs.

The same bowler claimed his second wicket in a similar fashion when Jennings’s front-foot cut only caused the ball to deviate into his stumps. Rocky Flintoff was bowled for 7 after he inside-edged an attempted off drive to a delivery from Kacey Aldridge into his middle stump.

After reaching his fifty three balls earlier, Jennings scored three runs off Brett Randell’s subsequent delivery, bringing his season total of Championship runs to 1000. Even still, Somerset may have been thinking that things would have turned out even better for them if Aldridge hadn’t dropped Jennings at slip off Overton’s opening ball of the game. His dismissal for 56 left Lancashire on 85 for 4.

The home team’s fortunes quickly deteriorated in the early afternoon session, losing their next six wickets for 33 runs in less than an hour of cricket and their following four wickets for one run in 24 balls. Overton took two more wickets to conclude with figures of 4 for 32 from 15 overs, while Gregory dismissed four batters to finish at 4 for 50.

Somerset lost their first wicket in 13 balls just before tea, but they managed to score 58 runs pretty easily even after Andy Umeed was removed by Jennings off Tom Bailey on the opening ball of their innings.

Lammonby, who pushed forward to Will Williams after he had hit 36 and nicked a catch to George Bell at slip, was dismissed between being caught behind by Balderson and Archie Vaughan, who made 21, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore.

After tea, things did not get any better for Somerset when Rew was dismissed for 4 after being caught behind by Matty Hurst off Balderson. Aldridge also lost his off stump to Balderson after making a single, leaving Somerset on 83 for 6.

Gregory and Tom Abell put on a 34-run partnership for the seventh wicket, steadily bringing their side closer to Lancashire’s total. However, in the space of three deliveries, Bailey removed both Overton and Randell, both leg before wicket, with Overton falling to an outrageous slower ball.

Hurst claimed his seventh catch of the day as Jack Leach then assisted Gregory in putting up an incredible 25 for the final wicket before he was caught behind by Anderson Philip for 13.

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After Jennings dismissed Gregory to Andy Umeed at slip five overs from the end, Singh and Williams, the nightwatchman, bravely held off the Somerset attack as the day came to an end.