Trego powers Somerset to victory
Tue 18 Aug 2015
Lewis Gregory and Peter Trego were in terrific form as Somerset beat Leicestershire Foxes by nine wickets in the final Royal London One Day Cup match of the season at Grace Road.
The Foxes were reduced to 38-6 as Gregory (3-26) picked up three wickets in his first three overs before captain Ned Eckersley helped get the team up to 120 by sharing 42 with Rob Taylor and 37 with Wayne White for the 7th and 8th wickets.
Trego then hammered an unbeaten 71 off just 31 deliveries, including seven fours and six maximums, as the visitors got home inside 15 overs.
There were two changes to the Foxes side as Dan Redfern and White came into the side in place of Rob Sayer and Clint McKay, who missed out due to illness. It was a ‘second debut’ for White, and Zak Chappell was making his first appearance for Leicestershire at Grace Road.
Former Leicestershire all-rounder Jim Allenby called correctly and opted to bowl first on an overcast morning and it proved a great toss to win.
County lost three wickets with the score on six, including two in three balls to Josh Davey. The Scotland international had Angus Robson (1) caught behind by Alex Barrow before trapping Lewis Hill (0) leg before. Tim Groenewald then dismissed Niall O’Brien (4) as Trego took the catch in the cordon.
Aadil Ali (7) and Redfern (13) were paired together without scoring and that is never an ideal scenario.
Three more wickets were lost to Gregory when he came on as first change seamer; Ali was held at slip by Allenby while Redfern was bowled and Andrea Agathangelou (2) edged to Barrow as the Foxes slipped to 38-6.
Eckersley and Taylor regrouped with a gutsy seventh wicket partnership, the latter striking three fours in 25 before being bowled by Trego.
There was a positive start from White, who struck four early boundaries as the score moved into three figures in the 31st over. Eckersley had battled hard to post 29 from 61 balls but he was the eighth wicket to fall with the score at 117 as Allenby claimed a return catch.
That wicket brought about the end of the innings as Max Waller dismissed White (28) lbw before bowling Atif Sheikh (1).
Tom Abell (1) had to retire hurt before Sheikh had Adam Hose (2) held at the wicket by O’Brien, so Somerset effectively had both openers out with ten on the board.
The Foxes may have sensed an opportunity but Trego had other ideas. The all-rounder teed off and recorded a 23-ball half-century that included five fours and the same amount of sixes.
He received good support from Tom Cooper, who ended on 43 not out from 35 balls in a second wicket stand worth 112 in 10.3 overs.
Foxes bowling figures: Sheikh 6-2-43-1, Chappell 3.5-0-25-0, White 3-0-30-0, Taylor 3-0-23-0.
It was the final Royal London One Day Cup match of the season and Leicestershire’s attentions now turn back to the LV=County Championship, starting with Friday’s trip to Northamptonshire (11am start).
