Wickets fall on rain-affected day one

DAY ONE | Somerset CCC 242 for seven v Leicestershire CCC

SCORECARD | Available HERE

REPORT | A superb evening session for the Running Foxes yielded seven Somerset wickets following lost overs, due intermittent rain throughout the day at Taunton.

The news heading into the clash was dominated by the omissions from both the Leicestershire and Somerset squads, as the Running Foxes made the trip with a make-shift squad following seven cases of self-isolation.

Opening batsmen Hassan Azad and Sam Evans, and pace bowlers Chris Wright, Alex Evans and Dieter Klein were joined by Louis Kimber and George Rhodes in self-isolation.

Equally, Somerset were without Tom Banton who had been called up for international duty, as well as the injured Tom Abell and self-isolating Jack Leach.

Colin Ackermann won the toss at Taunton and opted to bowl, putting the hosts in who opened the batting with Devon Conway and Steve Davies.

Will Davis began the game brightly, leading the Foxes' attack and had several strong lbw appeals turned down within the first 10 overs, with the strongest coming in the third over against Conway.

Despite the early pressure, the batsmen brought up the partnership’s fifty just inside fifteen overs, as they both looked comfortable in the middle.

Ben Mike came into the attack as the Running Foxes still searched for the first wicket and nearly found it.

Lovely deliveries to each batsman saw the ball swing back in and narrowly miss the edge’s of both Conway and Davies who both played and missed.

The players were then removed from the field of play as rain began to fall in Taunton, which prompted an early lunch to be taken with the hosts on 83 without loss.

The afternoon session commenced after the shower which brought about an early lunch had passed over the Cooper Associates County Ground, with Griffiths bringing his fifth over of the day to a close.

Before he managed to do so, though, Conway recorded his maiden half-century of the 2021 LV= County Championship campaign, on debut for the hosts, with it coming from 82 balls, including 10 fours.

Seven overs later and Conway’s partner at the crease, Davies, recorded his half-century coming from 79 deliveries, including five fours.

The duo were now more than set as the afternoon session reached it’s halfway point with the batsmen looking unmoved by what the Leicestershire attack had had in store for them so far.

The rain then returned, this time noticeably heavier than before with the players forced off the field at 2:15pm, with Somerset on 134 without loss, Conway 63*, Davies 61* after 35.1 overs.

The afternoon session saw no further balls bowled with an early tea taken at 3:20pm, and further inspection due at 3:50pm.

Play got back underway at 4:23pm as Davis brought his eleventh over to a close.

His twelfth and thirteenth overs then brought the first two Somerset wickets, with Davies (65) and Goldsworthy (3) the scalps claimed.

Davies went first as Davis’ in-swinging delivery beat the batsman and crashed into his off-stump.

Ten Davis deliveries later, and Somerset were two wickets down, as the new batsman, Lewis Goldworthy edged one straight to the hands of Ackermann at second slip who took the comfortable catch as the batsman recorded just three runs.

Somerset were 151 for two, and there was a slightly different air surrounding the game now with Davis reaping the rewards of the impressive start made earlier in the innings.

The third wicket partnership only went on to survive 29 deliveries, before succumbing to the bowling of Parkinson.

The Foxes man claimed the scalp of Conway (88), after getting one to turn back in, go through the gate and clatter the stumps of the Somerset debutant.

The fourth wicket partnership lasted fewer deliveries than the third, as George Bartlett (10) mis-judged Ben Mike’s delivery which struck the batsman clean on the front pad who shouldered arms.

After commencing their innings on 134 without loss in the evening session, the hosts lost their first four wickets for a total of 39 runs in the space of 10.4 overs as the Runnings Foxes fought back superbly against Somerset’s solid start.

Griffiths then came back into the attack in a decision that paid off for the Running Foxes, as the Foxes man claimed his first three wickets of the contest.

First, he saw off Tom Lammonby who nicked one through to Ackermann at second slip, who took the comfortable catch to see the batsman off for 11.

Three Griffiths deliveries later and the big wicket of James Hildreth was claimed for the Foxes, as the Somerset man nicked the away swinger through to Harry Swindells who took the catch low to his right. Hildreth went for 23 and Somerset were six down for 213 runs.

Griffiths wasn’t stopping there though, as he went on to claim his third of the day after finding the edge of Craig Overton (5), pouched by Swindells behind for his second catch of the day.

The eighth wicket stand then successfully navigated the remaining 10 overs of day one with their partnership still intact as Somerset ended the day on 242 for seven with van de Merwe 18* and Davey 4*.

FIGURES (1st inns) | Davis 19-4-40-2, Barnes 13-4-54-0, Mike 13-3-38-1, Griffiths 12-1-48-3, Parkinson 17-4-54-1

TEAM | Rishi Patel, Lewis Hill, Marcus Harris, Colin Ackermann (C), Josh Inglis, Harry Swindells (wk), Ben Mike, Callum Parkinson, Gavin Griffiths, Ed Barnes, Will Davis

SOMERSET CCC | Devon Conway, Steve Davies (wk), Tom Lammonby, James Hildreth, George Bartlett, Lewis Goldsworthy, Craig Overton (C), Roelof van de Merwe, Jack Brooks, Marchant de Lange, Josh Davey

IMAGES | Thanks to John Mallett of Outside Off for providing the images throughout the game.