Seconds Watch Notts Day 3 – Too Close to Call

Another fascinating day of play in this brilliant advertisement for Second XI cricket, as advantage ebbed and flowed throughout the day, with the visitors, at the close of play, needing another 288 runs to win with 9 wickets remaining on the final day.

  • 2nd XI

Mike Unwin

Mike moved to Montacute (4.5 miles from Yeovil) in 1952, he started watching Somerset in 1956 and has been a supporter ever since. In retirement, when not at the County Ground or Taunton Vale watching the Somerset Second XI, he can be found, volunteering at the Ilminster Arts supporting the Stock and Sales system or in the Somerset Cricket Museum cataloguing the collection items and putting them online, on the museum’s website www.somersetcricketmuseum.co.uk

Day 3: Somerset Second XI 342 (Roelof van der Merwe 115, Kasey Aldridge 80) and 256 (Lewis Goldsworthy 56, Ben Green 42, Pittman 4/38), lead Nottinghamshire 2nd XI 299 (Zak Chappell 77, Matt Carter 62, Marchant de Lange 5/68) and 14/1 by 287 runs.

Ben Green, looking to push his case for a return to the First XI for the Warwickshire game again opened the innings with Dylan Church. (Who needs Nottingham Cathedral when we have Dylan Church – was the comment on the trial HD live stream). The opening pair added 42 before Dylan was caught behind for 26 from the bowling of Zak Chappell. Ben and Lewis Goldsworthy advanced the score to 102 before Green was also caught behind this time off the bowling of Pettman for a well-earned 46. Advantage Somerset. Once again poor George Bartlett failed to capitalise on his undoubted talent falling for 4, given out LBW bowled Harrison – another victim of the off-stump guard?

Lewis Goldsworthy continued to a patient half-century from 103 deliveries but was caught behind from the bowling of Harrison for 56 off 112 balls. Will Smeed entertained for 49 deliveries scoring a useful 37 runs including 7x4s but the dismissal of both Goldsworthy and Smeed in the space of 10 balls shifted the advantage back to Notts with our top five gone for 171.

Neither Roleof van der Merwe or Kasey Aldridge could repeat their performances from the first innings, RvdM scoring 18 and Kasey 16 this time around and Somerset looked to be struggling to set a decent target for Nottinghamshire to chase on the final day. Ned Leonard, however had different ideas, reaching 29 off 66 deliveries before becoming Schadenorf’s 4th victim of the day, stumped. The last three wickets fell for just 30 runs, 

Nottinghamshire’s initial task was to survive a seven-over burst from de Lange and Aldridge. They failed to do this with Marchant removing Budinger for a second-ball duck. Advantage back with Somerset? 

With RvdM and Ben Green included in a 14 man first-team squad it may be that Somerset will be deprived what could be a crucial spin option on the last day. Time for Lewis Goldsworthy to spin us to victory?

Follow the score and get clips of the key moments on a potentially fascinating last where the outcome is still too close to call here