County Championship Division One, Somerset v Warwickshire, The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, April 28th to May 1st 2022 First Day, Somerset 351-4 (Renshaw 129, Abell 70, Lammonby 56, Banton 47*)
Yes it really did happen. On a day where the trend of high scoring in the County Championship this season was not so common Somerset cruised to four batting points for the loss of only four wickets having their best day of the season so far by a country mile.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, that was the essence of the opening day at Taunton yesterday. Don’t get me wrong 351-4 (I want to just keep typing that) 351-4 is a great position at the end of day 1, something I would have taken without a nanoseconds hesitation before play began. But there were several key points in the day which, hard as it might be to believe, didn’t go Somerset’s way.
It started with the inclusion of the doubtful seam trio of Overton, Gregory and Davey but was counter-balanced but the news that Siddle was out with a side strain. And the news that Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes had elected to field having won the toss turned from more-than-a-little-concerning to I-bet-he-is regretting-bowling now pretty quickly.
It is ironic isn’t it after Somerset completed their best batting day of this nascent summer that I was left with a feeling of what might have been. If I wind my mind back mentally to just before 11am yesterday morning I would have settled for considerably less than 351-4. But then you see the openers bat through the first session with increased assurance and your expectations soar. Perhaps they soar to unrealistic levels but that is one of the essences of supporting a team playing four-day County Championship Cricket.
There is no sport like it, a golfer who turns for home five under par is perhaps the nearest analogy I can think off. He or she leads the field after the first round by say four shots with a scintillating 6 under par but many watching will have thought – five under at the turn they could have shot a 61 and led by eight.
This is the sort of day that makes me glad that the county championship is no longer played in the 3 day format that I grew up on. The extra day and removal of the over limit in the first innings was an artificiality that even at an early age jarred with me. Games were too formulaic with the first innings often being 320-7 plays 316-9 and then a frequent contrived declaration in the first session of the final day with the side batting last set a target and a tacit agreement that they would go for it and not shut up shop. Think of, if it is not too painful, Yorkshire at Lords in 2016, perhaps not as lemming-like at the White Rose’s capitulation on the last afternoon, but not too dissimilar.
Here you have a captain winning the toss, deciding his best way to win was to insert the fragile home side, take advantage of cloud cover and early life in the surface (it is still April remember) and then allow Dom Sibley et all to grind the opposition into submission well into day three.
Now you have the side on the wrong side of the coin toss starting day 2 in a position to control the game. Yes bowling Warwickshire out twice may well be a stretch too far but with a big score on the board and another day’s rest for Craig, Josh and Lewis against mentally and physically tired opponents, you never know.
It became apparent from early on that this was (praise be) a game being played on a much better 22 yards than we have seen at the Cooper Associates County Ground for a good while. They may not be rejoicing in Portugal and Florida but the justified criticism of the Taunton pitch used in the last game can’t be rolled out again, just yet. Warwickshire were forced into turning to spin around 12.30 and that materialised onto five overs of unproductive and expensive slow left arm by 1pm. That, I am confident in saying, was not plan A at 11am.
Briggs introduction came when a promising first hour was becoming a dominant first session. At lunch with Lammonby and Renshaw looking in complete control thoughts of batting just once and, as Andy Cleave tweeted, letting scoreboard pressure do its stuff, had already reached my consciousness. But there you go, the bar has been set really high without even realising it. 100-1, 200-2 , 300-3 had become targets to be met rather than achievements to be celebrated.
Lammonby’s departure early in the afternoon did not break the rhythm with the captain joining the now fluent, only non-Tom, in the top four in a second wicket stand of 112 in a shade under 30 overs. Memories of why I wanted Matt Renshaw back in January and February, when we all waited anxiously for overseas signings, morphed into recollections of those three lovely hundreds in 2018. If we can secure a combo of Renshaw and Devon Conway for the next few years there is a lot to look forward to.
It looked like the home side would reach tea for the loss of only one wicket and give themselves the opportunity to do some serious damage to the tiring visiting bowlers and surprisingly poor out-cricket in the last session. Then Renshaw got a good one and was caught behind off what became the last ball before tea. Damn.
Abell now assumed the senior role and, I am sure set, himself the target of seeing his side through the second new ball. With Tom number 3 (Banton) for company you felt that things were aligning quite nicely. If we can get through to say the 90th over………….
Captain Tom’s dismissal in half way through the 78th over, with the total now at an already very healthy 277 was perhaps more of a blow in the bigger scheme of things than Renshaw’s departure. While the supremely gifted Aussie could, if he had bated through the day have achieved something very special personally and propelled his side to near 400 the captain was looking like he could match or pass his Oval career-best last week.
Tom A must be gutted, Strangled down the leg side again, a habit he will won’t to get rid of quickly was bad enough. Th the at best part-time offerings of Rob Yates, even worse.
Just think, I heard my brain saying, if Abell goes past 150 and the others bat around him then we really are in 550+ territory. I really must train myself not to have these thoughts but, as I am sure Jason Kerr would say take every ball, every over as it comes.
James Hildreth joined Banton and saw off the initial new ball threat moving to 23 before he, thanks Sam Dalling for the description, “slashed to backward point” with seven and a half overs left in the day. It was left to Steve Davies, probably on the cusp of night watchman territory, to see things through to the close without further loss. The pair of keepers did that successfully to end on a very positive note.
But I want to end on Tom Banton. His contribution here was mature and crucial. He has faced almost 100 balls and is showing signs of all the hard work in the winter paying off. This was an innings of a proper number four. Adapting to the game situation, being watchful but assured in taking advantage of any run-scoring opportunity. It is exciting to watch such a talent develop and here as he mixed technique and temperament perfectly we saw a continuation of the green shoots of The Oval.
I hope beyond hope that he bats long on day 2. If he does and one of Craig, Lewis and Steve Davies can keep him company the prospect of inflicting real damage and having a lot of fun at the same time might come to fruition.
