Somerset, who are planted firmly at the bottom of Division One, have not had two consecutive good days this season but they finished the second one of this match in a commanding position. Nottinghamshire, who are also yet to win in the championship, got themselves into a mess on a truncated day at Trent Bridge.
There were two absolutely stunning catches off his own bowling by Craig Overton which helped Somerset to finish play leading by 117 runs and needing to take just two more wickets to finish off Nottinghamshire’s first innings. Used in short, sharp bursts by his captain, Overton bowled with pace and accuracy, finishing the day with well-deserved figures of three for 27 from 12 overs.
In the 44 overs that were played, the home side added 138 runs to their total but lost all of their recognised batsmen bar Samit Patel, who was left to steer his team past the follow-on total and as close to Somerset’s 312 as he could.
In partnership with Vernon Philander, Patel showed admirable restraint resisting the urge to play at any of the many wide deliveries that were being bowled at him. It was to be an important partnership that while not huge in its total was just starting to look settled when Overton got through Philander’s defences with a fast, full ball and sent his middle stump flying.
James Allenby was the other to stand out among the Somerset bowlers, with two economical spells in conditions that perfectly suited his style of bowling in the way they suited Steven Mullaney on the first day. He finished the day having bowled 12 overs for only 14 runs and taking the wicket of Riki Wessels with a ball that moved away from the right-hander.
The Somerset wicketkeeper Alex Barrow received warm applause from the Nottinghamshire supporters when he called James Taylor back after he had been given out caught behind down the leg side by the umpire Tim Robinson when on 38. “I believe in honesty,” Barrow said. “I am not going to claim a catch that wasn’t.” Taylor was dismissed a few overs later for a well-earned 45, losing his off stump to Tim Groenewald.
Somerset deserve great credit for the way they have played this match so far. Coming into it following three defeats and then losing the toss on a green pitch, there is a real sense of fight and determination from them and they rightly deserve to be in this strong position.
