At least the bar sales were good at Taunton. There was a determination to enjoy the sunshine and the cider (well, there must have been a few drinking cider). All three bars at the ground were full and there was cause to turn to drink. The televisions were on for the masochists.
On the drive to Taunton, which takes around 45 minutes, Middlesex scored about 140 runs. There was a bit of grumpiness at the ground upon arrival but the truth is that, if Somerset had been in the position that Yorkshire and Middlesex found themselves at Lord’s, they too would have been more than happy to open negotiations in order to create a possibility of victory. No problems there.
There might have been more disquiet about some of the pious anger about the pitches at Taunton from the Middlesex hierarchy – “No way to play cricket”. Initially there was also some surprise at the apparent generosity of the target set for Yorkshire, but James Franklin, Middlesex’s captain, knew better. There was no complaint from Matthew Maynard, the Somerset coach: “As far as I’m concerned it’s well within the spirit of the game. Both sides had to win and we would have done something similar.”
The players wandered around the ground, James Hildreth on crutches; the chief executive decided he needed a beer; Marcus Trescothick played football with his daughters on the outfield and was later joined by a few colleagues, who did not want to follow the melodrama on the TV. Then Toby Roland-Jones finished it off with a hat‑trick; the outfield emptied, so too the bars and the stomachs.
Whatever the outcome at Lord’s, Somerset had something to celebrate. Relegation was on the mind after eight matches, one victory and some dead pitches at Taunton that were producing a mind-numbing spectacle and not many points. The cricketing management opted for a bolder course – not available to Middlesex, whose groundsman is employed by somebody else, MCC.
There was a determination to play on something livelier: an emerald green surface against Middlesex in a match where the visitors completed a successful and riveting run chase. The rest of the pitches started to turn. Those against Durham and Warwickshire were on the edge, most certainly encouraging the use of spinners to keep that nice Mr Strauss happy; the rest have been interesting but perfectly acceptable, culminating in a dry surface against Nottinghamshire. In the final game it was only the relegated visitors’ incompetence that prevented the game lasting four days. After all Somerset were 302 for two at one point on Tuesday, which made their failure to reach 400 all the more galling for their supporters.
It was a brave decision to opt for more interesting pitches. The consequence can be just three points per game if it goes wrong. Against Warwickshire, Somerset pitched their spinners against the best in the country, Jeetan Patel, and they won.
At the forefront of Somerset’s ascent to the top of the table was Jack Leach, their left-arm spinner, who looks like a cricketer of the 20th century. In a way he plays like one as well: a doughty defensive tailender, a spinner who gives nothing away and a fielder who is solid, no more. With Leach snatching wickets everywhere, Somerset won four of their last six games games.
Leach finished the season with 68 first-class wickets, not all taken at Taunton – there was, for example, a very handy six for 64 against Yorkshire at Headingley in the penultimate match. However apparently he is not as good as Zafar Ansari. He is one of the several young talents at the club that Chris Rogers mentioned enthusiastically on his last day as a pro.
“This side needs everyone to contribute”, said Rogers, “and it has become a good all-round team. They like playing together. And recently they have been as good in the field as any domestic team I’ve played in.” And Rogers has played in a few.
Beyond Leach England will be interested in the Overton brothers – though Jamie has been sidelined with a stress fracture in the back throughout the second half of the season. They will also keep an eye on Tom Abell, the opening batsman, and just possibly the precocious Dom Bess, the off-spinner who took 13 wickets in his first two championship matches.
The local players have come to the fore (being born and raised in Devon counts) and for that reason this side are now adored by the supporters. They quite like to win down here – though there have been long periods in Somerset’s history when this has not been the case – but they especially like to win when the side is full of West Countrymen, with an astute influx from overseas.
They also like their Championship cricket in these parts and Somerset, along with Yorkshire and Middlesex, have played their part in a preposterous end-of-season drama that has caused traumas to those involved and entranced any genuine cricket lover. As a competition the Championship is still alive but, with so many changes being tossed out for the domestic structure of cricket in this country, for how much longer?
