CC1 Penultimate End Game v Yorks in Leeds
By Grockle
September 15 2026
And so we move into the end of the Championship. If we are to win this thing then this game will tell us what to do in the last home game next week. 3 games will effect the situation, we have control over only one as we meet Yorkshire at Headingley. Lewis Goldsworthy misses out to Archie Vaughan and Jake Ball is chosen instead of Josh Shaw. The rest of the side is the one that took Leicestershire down in 2 and a half days. Yorkshire won the toss and will take to the crease first.
CC1 - v Yorkshire @ Headingley Tuesday 15 September 2026
Somerset are still at the top of the CC1 table but only by 4 points and therefore other games are very much in the county's eyeline over the next 4 days. Neverthless we only have influence over one game and that starts on time at 10:30. Yorkshire won the toss and will bat first.
The team is the one that faced Leicestershire last week;
Thomas, Lammonby, Abell, Nicholls, Rew (wk), Vaughan, Overton, Gregory (c), Pretorius, Leach Ball
Lewis Goldsworthy and Josh Shaw miss out for this game.
Yorkshire really need to win this game as they have the hardest run in with Yorkshire away and Surrey at home. Notts and Warwickshire will do what they do and we will have to work with that. The weather is variable in Leeds with some cloud and blue sky. The ground has a smattering of spectators but pretty sparse to be honest for the first day of the last CC1 game for the home side..
Adam Lyth and Will Luxton face Lewis Gregory for the first ball. They take 4 from the first over (in the form of leg byes) but neither bat is off the mark as Migael Pretorius takes the first from the rugby stand end. Both openers manage to get off the mark in this over and they finish with 6 on the scoreboard.
The two Yorkshire openers settle into their routines until the start of the 7th over when Gregory gets one high on Lyth's bat and he guides the ball straight into the hands of Henry Nicholls at first slip. Lyth goes for 11 from 26 and Yorkshire are 30 for 1. The third Yorkshire bat is Sam Whiteman and he fininshes the 7th without scoring so it is a wicket maiden for the captain. The ball seems to be carrying through to the slips really well this morning as the report is that the pitch is 'rock hard'.
We see how well it carries in the 9th over when Gregory repeats the Lyth dismissal by having Luxton guide the ball to Tom Abell at second sllip for 22 from 19. Yorkshire are 39 for 2 from 2 outside edges. Number four in the home side line-up is James Wharton. Suddenly there are a new pair of bats at the crease with 1 run between them and a Yorkshire start has turned into a Yorkshire rebuilding exercise.
After 10 the score has moved to 39 for 2 and has only added 1 run by the time Craig Overton joins the attack replacing Migael for the 12th. At the end of the 15th they have added only 10 and during Cove's 16th they move past 50 with a Whiteman single. 50 off 92 balls with Whiteman on 10 from 27 and Wharton only on 1 from 21.
Jake Ball is now his bowling partner after replacing Lewis for the 15th and he has yet to give away a run. The two bats look in trouble against both bowlers with Wharton only managing 5 but it is Whiteman who finishes the struggle with Jake as he chops him on in the 19th to leave for 14 from 37 at 58 for 3. This brings in Matthew Revis ahead of Jonny Bairstow and gives Somerset their first bowling point.
Gregory seems to think there is something in this pitch as he brings himself on after 2 for 26 off his first 7. He comes back on for the 22nd to give Wharton a bit more to wonder about. However the next wixcket comes from something we all say never happens as Wharton takes on Josh Thomas for a quick single to his left hand and loses the race. The left hander directly hits from midwicket on the run and Revis is dismissed for 6 from 9 at 68 for 4. "We never hit the wickets"? Well we do!!
Jonny Bairstow is finally in and is off the mark with a single. But rain comes sweeping in 20 minutes before the lunch interval and they leave the field at 12:15 at 77 for 4 with both Yorkshire bats on 9 each. Gregory has 2 for 21 and Jake Ball has 1 for 17 with the fourth being the Thomas direct hit. They may take an early lunch given the time though it may just be a quick shower.
They do in fact taken an early lunch because of the weather break and so should be back about 1pm on Day 1.
After the break Lewis keeps the pressure on as he starts the 26th over. Craig begins the afternoon at the other end with Wharton specifically havinig no fun with only 10 from 60 balls he has faced. Sure enough, a ball that beats him finally gets a result in the 30th at 85 for 4 when the skipper bowls him with an absolute peach of an inswinging yorker. 10 runs from 61 and few would have been able to keep that one out. In comes George Hill to look at producing some kind of partnership.
These two push the score past 100 in the 36th Hill takes a single to move him to 14 from 27 while his captain Bairstow has got 17 from the 35 he has seen off. 100 for 5 halfway through the 36th over at 2.8 runs per over. With tha comes more rain but they seem to be looking to play through it. They do and by the 40th Yorkshire have 117 for 5 as Ball is back on the marks bowling his 8th.
The third ball sees a snick through by the Yorks skipper but Rew drops the catch even on the third attempt, he takes it above his head, then it falls out and he has another go but finally trying to dive on it, it hits the ground. Bairstow is definitely dropped on 27 at 117 for 5!!
Jack is on to bowl for the first time at 132 for 5 in the 44th. The Yorkshire pair's 50 run partnership comes with the second ball at 136 for 5. These two are looking to take this innings out of the contrioil of the Somerset bowlers and that drop of Bairstow is looking ominous unfortunately.#
By the end of the 46th, Yorkshire are looking to pass 150. They do that in the 47thoff the bowling of Gregory starting his third spell of the day, his 16th of the day. Bairstow takes the run that moves past that mark to 152 for 5 and himself into the 40s. Hill has 37 from his 56 and this pair continue to rebuld the innings. Jack who has gone for 9 in his 2 over so far, goes for 7 more in his 48th and in doing so sees the Yorkshire skipper reach 50 from 74 balls with 9 fours at 159 for 5.
Migael Pretorius returns in the 53rd and Rew gets his mojo back with a very good diving catch to send Hill back to the dressing room for 45 from 80 at 168 for 6. That brings Dom Bess - Tom Abell's Best Man in October of this year at his marriage - to the crease. he said he does not want to get out to Jack but that won't be happening as he drives his first ball to Miggy and is caught behind to bring the bowler his second in 2 balls. Bit ambitious Dom to be honest. 168 for 7 brings Kuldeep to the crease as the hat-trick ball which doesn't come to anything as he takes a single.
The new pair survive to Tea seeing out the 57th over. They take the break with Bairstow with 59 from 90 balls and Kuldeep up to 7 from his 19 at 182 for 7. Lewis has 3 from his 18 overs - 3 important spells from the skipper. 2 in an over from Migael give him figures of 2 for 33 from 11 - good tight bowling from the South African. Jake has taken the other one with the ball with 1 for 39 from his 10. Jack has bowled 5 for 19 without a victim and Craig has bowled 13 strong overs without the success they deserved to finish with o for 37. Possibly the most significant stat is that in 2 spells, the 57 overs bowled has resulted in 13 maidens.
The drop by Rew means a bat is still in the middle who can change a game but in the grand scheme of things we would have happily faced him after Tea if we have the home side in this position having chosen to bat and only managing a scoring rate of less than 4 an over.
No skipper to start the third session. Jake takes the first with Miggy P at the other end. They survive into the 60th when Ball has Kuldeep feeling for a ball outside the off and he is caught behind for 11 from 29 at 189 for 8. Ben Coad is the next man in as a support for the work of Bairstow on who the whole weight of this innings is now on. By the end of the 62nd they have moved to 199. The England takes a four off Pretorius to go to 203and it is obvious that he is looking to push the score with the second bounfary of the innings. However, Ball ties Coad up for a whole over which get Jonny believing that it is only a matter of time. he therefore goes very BIG off the first ball of the next Pretorius over and bottom edges the ball straight to his opposite number. He goes for 79 from 110 at 207 for 9. Maximum bowling points again for the visitors. Out comes Cliff as the last man. He was dropped on 27 and 44 but he made the most of his time in the middle.
Cliff hits a four off his second ball and adds a leg bye before the end of the 65th at 212 for 9. Cliff flicks the 3rd ball from Ball to Thomas and they are all out for 212. He goes for 4 and Coad is 0 not out.
Jake finishes with 3 for 49. Miggy takes 3 for 51 and Lewis already had 3 for 46. Good bowling performance. Mixed fielding performance but we have to see this as us on top at this point on Day 1.
So, 10 minutes later and with 28 overs left in the Day's play, Josh Thomas and Tom Lammonby walk out to start to decrease Yorkshire's 212 run lead. Coad will take the first over and the only scoring shot is Josh getting off the mark with a single. Cliff takes the second from the other end and the only person scoring is Thomas. In fact by the end of the fourth with 11 on the board, Tom Lammonby still does not have a run on the board. it's looking like it is developing and then in the 5th over it suddenly isn't. Lammonby doesn't get off the mark as with the first ball of the 5th over he is caught by Hill at first slip off Coad. In comes Archie Vaughan in no form whatsoever and that becomes more of an issue when Thomas is LBW to Cliff at the end of the 6th without adding to his 11. Henry Nicholls is at the crease and neither bat has a score to their name.
As with the Yorkies, these two look to reset the innings but by the 10th over, the bowling of both Yorkshire seamers had restricted Nicholls to a single run from the 9 balls he faced while Archie had done little better only adding 6 from his 21. The score had stumbled to 18 for 2 and nothing looked like it was getting any better for the new batting pair. it did not really improve in the next couple of overs and as the 12th over from Cliff (1 for 23 from his 5 and a bit) neared its end, Archie went for an expansive drive and an inside edge crashed into his stumps and he is bowled for 12 at 24 for 3. Somerset are making a dog's breakfast of this one I'm afraid.
Tom Abell arrives at the middle in a position he has had a lof of experience of in his career with the county one hopes he can keep his form and look to put something together with the New Zealander to pull Somerset out of this mire they have themselves in now. There are 16 overs left in the days play and they are still 188 behind the home side's first innings as teh 13th wicket of the day clatters down. Settle and end the day well is the order of the evening.
Unfortunately, that is not what happens as Abell is caught behind first ball!! With 12 overs gone Somerset are 24 for 4 and their title hopes may very well be disappearing in front of their eyes here in Leeds. James Rew is the last recognised specialist bat before the allrounders enter the fight and we are still less than halfway from the score we need to save the follow on!! We need another 38 runs for that to not be a factor in this game.
Hill and Revis take over the bowling duties as Coad with 1 and Cliff with 3 take a rest. The tight bowling does not really end though and by the end of the 15th over we have moved to 38 for 4 with Nicholls on to a mighty 9 from 26 while Rew is racing along at 6 from 7!! 13 overs from the end of the day looks a very long way away at the moment.
By the middle of the 18th with Revis starting it with 1 for 3, Rew has found the rope twice and brought up the 50 from 17.3 overs. Nicholls has 12 from 33 and the Somerset keeper has overtaken him adding 8 to a score he hadn't altered since the 15th over but still going at about a run a ball for all that. 10 overs left but still shy of that 62 needed to not be asked to bat again!!
The pain does not end this side of that total because at 55 at the end of the 20th Revis bowls to Nicholls on 16 and he send the ball almost between the keeper who does not go and first slip who does but very late.. he nearly gets away with it but George Hill hangs on to a brilliant 1 handed reflex grab and Henry has to go for a stodgey 16 from 38 leaving James to try and save the day with Craig still 7 short of that 150 run boundary. What a mess this is becoming.
With 5 to go, Yorkshire turn to a bit of spin to see what that may do to their opponents. Kuldeep comes on with no change in the score since the 20th and his first ball is sent through the infield by Overton for a four to break the grip they have. His 5th ball is a no ball and the Craig takes two off his last and we breathe at least one sigh of relief as we move to 63 for 5 and below the 150 'bat again' total.
Hill has bowled very tightly indeed and did not concede a run since his second over. He finishes his first spell of 6 overs for 6 runs and is replaced with Coad with 4 overs left in today's play. They bat out his 2 and Kuldeep's one and the Dom Bess bowls for the first time to produce a maiden for the 28th. That ends the day with Somerset scoring at a rate of 2.4 runs an over and ending on . They are still 144 behind their opponents with 5 wickets left in their first innings - batting bonus points are 'pie in the sky' at the moent I am afraid.
James Rew has moved on to 17 (53) and Craig has blocked out most of the last 2 overs to return to the dressing room with 7 (21) There have been 28 overs of the innings and it has been pretty much a disaster for a side hoping to win the Championship from a position only 4 point ahead with 1 to play after this one. We could not afford to lose this one and we are presently 25% of the way through it with victory looking highly improbable from this position. It does of course depend on how others are faring but this may be the day we remember as the one when the dream died for 2026.
However, hope springs eternal and tomorrow is another day of Championship cricket. Who says this format is BORING? The one trivia fact of the day is that the Groom Abell and the Best Man Bess were both out on the same day first ball!!
Day 2
10:30 and we go again with a MASSIVE morning session in front of Somerset in the context of the season. Discussion of the Josh Thomas LBW decision has had quite a lot of analysis and discussion overnight but one out of 5 is not much of a mediation to be honest and so we move on. The inconsistent bounce has also been commented on and Steve Kirby was not all that happy with the pitch in last night's interview. We'll have to see how it develops today.
Ben Coad opens with Somerset on 68 for 5. They take 6 off the first with an Overton boundary to start his account on the second morning. Ben Cliff takes the second and he has Rew with his 5th ball of the day . He is caught behind for 17 from 61 at 74 for 6. Cliff now has 4 for 31 from 7.5 over. Seems James was a bit of a surprise, it can't have been more than the slightest of feathers. Cliff then gets his 5-fer as he has the skipper Gregory LBW at 74 for 7. Out comes Jack Leach with our CC1 hopes in tatters I'm afraid.
The new pair have reached 79 by the time Cliff gets the opportunity of a hat-trick ball but Overton deals with it. He then gets a single to move to 18, the highest score in this innings so far!!
Revis replaces Cliff, after his best first class figures, to bowl the 40th with the visitors on 99 and then 100 as Overton takes a single. George Hill is the other change for the 41st. Pretorius is obviously struggling with his hand and has the physio out again as he is caught on the end of the finger again.
Cliff gets Jack next as he gets one to take off and take the shoulder of the bat to the keeper - good ball and nothing the Somerset spinner could do about that. He leaves for 6 from 10 at 86 for 8. Cliff moves to 6 for 37 in his 10. Migael Pretorius is in and he gets hit on the glove and drops his bat off the first ball - not his bowling hand thankfully but he has some physio help for a while.
He continues as Hills bowls 43rd and Miggy flashes hard over the slips to bring the lead down below 100 with a four a foot over the fielders grasping hands. 113 for 8 moves to 120 at the end of the 44th with 80 overs left in the day.
Good work from Miggy and COve creates a 50 partnership at 136 for 8 with Craig on 36 from 63 and Miggy on a quick 32 from 45. The lead is down to 76 and then 75 when Yorkshire move to use their international spinners as Kuldeep comes on for the 47th.
The 150 arrives from an Overton single from Hill in the 48th. The last 50 came in 51 balls and Migael has moved ahead of his partner to 43 comapred with Craig's 37. The lead also falls to 62. Great stubborn work from these two.
in the 50th from Kuldeep, there is a mix-up as the bats collide taking a quick run. A return from the fielder (Lyth) to Jonny Bairstow looks like a definite run out but the Yorkshire keeper sees his runner is in and then completely mucks up sending the ball to the bowler's end. It bounces about 2 feet from his wicket and disappears through mid-wicket. Absolute mess at 156 for 8 and after 13 overs and 2 balls the partnership continues. in the 52nd over from Hill, Migael Pretorius re-establishes the county's view that he CAN actually bat when he reaches an excellent and very welcome 50. It comes off a handsome drive from a ball from Cliff. 52 off 59 deliveries with 9 fours. That is his highest score of the season in CC1 and it is very important at 164 for 8 as the lead drops below 50!!
The ball is still spitting though, it is still not easy to bat out there and the allrounders are dealing with it very well. Lunch is coming but Pretorius will not see it as in the 56th over he becomes Cliff's 8th victim at 176 for 8. He goes for a superb 58 from 70 caught off a loose-ish shot edged to Hill at first slip. Cliff has 7 for 54. That 9th wicket partnership of 90 was a new record against Yorkshire passing the 1946 record of Bill Andrews and GR Langdale which was 86 at Taunton.
Out comes Ball as the last man to face a Yorkshire lead of 36 and a batting partner on 44 from 96. Our really true number 11 gets a four to start his innings from a cut that rolls into the rope to move the score to 180 for 9 at the end of the 56th.
Coad takes possibly the last before lunch. His third ball simply does not bounce!! Craig takes a single and Ball looks at 2 balls to survive. He does that but Yorkshire take the extra half hour/8 overs under heavy cloud cover. Cliff bowls, Craig smacks it out into the hands of Whiteman who has dived and takes it over the rope for 6 and an Overton 50 from 102 balls of '"grit, determination and the highest quality". Hear, Hear.
The lead goes below 20 at the end of the 58th at 193 for 9. Craig has been in the middle for the whole of the morning session. He has passed 50 for the 6th CC1 time this year and he converted 3 of those. Ball gratefully takes the width Coad gives him in the 59th and gets off strike. He survives the over and we go into the 60th. The third ball goes high wide and handsome for 6 from the bowling allrounder and that brings up the 200 to 201 for 9. He tries again and he is caught in the deep by Kuldeep for a magnificent 64 from 110 balls. Somerset are all out for 201 for 9 trailing by 11 with Jake Ball not out 5 from his 11 balls.
Well after the disappointment of the first 10 minutes this morning, the last 2 and a half hours has restored some faith with the bowlers coming to the party with a mere 115 runs for the last two wickets with 90 coming from Migael and Craig. We are back in this one but with no batting bonus points (though Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire failed to get any either).
So we go again after Lunch!! Credit to Ben Cliff who finishes with career best figures of 16.4 overs, 3 maidens, 8 for 76. Not bad going and the pitch is giving out 'uncertain bounce' messages quite a lot so there is definitely more to come from this game.
Hope springs eternal for the long term Somerset supporter as we start the second session of Day 2. We werepretty much dead and buried at 86 for 8 but we go into the second phase of this game only 11 runs adrift. This does not look like a 4 day game so a result is very much on the cards. Somerset's campaign may still have some life in it.
The afternoon session is started by Lewis Gregory as Luxton and Lyth open the batting. They have 4 by the end of it as Craig Overton is straight into the attack. His first goes past the outside edge without much of a bounce. His second ball sees Luxtron's middle stump fly as he bowls himm trough the gate. That is his 50th first class wicket of the season and it was a storming ball 4 for 1 and what a Somerset hero this man is!! His first is a wicket maiden - no surprise there.
Lewis follows his team mate and bowls another maiden so the home side are still on 4 as Craig comes in for his next to new man Sam Whiteman. He gets off the mark with a single but nothing more comes from the skipper's next - 2 maidens in a row. Craig comea around the wicket and Lyth edges the ball to a very good low catch from Henry Nicholls and it is 5 for 2 at the start of the 6th over. What a start - Yorkshire are effectively 16 for 2. In comes James Wharton. and he looks to stay a little longer.
By the 10th over Yorkshire have moved to 10 with both bats on 3 and daftly tight figures from both bowlers. They have reached 12 by the end of the 11th as Jake Ball takes over from Craig as the first change. Lewis stays on and Yorkshire move on to 21 for 2 as Lewis finishes his first spell with 12 for 0 from his 7.
Jake's second over gains reward as his third ball has Wharton loses his off stump to an excellent ball which goes in and then out again. Wharton goes for 6 from 32 and the home side are 21 for 3 as Revis comes out. The floodlights also come on as the clouds move in. Jake finishes his second with 1 for 5 as Pretorius replaces his captain for the 15th. He finishes the 17th with a maiden after going for four from his first. But then the weather comes in and the umpire takes the men off at 26 for 3 just 2 balls into the 18th. The time is 2:37 but an announcement at 2:40 says they will take an early Tea.
3;18pm before the clean up is fininshed and we are back. Revis has 1, Whiteman has 13 from 45 and Yorkshire have a lead of 37 runs. When we return there are 46.4 overs left in the day with Jake Ball up first to finish the 18th over. Migael starts at the other end and by the 20th more tight bowling has kept Yorkshire to 27 for 3 with Ball bowling 5 overs for 7 runs and 1 wicket. Migael has gone for 4 from his 3. Making runs is not easy at the moment.
By the 25th Miggy bowls another maiden and it is only 38 for 3 and Overton is back on at the other end. They only manage to add 2 (which takes the lead over 50) before the end of a maiden from COve brings an end to the 28th. Jake takes over from Miggy for the 29th as Yorkshire have managed to add 14 runs since Tea in an hour with more than one play and miss also in that time (possibly more than 14 of them!!)
Finally the bowlers get a breakthrough as the 2 runs made by Revis are all he will contribute when the fourth ball jags off the edge to a diving Tom Abell 40 for 4 sees Revis leave for 2 from 40 balls. In comes Bairstow to face Ball who is now 2 for 7 from his 6.4 overs.
By the 30th over, neither Bairstow or Whiteman have added to the score. They add 5 in the 31st after which Lewis returns (Craig has bowled 14 dot balls in a row). His last ball of the 32nd see the back of Bairstow who drives the ball directly into the diving hands of Vaughan. Jonny chased a ball though it was a great catch. He goes for 1 from 12 at 45 for 5. Gregory has 1 for 12 from 8. In comes Hill and he and Whteman take the score over 50 with a two at the end of the 33rd over. 51 runs in 199 balls!!
Hill is off the mark with a 3 (a run saved by the combined boundary fielding of Thomas and Lammonby) but Whteman is not lucky at being at the crease as he is caught at second slip by Abell from Gregory next ball Whiteman goes for 35 from 97 trying to take his bat away at 54 for 6. This brings Bess to the crease on a possible 'King' pair. He is caught behind but it didn't come off anything. Lewis has a chat with his ex teammate as he passes him.
By the end of the 37th Yorkshire have moved on to 64 for 6. The new Yorkshire pair start to put something together and as we move into the 40 over area, the lead starts to move towards a 3 figure total. That 100 is achieved with a two run shot saved on the boundary by Overton. It comes in the 47th over, bowled by Gregory with Hill on 22 from 34 and Bess on 16 from 47 at 89 for 6. It looks like the back end of the Uorkshire batting may well do what Somerset managed earlier in the day nd put uop a fight to get this to a workable and defendable total for the home side.
There are 17 overs left in the day if we can get them in and as we move towards the conclusion, Jack Leach is brought into the attack for the 48th over. He then takes the 50th and dutring that one Huill hits him for 6 to take the Yorkshire second innings total over 100 to 105 for 6. Ball is helping to close down the day. In the 56th over, Hill takes a single to reach a first class 50 with 6 fours and a six in 68 balls. The total has moved to 122 for 6.
With 7 overs to go the light gets the better of them and the umpires take the sides off at 128 for 6. Bess has 27 from 74 while Hill has not moved from his 50. A topsy turvey sort of a day. one of the commentators said that at 20:50 this morning he was writing the obituary for Somerset's championship dash and now the game is in a very different place. 2 days to go, a present lead of 139 with 4 wickets (Kuldeep, Coad and Clliff to come)
The bowling has been as tight as a duck's behind. The captain has bowled the captain,'s share with 16/5/2/36 Craig Overton was the hammer at the start with his 2 wickets and he ends up with 13/6/2/17 - by far the tightest spell. Jake bowled 12/5/3/35 to tally all the wickets and Migael put in a spell of 11 with 6 maidens for 20 with the spin of Leach ending the report 0 for 19 off 5 at the end. Everybody put in their quota and the game is interestingly poised with Somerset being moderately happy to start again fresh in the morning and have a go at turning what seemed like a disaster this morning into something more palatable on Day 3. We'd love to chase less then 150 and that might be a job. If the last few bats can put their game together tomorrow then a chase moving towards 200 would be much more of a task given what has happened up to now. There are 2 days left IF the weather doesn't have a say. We shall see in the second half of this very interesting game.
Day 3
On time Lewis Gregory bowls the 57th over of the innings to Hill and Bess at 128 for 6. He bowls a maiden first up and is followed by his opening partner Craig Overton. The ambient mic at the ground suggest a decent amount of wind across the ground. They get their first run of the day with a Bess single. During the over there is a ball that really does not get up much. Kirby suggested that the hardness of the Headingley pitch was 'aging' the ball quicker and the old ball is doing much less in the last 20 or so overs. The ball is nearly 60 overs old this morning and will not be replaced for 20 overs. The floodlights are on at the moment and there is slight rain falling about the ground. They come off after adding 4 runs in the 13 minutes of play we have had.
The covers roll on and then roll off again and we are back in play within 15 minutes. Lewis finishes the last 2 balls of the 61st over. Not a lot is happening and Somerset discuss the shape of the ball with the umpire during some treatment to Dom Bess after being hit on his hand in the 63rd over with Yorkshire on the verge of takint their lead over 150 at 135 for 6. Hill has moved on to 54 adding just 4 to his overnight score and Bess has added 3 to his in about 7 overs. The Yorkshire pair can't get there in the 64th as Overton bowls another maiden. the 150 lead finally comes from a Bess boundary at the start of the 65th over moving the score to 139 for 6. The possible probablities change again in this fascinating match as another point of reference is passed. Somerset commentators were confident of chasing a total in the low 100s. They were less confident of a total over 150. the next reference point will be 175 and then 200 and so on. The probability of a Someset win seems to drop significantly if the remaining Yorkshire bats can get this lead over 200.
Migael Pretorius takes up the challenge of the day coming on for the 67th over replacing Gregory. He does not produce the tightness of his team mates and the George Hill takes him for three fours and 15 in the over. That moves yorkshire over the 150 mark, Hill to 71 and the 100 partnership arriving between these two men for the home side.
Dom Bess' left hand is still causing him some problems and he gets more treatment at the end of the 69th over with the lead moving to 174. Lewis returns to bowl the 70th to help out the workload of Craig from the other end. Somerset need to break this partnership. However, by the end of the 72nd nothing significant has happened (story of the morning so far really) but the lead has moved on to 181 at 170 for 6
As the partnership continues to rise, Jack Leach is introduced into the attack as the ball moves towards the 80th over and its rebirth!! He is back on for the 77th as Dom Bess moves towards his own milestone of 50. His first in this spell is a maiden. He is paired with Pretorius at this stage of the match who has 45 runs off his 15 overs so far. Dom goes to 50 off 130 deliveries with a single from the third ball of the 78th over at 187 for 6 a lead presently at 198. It goes past 200 with three runs from Hill before the end of the over and with 2 to go before the new ball.
At 192 for 6 with Hill on 86 and Bess on 50, Lewis Gregory takes the new ball for the 81st over. He will partner Craig Overton to try and break this partnership keeping Somerset hopes alive in the short period before the Lunch interval at about 12:30.
So to Lunch on what has not been a great morning for the visitors. The players go in at the end of the 85th over with Hill on 88 and Bess on 60 at 208 for 6., Yorkshire lead by 219 runs and something near 250 is very definitely possible. The pressure on Somerset is rising and the need for quick wickets at the start of the afternoon session is becoming very important.
After the break Jake Ball, who only bowled 3 over in the morning opens up with the semi-new ball in conjunction with Craig who is now bowling his 22nd over with 8 maidens and only those 2 wickets at the start of this over though he has only gone for 29 runs in those overs.
By the 90th over the score has moved on to 219 for 6 so the tight control is still there but the lead keeps rising as it reaches 230. Hill is looking at the 90s while his partner has moved to 70. There is a sharp run out chance which is debated a lot because of lilvestreams being able to be reviewed. It did look close but unfortuately we do not have reviews in these games and the decision was not out.
Nevertheless, the pain does end when Craig takes his third wicket as Hill top edges and while he is looking for the ball, James Rew settles himself under the skier and takes the catch. Hill goes for a vital and patient 89 from 171 balls (exactly the same number as Dom Bess is currently on) at 220 for 7. The partnership added 166 runs to the Yorkshire total and may very well have yet given them the match.
COve takes his 3rd to go to 3 for 34 in his 24th over and there is some light at the end of the tunnel as Kuldeep or Yadav arrives at the crease. Somerset still need 3 wickets and the lead is 231. The new man takes an aggressive view of his batting it seems so the pain may not be over yet. He is off the mark for the single. When Ball takes the 94th over, the score has moved on to 225 for 7. Gregory reeturns for the 95th and the lead is still rising. It has reached 242 with Kuldeep on 8 from 20 and Bess on 73 after 178 - another very patient and reserved innings but as important in the grand scheme of things.
Overton again returns after a breather and in the 97th over a 4 from Bess takes the score to 239 for 7 and the lead to 250 runs. Pretorius comes back to replace his skipper for the 98th and Dom Bess who survivied that run out appeal earlier in the afternoon gets an absolute peach that totals his stumpssending the off stump out of the ground at 77 from 185 and with the lead still on 250.
239 for 8 and Ben Coad walks out and is still there as Gregory finishes the 100th over (Somerset are cycling their seamers as much as possible as there seems to be little in this for the spinners presently). Coad is off the mark and has moved to 4 while Kuldeep has 12 and the score has moved into the 240s.
There are still many balls going past the outside edge - which doesn't bode well for the last innings of the game I'm afraid. The 103rd over brings a little more frustration as a Coad boundary moves Yokshire over 250 to 253 for 8 and with 50 overs of the day's play left that over ends at 261 for 8.
Jack Leach does return for the 104th, indicating we are near the Tea interval rather than the wicket has suddely started to take spin!! We then double up the spin with Archie Vaughan starting his day's bowling with the 105th. There are some questions asked at certin deliveries but nothing is a really serious appeal, except for one from Jack and by the 110th over the slow men have done little beyond holding the scoring rate in place. Kuldeep has 22 from 68 and Coad has amassed 15 from his 34. the score is now at 272 and the lead is looking quizziclly at the 300 total.
Archie does send Coad on his way at 273 for 9 as one to the foot ofhis bat pops straight up and is caught at short leg by Josh Thomas. The Yorkshire bat goes for 15 from 34 and Cliff comes in as the last man. He is notlong for this game though because after 2 byes from the next ball he is bowled without scoring and this interminable innings is over at 275 all out. The lead is 286 and Archie has finished it off with 3 for 8 from 4 overs. His last three deliveries did not bode well for us as they all took spin and the home side have Yadav and Bess to bowl at us.
So after 111 overs the attempt to win this game will start after a Tea interval with 42 overs to go in the day if the weather allows them to happen.
Somerset come out to try and get the highest score of the game to keep their CC1 hopes alive after the Tea interval with rain in the air but not presently stopping play. Thomas and Lammonby come out to start at 3:12 needing 287. Coad starts against Josh his first is not a ball to go near, or his second but unfortunately the third gets the edge to Bairstow and they are 0 for 1. They are 0 for 1 with Archie Vaughan in the middle when Ben Cliff starts his work and he starts with a maiden. Nothing from the third or the fourth either. Vaughan is finall off the mark with a single from Coad at the start of the 5th. That is all there is from that one except for 2 appeals against Lammonby so it is still not a good solid start at the moment.
Archie gets a risky boundary past a diving fourth slip in the next over and it really is very sketchy at the moment. After 7 Vaughan has all the runs with 5 from 16 while his partner who has been there longer is still on zero after facing 23 balls. Vaughan adds another 3 in the 8th and then the weather closes in and the umpires take the players off at 8 for 1. Nothing seen in those overs says that anyone should confidently expect Somerset to get these runs. if they do it will be via attrition and taking most of tomorrow if the present play is anything to go by. A hopeful Championship side has to do whatever is required to win the title.
But THIS is a very demanding 'requirement' in the present conditions.
The weather clears and the players return to the middleafter about 15 mins as Coad continues to a 4 slip cordon. A flipped, top of the bounce over the infield four from Vaughan moves the total into double figures all for the young man's bat. Tom Lammonby gets off the mark from the first ball from George Hill who is on from the Howard stand end for the 10th. He hits this under the diving body of Revis to the boundary. Hill goes for 5 while Coad continues at the other end.
In the 12th Coad breaks through again as Archie leaves a ball that keeps low and takes out his off stump cartwheels out of the ground at 20 for 1. Vaughan departs after no shot for 12 from 39. Archie's poor form continues. Out comes Nicholls but not for long though he is off the mark with a four from the second dleivery he faces.
The umpires take the players off for another rain break at the end of the 15th over when the score has moved on to 31 for 2. Lammonby has 11 fro 40, Nicholls has a run a ball 7.
Again the break is short and we go again. The bowling remains economical as we move towards 5 pm with Cliff bowling from the Kirkstall Lane end with Hill from the Howard end. After 20 overs the total has moved to 37 for 2 - snailspace but at the moment the one thing the visitors have is time. The RRR is presently 2.17 and over - they are managing to score UNDER that.
With 22 overs gone, the run rate has risen and is now 0.02 of a run above that required at 2.14. The score has therefore moved along to a spritely 47 for 2 with Henry overtaking Tom L with 19 from 34 to his partner's 15 from 56. Cliff is bowling the 23rd having only gone for 13 from his previous 7 but a four from Lammonby added to 2 runs the ball before moves Somerset over 50 to 53 for 2 at the end of his over.
The 25th sees a change in bowling as Revis replaces Cliff and it becoms a dual change as we see the first spin from Kuldeep with the 26th over of the innings. The bats are now pretty equal with the score on 59 for 2 Nicholls has 23 while Lammonby has 22. The spinner is a worry but the next victim is to Revis as Nicholls drive to a ball that comes inside him and takes his off stump at 60 for 2. The New Zealander leaves with 24 to his name from 68 deliveries and this ball just keeps doing things. It seems to have simply gone through the gate and hit between middle and off. Abell arrives with his side still needing to find 228 to stay in the hunt for the CC1 pennant. It is not looking good one has to say.
As we m,ove to 50 overs, the umpires take a look at the light and Revis who was going to bowl puts his jumper back on (there a real wind belting across the pitch now) and Dom Bess takes his off so the officials seem to have said there isn't enough light for seam.
With the second ball the umpires come together again and decide that rain AND the light is too much and they take the players off.
The score is 73 for 3 with Lammonby on 29 from 77 - not the first patient innings today. His partner, the other Tom Abell has 6 to his name and they still need 215 to win this game. Looking at how the conditions have developed during the day one would assume that is it for tonight and we will be back tomorrow to see what it brings. Many watching this one would have put money on the game being over by the end of Day 3 if not by lunchtime today. However we go into the last day with all three results possible, though the level of possivility is differnt for each option. The Yorkshire win is still the most likely. The draw may become more of an option if the weather takes a hand. The Somerset win is in third place by quite a margin one would predict. BUT it is still possible in this gasme full of changes of fortune.
Day 4
Trying to get past the feeling of inevitablity in this one this morning and it isn't helped as Coad and Cliff seem to get quite a lot from the wicket in the cloudy and damp feeling morning in Leeds. Tom Lammonby and Tom Abell. Dom Bess starts with the 4 balls of the over not completed last night (the 31st). Then the seamers come back and the ball is doing some stuff early on. As stated last night it is going to be a long attritional day if Somerset can get into this chase in any form. The 36th over is not a good one when at 76 Tom Lammonby plays the line of a ball from Cliff but it moves away and takes the edge through to Bairstow and the first wicket of the maorning falls at that score. Lammonby simply got a good ball and he walks back for 32 from 92. Out comes James Rew who may be the man who gives us what we need because unless we get a substantial score from someone at the front of this order, the total will be too far away - we are still 200 runs behind.
The task is not helped in the next over when, after James plays and misses at the first 3 ball he faces, Tom Abell gets one from Coad that spits off the shoulder of the bat ballooning up and into the grateful hands of Luxton. He got 6 off 32 and it is 76 for 5 as Overton takes his place. Maybe that was the straw that broke the camel's back but we thought something along the same lines in the first innings and that was not the case.
Well Rew is not going to be the conquering hero because 3 runs on from his arrival he leaves off the bowling of Coad at the end of the 39th, driving to a ball outside his line and simply diverting it to the waiting hands of Lyth at second slip for 0. 79 for 6 means we have adde 6 runs to our overnight score for the loss of 3 wickets in 8 overs. The probability of this game still being on by Lunch is presently not high.
They did not make it. Craig cannot keep getting us out of problem games though he did at least decrease the lead below 200. He snicked to Bairstow in the 42nd over off the ever present Cliff at 87 having added a mere 5 from his bat this time. His skipper followed him 3 balls later to the same rampant bowler missing a straight one and out LBW for 6 at 88. Migael could also not provide the heroics twice and made only 1 the second time around snicking behind off Hill in the 46th at 92. Jake Ball provided 2 fours in defiant style, the second breaking the 3 figure barrier for Somerset before he was bowled by Revis for tha defiant 8. Jack was not out 4 and we were all out in 48.s overs for a measly 101. We lost the game by 185 runs and probably said bye bye to the CC1 pennant in the process at the penultimate hurdle for the 5th time in a decade and the 8th time in this century. We had never got closer than 3rd (1892) in our history before and were not runners up until 2001 126 years after our founding. It's been a long wait and it is not over yet it seems. Ho Hum.
Thanks to the heroes of the bowling unit - Overton, Pretorius, Ball and Leach with bat and ball for keeping hopes alive in a game that seemed gone by lunch on day 2. Well done to the heroes of the Yorkshire bowling unit for getting their hope back Bess, Hill, Coad, Cliff and Kuldeep. Special mention to Ben Cliff with figures of 11 for 105 in the game and Dom Bess who beat his close friend Tom Abell in the batting before the wedding with a duck in the first but 77 in his second in the match winning partnership with George Hill.
We come back to Taunton to face Surrey on Thursday. the last game of the season but maybe not the hopefully momentous game it was hoped to be. But it will still cap of an good season from the boys and that runners up spot still has to be finalised with a good game and a win to finish off 2026.
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As usual we will close the report thread until the end of the game and let the comment thread continue before merging them at the end of this fixture
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:15:10:36:44 by Grockle.
For the other two matches that matter to us, the forecast is as poor as Somerset's for the third day, but with a significantly lower prospect of rain than we are promised on the other days, and none on the last for Nottinghamshire.
I don't have the knowledge or the experience to call odds, but I suspect that if TBWTD ("Leicestershire and Friends!" thread) had taken this week's forecasts into account (assuming he didn't) Somerset's odds on winning the Championship might have lengthened and the odds on Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire shortened.
That said, as we discovered on the first two days of the Glamorgan match, weather forecasts can be capricious things. Anyone know the odds on it actually raining a lot in Leeds this week? Or of it barely raining in the other two places?
Of course, if the rain does come as predicted and Somerset draw and Essex and Sussex win ...
I won't even ask for the odds on that.
I just hope I don't wake up at three o' clock in the morning in the middle of a dream in which Dilly's wish ("Leicestershire and Friends thread) that the Leicestershire match had been the last had come true only to realise two seconds later that two tough matches remain unplayed.
That is the problem with arriving early for an away match. Too much time to think. Having just wasted that time, I think I will now follow H.H. Asquith's advice when he was questioned about the content of the anticipated 1910 Parliament Bill, a line equally apposite to predicting the weather and cricket: -
"Wait and see".
Farmer
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:13:22:50:26 by Grockle.
"Underdogs"
Bairstow and Bess will be lining up against us. As will Yadav - this is his final match for Yorkshire; he won't play at Trent Bridge next week. I hope our guys have been practising their clapping. That expanse of the Western Terrace, as it used to be called, should provide some lovely amplifying echos.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:14:10:41:09 by Bagpuss.
Let’s hope we have plenty to clap about come Friday.
Unchanged squad named.
Go well lads !
Grizzers
Had a very pleasant walk along the Aire this morning where the waterfront near the station has been transformed since Somerset were last here in 2019. In that match, Keshav Maharaj, Yorkshire's short-signing class spinner, took ten wickets against Somerset in one of the three heavy away defeats that season which skewered Somerset's Championship challenge.
For those looking for historical parallels. Yorkshire had Maharaj in 2019, they have Yadav now. On the other hand, our other two away defeats in 2019 were against Essex and Hampshire, both of whom were beaten away from home by Somerset this year.
Tonight I am off to The Grand Theatre to see The Ballad of Johnny (Cash) and June. And tomorrow, to Headingley to step into what, for Somerset under the pressure of having the winning of the Championship, mathematically at least, in their hands, will be a Ring of Fire. How they emerge from it will say much about their future in this years' Championship.
Farmer
Thomas, Lammonby, Abell, Nicholls, Rew, Vaughan, Overton Gregory,Pretorius, Ball , Leach, Goldsworthy, Shaw
The usual options exist spin or seam and which ones. The rest will be there again tomorrow. The preview is up on the club website & here for any wanting to know more;
Yorkshire Preview
Bairstow
Bess
Cliff
Coad
Hill
Luxton
Lyth
Revis
Wharton
White
Whiteman
Yadav
Okay, not quite.
We can only do what we can do in this game, he says gnomically, and with fingers - and everything else - crossed.
I'll find it too stressful to watch, though.
Leeds United fans mingling in the city earlier will have gone home happy. United beat Newcastle 4-1 at Elland Road. When I lived here, Don Revie, and Billy Bremner and Co were mostly sending the fans home happy. Yorkshire CCC supporters used to go home less happy. Geoffrey Boycott was captain for most of my stay after Brian Close departed for Somerset.
Farmer.
That was the era I started following Somerset.
Happy days, happy days...
That is what the so called football team of that era were known as. A team that married general thuggery with a large helping of brutality, all enveloped by outright violence.
Ah, the beautiful game, eh.
Those were the days !
Grizzers
Grizzers
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:15:10:11:16 by Grizzers.
So much for my theory than relegation pressure might put some lead in their pencil.
Grizzers
"We NEVER hit the stumps directly if it is important"
Seems that doesn't operate at Leeds!!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:15:14:33:24 by Devonboy70.
And Hands-of-Glue Rew.
Had we been offered less than 4 and over and Yorkshire 7 down with less than 200 on the board by Tea at 10:30 this morning I think we would have bitten off the hand offering that.
The fans were even worse. I remember getting chased halfway around Leeds after Liverpool beat Leeds to take away several of Leeds’ records in the last game of the 1979 season.
Now. How will we bat?
Will tune in to the Notts game & hope they don’t give our score until stumps !
Grizzers
On the plus side Warks and Notts don't look like getting any batting points
Not watching; was never going to.
Somebody tell Zaltzman ...
LoL
Seventy-eight Seasons a Somerset Supporter
Notts & Warks aren't in the strongest position though, so I guess we just have to try to hang in there in the morning.
Best hope Messrs Rew, Overton & Gregory sleep well and bat as if their lives depend on it tomorrow.
Grizzers
Things elsewhere have been far from disastrous but I am not banking on it staying that way.
Tense times.
Grizzers
Quote:Grizzers
Anyone who has supported SCCC for more than a few years has the box set of 'Tense times' !
Grizzers
I think that 50+ years qualifies, which makes me a newbie compared with some here!
Farmer
The problem is that we could do with his spin and if he is not playing then the obvious replacement with spin capabilities is Lewis Goldsworthy who is also struggling for form. i suppose the other option would be bowling Josh Thomas as Jack Leach's partner. Options are something we need so they are all there - along with Will Smeed who is also coming into some form.
And the future for Sav Perera? Will we see the last of him in this game?
Grizzers
In other words, we now need a miracle to win the championship
There is a lesson here: that sport is best when you are faced with adversity.
Like a few people here, I thought he had lost his ability to be a force of nature in Farmer’s words. How wrong I was.
Similar bowling this afternoon would do Craig. I don’t even mind if it means I see nothing tomorrow. Heading off in an hour or so , better start my packing.
Edit ; hoping to maintain my hundred percent record of always having seen Yorkshire lose in Yorkshire. 2011 v nice Lancs at Headingley, 2017 as above, 2021 v Hampshire at Scarborough.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:16:12:52:42 by Des Platt.
Having to bat last, our backs are still against the wall, but at least we remain in the game.
Credit to Ben Cliff. 8 wickets in an innings is pretty special.
Grizzers
Quote:Somerset LaLaLa
There needs to be a stand at Taunton named after Craig Overton
We're gonna need another bloody pavilion aren't we?
Certainly a match to remember for him.
Grizzers
“ Before this game Ben Cliff had seven wickets in ten games at 67.
This is what we mean about Somerset DNA.”
Believe he did look useful in the 50 over cup, however.
The bounce is very unpredictable and there there are these spells of weird lifelessnes before another spell of all kinds of movement/bounce.
Nothing will be easy to chase on this. Glad the umpires have given us time to rest and regroup. Would like to see us chasing LESS than 150, we'd have to chase anything between that and 200 VERY carefully and if they let the Yorkshire tail wag we may very well re-visit 10:40 this morning again about Tea time tomorrow.
But you can't say it's dull!!
My mind can be analytical, but it has not been endowed with the power of the crystal ball. All I can say therefore is that, if Somerset are to win this match we will all have to go through the Ring of Fire that I mentioned before the start of the match (posted at 5th September 15.43) and for the outcome we will have to (posted at 13th September 13.10) 'Wait and See'.
Or to put it without the assistance of Sir Humphrey, I haven't got a clue what is going to happen tomorrow. So back to Headingley in the morning it is.
Farmer
‘Today will be…………’
Fill in the blank at your peril !
Grizzers
So here we are right now. Go well lads.
Farmer.
The weirdest thing about all this is that those who have been involved in my era (mid 90s until today) have been here so many more times than those who waited and waited and waited for Championship glory for decades. It's those people we probably all hope for after our own desire to see it.
But Day 3 of this game to get through first even before we get to next week and the visceral feelings of being there at home on the last four days.
I chased a storm that had battered Bermuda the weekend before over to the UK in 2019 in the hope that we'd get a game against Essex and although we didn't get enough of a game to do anything with that there are few feelings like it and it was worth every penny.
Hope to be on the edge again next Thursday but if not I'll be there to celebrate a pretty decent season for the county and the men and women who have brought so much satisfaction to a grizzled supporting heart in 2026
Sorry, stating the blindingly obvious !
Grizzers
If they get out of jail in this one I doubt TKC will be on the field for the last one unless we have injuries. If we lose this one, does it really matter either way?
A few facts:
a) 73 for 3 after 30 overs is the best start to an innings in the match. In their first innings, Yorkshire were 85 for 5 from where they reached 213. 138 runs for 5 wickets. In their first innings, Somerset were 74 for 7 from where they reached 201. 127 runs for 3 wickets. In their second innings, Yorkshire were 40 for 4, 54 for 6 by the 34th over, from where they reached 275. 221 runs for 4 wickets. Somerset need another 214 from 7 wickets.
b) Key to those final totals on this pitch were three partnerships: 83 between Bairstow and Hill in the Yorkshire first innings, 90 between Overton and Pretorius in the Somerset first innings, and 166 between Hill and Bess in Yorkshire's second innings.
c) In the Yorkshire second innings, Archie Vaughan took two wickets in an over with sharp turn with the second new ball in its 31st over.
d) The current ball is in its 31st over.
e) With their wickets still intact are: Lammonby, Abell, Rew, Overton and Gregory.
f) Yorkshire have Bess and Yadav.
The exam question is: Taking into account a, b, c, and d, is e greater or less than f?
For those who like to turn the paper over to read the answer, the current answer is, we will have to wait and see.
But if the final answer is 'greater than', then we shall all have truly been through a Ring of Fire
Farmer
The BBC local forecast at 8.00 a.m. was for the possibility of a shower around lunchtime with a much greater threat of rain after tea, perhaps around 5.00 p.m or a bit before as a more generalised weather front moves in.
For the pessimists, don't look at the online Met forecast.
At present the sky is overcast with a blanket of light grey cloud. The ground is dry.
The umpires in this match have been pretty sharp in getting the players back on after the short rain breaks we have had.
Farmer
I tend to think, like a poster I saw on another forum before , that it is 65:35 in favour of Yorkshire but the 35 is eminently possible. Yadav is my big fear because as Farmer pointed out to me, not many of our players will have much experience against such spinners ; the one who may have, has gone . The two bouncing deliveries from Vaughan make me fear Bess too.
As I’ve expressed before, I really dislike 3/4 game signings and just wish these critical games were decided by players with real county identity .
Bairstow, all or nothing. Dom Bess not doing the right thing for Somerset. Hill. Glorious Pretorius. CraigO loves Headingley. Gregory's back. Vaughan batsman turned bowler and expert catcher. Cliff's 8-for. Yadav. To rain or not rain, that is the question?
Grizzers
Switching my allegiances for the rest of the day to Leicestershire.
We still lack conviction when the chips are down and if, as seems very likely, we fail to win the Championship, our inability to convert winning positions (Glamorgan at Taunton, Yorkshire (x2)) has surely been a key reason.
As for next week, with all the resources we've sent to Leics. over recent years, they must owe us a favour or two !
Grizzers
I'm not sure whether I would have been happier if they had drawn it out and then lost or not.
The front end folded twice on a difficult pitch. This morning at least most wickets werre 'got' rather than 'given' I suppose.
In this game the front end folded for both sides both innings to be honest, the bowlers did most of the work with bat and ball. The frustrating thing is that we haven't been doing this much recently and now we do. Ahhh well it is what is is as Young Jacob Lunn said on Twitter this morning - good to see a teenage Somerset supporter getting into the right frame of mind for following this county early!!
A good winning performance against Surrey next week would finish the season off well even if it does not produce what most of us hoped for in the end. This was a better Championship season performance than most I've experienced so things are looking up...ish!!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:18:18:42:20 by Grockle.
Having been at part of this match and all the 2019 match, that was a far more dangerous pitch than the one Essex snivelled about. When under 80 mph bowlers are getting that sort of bounce it should be looked at .
I’m taking my 2011 view now ; forget hope. Expect disappointment and won’t be disappointed.
High praise is due to many of the players, for that.
Management, in my view, continue to prioritise the Blast, really.
Having made decisions that reduced our bowling depth last winter, Mr Hurry and Co were very, very lucky that Overton, Migael, Ball and Gregory largely made it through the season - certainly there were no extended absences from any of the four.
As such, I think management were rather lucky that we managed to challenge strongly in the CC this season....
If we want to challenge next season? We must surely strengthen our pace bowling depth!?
Yet Grizzly tells me that we are being linked with that noted fast bowler, uh............... Josh Bohannon?
To be fair to management, IF we do sign Bohannon?
I couldn't accuse them of THAT being a Blast-related move since JB would be of no use at all in the Blast!! He is a talented red ball player but has lost his way along with most of his club!
Revis to Abell:
For about 3 or 4 balls, Revis (career bowling average 45) made Abell look a tailender, as the ball reared alarmingly at him, and if I were assessing a pitch for its "quality" then that's the type of thing that I would look at....
On the assumption he isn't recalled by us for next week, I'd like to see him given a chance in our first XI at as early a stage as possible next year.
Grizzers
Our only job now is to make sure we finish second, which is one place better than last time. We'll face Yorkshire next season (the new nemesis) and hopefully there will be a better outcome
But you can't stop some people. So here is some more:
From the safe side of the boundary at backward point, which is where I sat this morning, the Yorkshire bowling looked pretty devastating. The overhead conditions were perfect this morning for seam bowling as well as the pitch behaving as it had in the first 30 or 40 overs of every innings. Of the seven wickets to fall, six were got out. It didn't look to me as if any blame attached to the batsmen.
All four innings looked pretty similar for the first five or six wickets (or 30 or 40 overs). The Yorkshire seam bowling looked sharper than the Somerset seam bowling for much of the time and Coad and Cliff took 16 of the 20 Somerset wickets. I wonder if this had anything to do with their sharpness relative to the Somerset bowlers, (although Overton looked pretty sharp for much of the time)
Championship matches played in 2026:
Coad 6
Cliff 8
Overton 12
Pretorius 12
Gregory 10
Ball 10
Hill and Revis have each played 13 but they only took 4 wickets between them.
I would add the observations of Kevan James, BBC commentator for Hampshire matches who played 15 seasons for Hampshire as an all rounder seam bowler. I once heard him speak at a Cricket Society Q&A. Someone asked why the PCA was supporting a reduction in Championship matches, given that in the days of three day cricket bowlers would bowl in two matches a week on a regular basis, compared with one four day match a week.
His response was that his career had spanned three and four day cricket. He said the strain on a bowler's body and stamina of a four day match is on a wholly different scale than that of a three day match. In a three day match, a side was rarely in the field for a whole day, and after the first day, often considerably less than a whole day. In a four day match, a side can often be in the field for up to a day and a half. He said the strain on a bowler's body of a four day match tests it to its limits. I took him seriously because he had been there and done it in both types of cricket many times over many years. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about.
Farmer
BUT.. notice match officials expressed concern.... Unlike in our game vs Essex, when the umpires were unfazed but Essex snitched to the ECB, in truly pathetic fashion.
It was noticable during the 4 days that some deliveries were leaping at the batters from both sides and from both ends.
Just look at this morning for a good example, one ball to Lewis Gregory from the old football stand end lifted and bounced alarmingly and took him on the shoulder, the next ball pitched at a similar spot, and had he not got the bat in the way, would have hit him at the kneecap.
Those type of pitches are the worst pitches, those that have variable bounce to seam bowlers. Not those that may spin. And lets be clear I am not at any point blaming the pitch for the result.
And as AGod points out, it will not help Somerset.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:18:15:36:24 by Devonboy70.
Before this match Coad and White had played 12 matches, and bowled 244 overs, between them. Overton had played 11 matches he did miss one, the first of the five end of season matches, but in his 11 matches had, with 377, bowled almost a hundred CC overs more than Coad and White combined. Whilst both Coad and White played in the ODC, seven matches each, and Overton the Hundred, neither Coad or White played in the Blast. Yes, they did play some 2nd XI fixtures, but the intensity of such fixtures is going to be dialled down quite a bit from first team matches.
As for the rest of Somerset's pace attack? Lewis Gregory, who has put his body on the line in his effort to drag, or push, Somerset to the summit of Mount County Championship, has played all five of the recent matches, as has Miggy Pretorius, who, in his 11 matches prior to this one had bowled 279 overs. Jake Ball like Lewis Gregory was playing his tenth match of the season; prior to thus match they had bowled 225 and 221 overs respectively. Add to this three of the four played multiple Blast matches and you get an idea of the miles in those legs.
There is also another factor. Spin. And this is interesting. In 2025 and 2024 Jack Leach played 14 and 9 matches respectively. Last year he bowled a mahoosive 491 overs - which works out about 35 per match. In 2024 395 overs, or average 43 per match. Before the start of this match Jack had bowled, in 11 matches, just 255 overs, averaging 23 per match. Yes, I hear you say. But Somerset have another spinner. Archie Vaughan played all 14 matches last year and bowled 286 overs. This year (to start of Yorkshire match) 11 matches, 136 overs. Some of last year's figures may be weighted by the Godawful mid-season, four-match wxperiment with the Kookaburra, but it shouldn't explain the whole difference
So whilst the seamers are bowling as many or more overs than previous years, the spinners are bowling significantly fewer. Which up to a point reflects the pitches - our opposition knows we have one excellent, experienced spinner and another talented youngster, and both likely to play, so are reluctant to prepare a pitch to suit that. Whilst at home there is the shadow of the pitch police watching Somerset at every turn - literally.
But those overs by the spinners don't just take wickets - they are there to keep one end going whilst the pace guys take a break and rotate at the other end. And if this doesn't happen then your quicks are coming back for their second and third spells just a little bit sooner than ideal. And that's when pace drops off, especially at the end of the day.
The only runs of any significance were scored, on both sides, when the ball had been softened up.
Will they receive a points penalty? Of curse not, they are........Yorkshire.
Quote:Bagpuss
my feeling is that the defining moment of the match was the 160-odd partnership for the 7th wicket by Hill and Bess yesterday.
Correct. That was the moment. That was the moment the game changed direction.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:18:18:15:19 by Grockle.
Was there variable bounce? Yep on more than one occasion but what is too much variable bounce.
Steve Kirby was not happy on the first evening and probably said too much at the time though his main concern seemed to be with the hardness of the wicket and its effect on the ball.
The question is, what do you expect when games are crammed into a short period after a heatwave?
What happens if they aren't happy with the conditions?
It affects Yorkshire and does us not good or bad. Whatever the decision has no effect on the result for us.
Yorkshire would get a penalty and it may send them down - IF any penalty is imposed and IF it was imposed in this season or tagged on to next.
Surrey are waiting for the same thing - or not depending on what you view is of the ECB doing this on an equal or fair basis.
In the Leicestershire decision it was made clear that the fault, although being with the Foxes was not a conscious attempt to doctor a wicket but more a lack of awareness for the effect of the unusual weather conditions.
If a decision says the effects were intentional then what is the comeback for the side at the top of the table who has lost a game played on a pitch deemed poor? No points are allocated to the losers, only taken away or given to the home side as penalties.
It's all a bit of a mess and if ECB activity follows it's usual mode of conduct they'll walk away from it very quickly indeed with cries of "Nothing to see here"
Credit where it is due - Yorkshire's attack performed superbly. With George Hill also being extremely capable with the bat, subject to their top order firing, the Yorkies could well be title challengers in 2027.
Grizzers
Quote:cricketjerry-mouse
No, Devonboy70, the failure of Yorkshire, who were in very real danger of relegation at the start of the month, to prepare a wicket suitable for the first-class game of cricket `did for us`,
The only runs of any significance were scored, on both sides, when the ball had been softened up.
Will they receive a points penalty? Of curse not, they are........Yorkshire.
A game in mid September went into day 4 with no interruptions with nearly 800 runs scored with games all over the country being done inside 3 days. Yet it's the pitch. Yorks top order collapses most games as has Somersets many times. Utter rubbish to blame the pitch. Seriously sour grapes
The comments on here seem mostly to be about why and what happens if it has an effect. Not sure where you think the 'sour grapes' are. Somerset gain nothing if the pitch is called - and the only question would come then if the call suggested it was deliberatly under-prepared (they rarely are).
Both set of bowlers made the best of the conditions and the Yorkshire bowlers did better on it. The bounce WAS unpredictable at times but both set teams had to deal with it so at best Yorkshire did better and at worst both sides put up a competitive game (for just over half of the 4 days) on a poor surface that may bring a penalty
Yorkshire will have to deal with an adverse decision and being a 'Yorkshireman' I'm sure they will do it without any 'sour grapes' themselves
. they would lose the points and possibly get extra penalty points docked. Somerset come away with nothing extra and on the basis of the performance of our batting in both innings I'm not sure we deserve to.The usual penalty is the loss of between 19 and 29 points - with on occasional further loss only acted upon for a repeat referee complaint next season - with the ultimate sanction of relegation.
Neither of course would benefit Somerset. Interestingly, last season, when Yorkshire escaped relegation by 24 points and Durham went down, September`s only championship match at the ground saw Durham assemble 346 and 85 and Yorkshire 475..
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:19:11:39:35 by cricketjerry-mouse.
The question is not who was the better batting side on the surface. Yorkshire quite obviously were because they won by 185 runs. Any conclusion about the surface will not change the result.
The debate is now whether the surface was good enough to run the game on. If the ECB 'experts' decide it wasn't then the only thing that will change is that Yorkshire will lose the points it gave them and possibly more.
As I posted further up. My only question then becomes.
If a county is also judged to have known what was going on and did nothing to stop it then how does that affect the competition as a whole.
Not saying Yorkshire did this at all BUT if a county does and it adversly affects the title chase, there is no comeback for the title chasing county in this process. What can they do? Sue the offending county for opportunities lost?
Not sure how you would decide this had occured or award any recompense - I don't think a county has ever been found to have consciously produced a poor pitch or negligently allowed a poor pitch to exist but is it the assumption that this will always be the case?
I appreciate it's the one eyed Alan Gibson who feeds this made up narrative (AG initials wonder why...) between bouts of sobriety, yet Somerset gambled failed and were rightly punished for a crappy pitch that actually was crap, nearly a decade ago.
Take the blinkers off and lose that chip it's old news. You will win the pennant soon if not this season as millfeld will always churn out quality players(and it's certainly not done this season yet, I'm sure some more twists are due as theres no outstanding team this year and everyone's much of a muchness bar the bottom 3) so own past mistakes and get on with it. Recent seasons have shown it's not needed as you are close without resorting to past misdemeanors, mostly.
Your an incredibly well run county who probably needs a better coach than one who has not made the best of the talent, but some sections of support do you no favours at all and why most other counties fans give the sore losers tag.
I for one hope you win it soon as one in the eye for test match/hundred teams.
Milfield does produce a lot of professional cricketers doesn't it? We come up against them time after time in games and some of them know our players as well. Wonder why that is as the school is in Somerset.
You're going back a while to Alan Gibson!! Hasn't he been dead about 20 years or am I getting the wrong one.
Thought most people down here accepted the "Essex pitch" decision but what do I know?
Might point out by your own posting that if the pitch was@#$%&for a decade it took them a long long time to penalise us for it but hey - I'm not the most ardent advocate for the ECB's pitch inspection procedures.
You are right it's old news - although not with you it seems
Good job we don't have to 'resort to those past misdemeanours' that didn't seem to work or be found to be misdemeanours by any official huh?
Yeah if we don't win it this year the only worry, to be honest, is whether we can get to win it while it still means something relevant I suppose.
There are sore losers in every fan base
You might be surprised that in other parts of the country and with some of your own officials when they come 'Dahn Sarf', Yorkshire fans are not the most optimistic bunch known to man
So the old 'chips, shoulders and ownership' argument cuts both ways .
Hope this decision does not @#$%& up your season.
If we lose the CC1, we did that in the first game against you and I think Sussex before the Blast but hey there's more than 1 opinion.
It's why we run forums
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2026:09:19:23:47:50 by Grockle.
Watching the live stream, whenever a batsman were hit on the hand, (it happened several times) because of the bounce, my mind went back to years ago, when the umpires abandoned a match because they said to be too dangerous.
I am not saying this pitch was too dangerous, that is down to the umpires.
I just don't like seeing any batsman being hit because of the bounce.
The partnership between Messrs Hill & Bess was the determining feature of the game and our inability to break it perhaps had similarirties with other occasions when we have struggled to bowl teams out, from what appeared to be a winning position (think home v. Worcs in 2025 & Glamorgan away this year).
I do wonder somethimes if we could be a bit more creative with our bowling. The last hour v Worcs, was spin only against tail end batters, when perhaps a dose of pace would have done the trick. At Yorkshire, Tom Lammonby didn't bowl at all in the Yorks 2nd innings, which seems odd.
Lewis Gregory knows more about cricket in his small toe than I'll ever know, but it just seems a bit strange that we don't try every possible option.
Grizzers
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