)}})
Career best for Archie on day one
A career best First Class score from Archie Vaughan helped Somerset finish on 317 for six on the opening day of this Rothesay County Championship Division One match against Sussex at the Cooper Associates County Ground.
There were also important contributions from Tom Lammonby, James Rew and Tom Abell, and the home side will resume tomorrow feeling that they are on top in this clash.
The visitors won the toss and invited their hosts to bat first, and it came as something of a surprise when the first opening pair to walk down the newly constructed dressing room steps at Taunton consisted of Lewis Gregory and Josh Davey.
Somerset’s latest openers took the score to 21 before Nathan McAndrew made the breakthrough in the sixth over.
After the Sussex seamer got a couple to shape back in, the penultimate ball of the over didn’t deviate and found the outside edge. Tom Clark did the rest at second slip and Somerset skipper Gregory was the batter to go for 15.
However, any thoughts that Sussex may have had of making further inroads into the Somerset lineup were thwarted by Davey and Lammonby as the second wicket pair took their side to 50 in the 19th over, and the 50 partnership arrived shortly thereafter from 109 deliveries.
Both players were comfortably dealing with everything that Sussex had to throw at them but when the partnership had reached 58, Ollie Robinson banged one in short which rose sharply on Davey (28) who was given out caught behind at 79 for two.
Rew joined Lammonby in the middle and drove the final ball of the morning quite beautifully to the boundary for four to take his side to 99 for two at lunch.
Play unfolded in a similar fashion after the interval as the two Somerset batters brought up their 50 partnership from 72 balls.
The stand was worth 70 ,with Rew on 46, when Jack Carson got one to turn sharply. It found the Somerset ‘keeper’s outside edge and Tom Haines claimed the catch at first slip with the score on 149.
Lammonby, who signed a contract extension until 2028 earlier this week, continued to accumulate his runs sensibly and reached his half century from 120 balls. Unfortunately for the 2000-strong crowd assembled at the CACG, the Somerset left hander could only add an additional 10 runs to his total before he feathered behind to give Carson his second wicket of the day at 176 for four.
There was then a moment of drama, which generated much discussion.
With the score on 187, Tom Banton flashed at a short delivery from Fynn Hudson-Prentice and Tom Alsop took the ball at first slip. The Somerset batter seemed shocked as the umpire’s finger was raised.
This brought Vaughan to the middle and he exacted immediate perceived revenge for his fallen colleague by crashing his opening delivery for four.
By the time the tea interval had arrived, Tom Abell and Vaughan had taken Somerset to 193 for five.
During the final session of the day, Abell and Vaughan took their sixth wicket stand to 50 from 63 deliveries and secured a first batting point of the match as the Somerset 250 arrived in the 76th over.
The new ball was taken and the partnership was worth 83 when Abell (42) edged a good one from Robinson to Clark at second slip with the score on 270. The former skipper looked certain to reach his half century, but where he faltered Vaughan succeeded, reaching 50 from 79 balls.
Vaughan continued to accrue his runs and was ably assisted by Craig Overton as the 300 (along with the second batting point) arrived after 90 overs.
By the close of play, Vaughan was unbeaten on 70, surpassing his previous best of 68, with Craig Overton not out on 22 as Somerset finished the day in a strong position with runs on the board and wickets in hand.
