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Maiden century for Kasey in stalemate
Kasey Aldridge scored his maiden First Class century for Somerset and James Rew also reached three figures as this LV= Insurance County Championship match against Lancashire ended in a draw at Emirates Old Trafford.
It’s a result that keeps both teams above the relegation places in the Championship table in seventh and eighth places.
Somerset batted through the entire day, extending their second innings to 398 for five and the lead to 433 runs, with James Rew adding to his burgeoning reputation in making an unbeaten 118, his second century of the match, and becoming the leading run-scorer in the Championship.
Lancashire eventually rested their front-line attack, throwing the ball to their batters – and wicketkeeper – for the second half of the day before the teams shook hands at 4.50pm.
Starting on 114 for three and ahead by 149 runs, Somerset progressed steadily through the morning session, Tom Lammonby posting a season-best 78 before his failed attempt to launch Tom Hartley towards the new hotel being constructed at midwicket presented George Bell with a stumping.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore was the other morning departure for 11 after playing inside a Will Williams delivery that knocked back his off stump.
Rew provided some acceleration, hitting five boundaries off eight deliveries once the visitors lead had passed the 200-mark, with the nineteen-year-old reaching a 92-ball fifty early in the afternoon.
However, the game drifted along from that point and just after the halfway stage of the day, with the lead now beyond 300 and no declaration forthcoming, there was the rare sight of two batters, Steven Croft and Dane Vilas, sharing the second new ball. Josh Bohannon went behind the stumps as wicketkeeper Bell also undertook bowling duties.
Rew reached his second century of the match just before tea from 196 balls, while Aldridge struck an unbeaten 101 – reaching his maiden First Class century in style with a pull for six – in a partnership of 192.
Lancashire took nine points and Somerset ten.
At the close of the match, Somerset Captain, Tom Abell said: “It was obviously a bit of a damp squib for the majority of today. We went to Lancashire yesterday afternoon before the second new ball about the possibility of making a game.
“We felt we needed the best part of 96 overs to bowl a side out and it wasn’t right for them at the time, which is fair enough. So we had to build our lead and losing those wickets last night probably affected our ability this morning a little bit to push on.
“A chase of only 50 or 60 overs only plays into their hands. We wanted to set up a game where both teams would have a chance of winning but ultimately it didn’t feel right. Fifty or sixty overs on that surface wasn’t going to be enough.
“It turned into a bit of a damp squib but I don’t want to take that away from the efforts over the four days. There were two very good sides with two quality attacks on show.
“Some of the performances the boys put in, particularly Rewy, were outstanding. Two hundreds in a game doesn’t happen very often. The way he played in the first innings was exceptional.
“With the ball I felt we asked a lot of them, challenged them and asked really tough questions of them. It was pretty attritional. There wasn’t a huge amount in the wicket.
