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Notts on top after day one
Nottinghamshire will be the happier of the two sides at the close of play on day one of this LV= Insurance County Championship match at the Cooper Associates County Ground.
After losing the toss, the visitors dismissed their hosts for 163, and by the close of play were trailing by just 18 runs with six first innings wickets remaining.
Before the start of play, the teams were joined by the family of Barnaby Webber, representatives from Bishops Hull CC, Staplegrove CC and the University of Nottingham Cricket Society for a minute’s applause in memory of 19-year-old Barnaby, who lost his life in the Nottingham attacks earlier this month. Signed shirts from both counties were laid on the pitch at the toss and then presented to his family as tokens of support.
When play got underway Tom Kohler-Cadmore top-scored for Somerset with 38 and Kasey Aldridge contributed 35. Brett Hutton (five for 34) was the pick of the Notts attack whilst Matt Carter (three for 43) also impressed on a gloriously sunny day in Taunton.
Sean Dickson and George Bartlett were both dismissed shouldering arms to Hutton, the former bowled for one and the latter falling lbw for 13 to a ball that nipped back. Sandwiched in between was the wicket of Tom Lammonby, who edged Hutton to first slip having made 24.
From 48 for three, Tom Abell and Kohler-Cadmore added 40 in positive style before the introduction of Carter’s off-spin from the River End. With the first ball of his second over, he had Abell caught at slip, driving, for 19.
Kohler-Cadmore was looking strong through the off-side, producing some sweet drives and depositing Carter over long-off for six. By lunch, he had helped Somerset to 106 for four.
During the lunch interval, those present were treated to demonstrations by the County’s Super 1s players as part of the Club’s annual Inclusion Match. Somerset CCC Director of Cricket, was on hand to get involved and spent the interval encouraging the young players.
The afternoon session began poorly for the home side as, with only four runs added, they lost first James Rew, caught at short leg off bat and pad to give Carter his second wicket and Kohler-Cadmore lbw to Dane Paterson, having faced 53 balls and hit four fours and a six.
There was no way back from 110 for six, despite the valiant efforts of Aldridge, who reverse swept Carter for six, as well as striking five fours. He quickly ran out of partners as Craig Overton edged Hutton into the slips where Carter’s left hand scooped the ball up for Joe Clarke to complete the catch.
Hutton returned after an opening spell of three for 27 from eight overs to mop up the tail, bowling Henry and having the advancing Aldridge caught behind.
Somerset needed an early breakthrough and that’s what they got. Henry struck an early blow in the Notts’ reply by beating Haseeb Hameed’s defensive push and bowling him for a duck with the score on eight. By tea, the visitors had reached 23 for one. Soon Ben Slater and Matthew Montgomery were building confidently on that total under increasingly clear skies. They had put together a stand of 71 in 23 overs when Montgomery, on 33, got an inside edge onto his leg off Aldridge and was powerless to prevent the ball rolling back onto his stumps.
Slater edged Aldridge just short of wicketkeeper Rew and Somerset’s fightback continued when 19-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, making his first Championship appearance at the Cooper Associates County Ground, pinned Clarke lbw on the back foot for 12 to make it 94 for three.
Slater went to fifty off 104 balls before Henry struck another blow for Somerset with the total on 105, Lyndon James edging to Abell at first slip and departing for the second duck of the innings. However, Steven Mullaney hit a six and two fours off a Bashir over as Notts regained some momentum before the close.
