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Rain can’t dampen Somerset batters on day one
Tom Lammonby reminded Somerset Members and supporters of his quality with a fine century, his first of the season, as the hosts ran up 214 for two after losing the toss on a rain-shortened opening day of this LV= Insurance County Championship match with Kent at the Cooper Associates County Ground.
The 23-year-old opener hit a brilliant 109 off 151 balls, with 16 fours whilst Lewis Goldsworthy marked his first Championship appearance of the season by making 70 not out and contributing to a second-wicket stand of 132.
Kent’s woes were compounded by an injury to Michael Hogan, the 42-year-old seamer limping off disconsolately with what looked like a hamstring or thigh problem having bowled 11.2 overs for 30 runs.
Morning rain led to a 1.45pm start, with the day’s play initially being reduced to 63 overs, and Kent’s bowlers looked to have ideal conditions when they took the field. The pitch was green and the floodlights were already on beneath overcast skies.
However, having left out their specialist spinners, the visitors’ seam attack failed to get enough balls in the right areas to capitalise on any movement, allowing Lammonby and Tom Abell to make a positive start to the Somerset innings.
Skipper Abell was promoted to opener in the absence of Sean Dickson whose partner has just given birth, and at the other end Lammonby went for his shots from the outset, producing two fine straight drives for boundaries.
The left-hander hit three fours in an over from Arafat Bhuiyan, who struggled for line and length in his opening spell. Hogan switched ends after bowling three overs, but was unable to make a mark, while being typically economical.
Lammonby and Abell comfortably brought up a half-century stand in the 14th over, the former moving to a fluent fifty off 52 balls, with 10 fours.
Their partnership had reached 73 when Abell, on 20, edged an Arafat delivery to Tawanda Muyeye at first slip. By then Somerset were well placed and Goldsworthy helped Lammonby build on their encouraging start.
The pair produced another half-century stand off 83 balls, both producing an array of attacking shots in taking the score to 127 for one off 31 overs at tea.
Lammonby gave a chance on 76 at the start of the final session when Daniel Bell-Drummond spilled a sharp chance at gully off Jas Singh before a two through the leg side off Hogan took him to his highest score of the summer, beating the 78 made against Lancashire at Old Trafford.
Goldsworthy had moved to 49 when more rain brought a short interruption, with three more overs lost. His fifty occupied 85 balls, with seven fours.
A single off Joey Evison took Lammonby to his hundred off 137 balls. It had been an effortless innings packed with sweetly-timed strokes, but hopes that he would still be there at stumps ended when he nibbled at a decent delivery from Bell-Drummond and edged through to wicketkeeper Harry Finch.
Goldsworthy’s innings lost nothing by comparison and he was still there, having faced 150 balls and hit nine fours, when bad light ended play for the day at 5.55pm, with a possible 6.4 more overs to be bowled.
