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Somerset still fighting after day three
Needing 393 to beat Lancashire and keep their hopes of winning their first Vitality County Championship title alive, Somerset ended the third day’s play at Emirates Old Trafford on 204 for six, 189 runs short of their target.
Should they succeed, Somerset will take their battle with Surrey into the final week of the season. However, defeat would relegate Lancashire.
Luke Wells made 130 in Lancashire’s second-innings total of 398 but Archie Vaughan responded with 68 to give his side hope of mounting what would be the highest fourth-innings run-chase against Lancashire, and Somerset’s 9th highest ever run chase in First Class cricket.
George Balderson dented Somerset’s hopes when he removed both Vaughan and Tom Kohler-Cadmore after tea but Kacey Aldridge and James Rew looked set to ensure Somerset suffered no further losses. However, Aldridge was caught by Matty Hurst off Wells for 19 when there were only four balls left in the day’s play.
In a slightly extended morning session, Lancashire added exactly 100 runs for the loss of their last three wickets. Wells and Balderson went about their business carefully in the first hour, adding just 36 runs to their side’s overnight score of 298 for seven.
However, a thick-edged three to third man off Aldridge took Wells to his second hundred of the season. He had faced 196 balls, hit 12 fours and a six.
The pair had taken their partnership to 135, thereby setting a new eighth-wicket partnership for Lancashire against Somerset, before Wells was leg before wicket for 130 when attempting to reverse-sweep Jack Leach.
Tom Bailey was also leg before to Leach for a single and the innings ended when Balderson was bowled by Brett Randell for 47. Leach finished with three for 57 and Randell took three for 71.
Somerset’s pursuit of 393 began poorly when Andy Umeed charged down the wicket to Bailey’s second ball, tried to drive it through the covers and had his off stump knocked out of the ground.
However, that misjudgement was followed by a fine 105-run partnership for the second wicket between Vaughan and Tom Lammonby, a stand that was only ended when Lammonby played over the top of a full-length ball from Wells and was bowled for 49.
By then, though, Vaughan had reached his maiden First Class fifty off 84 balls but the afternoon session still ended in disappointment for Somerset when Tom Abell was lbw to Anderson Phillip for five.
Nine overs into the evening session, Vaughan was caught at slip by George Bell for 68 to leave his side on 146 for four before the same combination accounted for Kohler-Cadmore, who made 23 before edging a lifter to slip.
However, in the first gloomy conditions of the game, Aldridge and Rew successfully defied Lancashire’s attack until Wells struck that final blow.
