Tom and Josh impress again on day one at Glamorgan
Tom Abell and Josh Thomas both continued their impressive recent form but late wickets kept Glamorgan in the game on the opening day of this Rothesay County Championship match at Sophia Gardens.
Somerset eventually finished on 337 for nine at the end of an enthralling day’s play.
Abell was dismissed on 86 after once again displaying his undoubted class but was one of three wickets to fall inside the final four overs. The Glamorgan recovery was spearheaded by debutant Tom Norton, who took three for 75.
Thomas, who made his career best 136 in the previous match against Yorkshire, celebrated signing a new contract this week by making 71 after his new opening partner James Rew was bowled early for four.
A half century partnership between Thomas and Tom Lammonby got the visitors back on track and by lunch, the stand for the second wicket was worth 99.
After the break, the partnership had reached 133 when Thomas chopped on to Ryan Hadley, before Lammonby was given out lbw without further addition to the total. All of a sudden, Somerset were 138 for three.
Four wickets inside an hour in the afternoon meant Abell had to dig in to prevent any further trouble, playing with experience to easily punish overpitched deliveries while standing firm when necessary, on a pitch offering amicable assistance to bowlers.
A cover drive in Zain ul Hassan’s 17th over of the day moved him to 82 and with it past 500 runs for the season, placing him second in the Division One charts.
As the seamers continued to toil with Kellaway and Crane, expectedly for day one, unable to offer much in form of threat, Abell managed to take advantage against the new ball, forming noteworthy partnerships of 71 and 66 with Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory respectively.
Ul Hassan’s two wickets inside the final four overs of the day, both through drawn edges of the set batters – Abell and Gregory, to accompany a last ball of the day wicket from Ryan Hadley gave the hosts momentum to take into day two.
At the close of play, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “Abes played brilliantly today. A 70-over old ball was still going past the outside edge, and there’s been plenty happening, so I’m very pleased to get over 300 runs batting first.
“We’ve obviously moved James Rew to the top, and we want to help push his case for international honours and also to take Archie out the firing line from a batting point of view as he’s got an important role to play with the ball. It was my decision and I’ve had a lot of conversations with James and with Lewis Gregory and first and foremost, James wants to do what’s right for the team. We recognise there may be an opportunity there for him and we think the experience is valuable, and hopefully he gets that opportunity in a few weeks’ time.
“We’re in communication with the ECB but there has been no one saying ‘can this happen?’ so I’m just aware of the situation and want to look after those opportunities and the best interests of the team and the individual.”
