Day Three

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A spin bowling masterclass from Somerset’s Jack Leach plunged Hampshire into deeper trouble on the third day of the Rothesay County Championship Division One match at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.

After the hosts had increased their first innings total from an overnight 381 for seven to 454 for eight declared, the left-arm spinner, overlooked in recent times by England, claimed seven for 69 from 24.3 overs to help bowl out Hampshire for 172 and make them follow on.

Kasey Aldridge was last man out in the Somerset innings for 180, having begun the day on 149, while Craig Overton finished unbeaten on 50.

Hampshire made a better fist of things in their second innings, reaching 35 for one before rain and bad light ended play 15.1 overs early, but still face a backs-to-the-wall fight tomorrow to avoid what might prove a hugely damaging defeat.

The first ball of the day, bowled by Keith Barker, saw Aldridge nudge the single needed to take him to a maiden 150, having faced 207 balls and hit 16 fours and 5 sixes.

Aldridge cut a boundary off James Fuller to take Somerset’s score past 400 and followed up with an upper cut six off the same bowler.

Overton cleared the ropes off Kyle Abbott and Washington Sundar as the pair took their entertaining partnership to the century mark from 90 deliveries.

The next target was to take the score to 450, which they achieved in the 103rd over to secure maximum batting points.

Overton went to fifty off 42 balls and the only remaining question was the timing of the declaration.

It came when Aldridge was run out by Nick Gubbins’ direct hit at the bowler’s end attempting a quick single to mid-off.

The tall all-rounder, bound for Durham next season, had batted for more than four and a half hours, facing 233 balls and extending his boundary count to 20 fours and 6 sixes.

Hampshire’s reply had reached 13 after five overs when Leach was introduced from the River End.

His first over saw Ali Orr bowled between bat and pad by a delivery that turned considerably from outside the left-hander’s off stump.

Soon it was 27 for two as Gubbins reverse swept Leach straight into the hands of Vaughan at short third-man and three runs later Fletcha Middleton had his off stump clipped by Leach from a delivery that pitched on middle.

Toby Albert launched two defiant sixes off Vaughan in moving to 29 before driving at a wide ball from the off-spinner and offering a straightforward return catch.

Lunch was taken with Hampshire 61 for four.

Vaughan struck again after he and Leach had swapped ends in the afternoon session, bowling Ben Brown, on 21, as he attempted to cut.

The accurate Leach was bowling some rippers and one accounted for Sundar.

Having battled his way to 23, the India Test player pushed forward defensively to a ball that spun back through the gate and bowled him to make the score 102 for six.

Fuller tried to counter-attack and had made 24 off 17 balls when becoming Leach’s fifth victim, lbw sweeping.

Barker was bowled for 19 attempting to reverse sweep Leach and Felix Organ top-edged a pull off a Vaughan long-hop to be caught at mid-wicket before Abbott lofted a catch to wide long-on to end the innings and give Leach season's best figures.

Tea was taken before Somerset enforced the follow-on.

The tireless Leach, who played the last of his 39 Tests for England almost a year ago, took the new ball in tandem with Vaughan, while Tom Abell was off the field having suffered a jolting blow on the helmet when fielding at short-leg.

Orr and Middleton took the score to 35 in the 22nd over when Orr fell for 27, lbw when struck on the back pad by a ball from Vaughan.

Before the game could restart, the rain which had been forecast for much of the day finally arrived, much to Hampshire’s relief.

Day Two

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Centuries from Tom Abell and Kasey Aldridge saw Somerset recover from a perilous position on the second day of the Rothesay County Championship Division One match against Hampshire at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.

After the first day washout, the hosts slumped to 99 for five, having won the toss, before Abell and Aldridge put together a sixth-wicket stand of 221, Abell making 118 and Aldridge 149 not out.

Keith Barker was the pick of the Hampshire bowling attack with two for 35 from 13 overs.

For Abell, it was a second Championship hundred in successive games, while 24-year-old Aldridge’s score was a career-best, beating the 101 not out he made against Lancashire at Old Trafford in 2023.

Together they enabled their team to close on 381 for seven.

After a slightly delayed start due to a shower, Somerset had reached 21 without loss in the fourth over when Tom Kohler-Cadmore, on ten, pulled a catch to square leg off Keith Barker, who quickly followed up by having Tom Lammonby caught behind for a duck.

James Rew struck a six over fine leg off Barker before more rain interrupted play at shortly before 11.10.am with Somerset 35 for two.

A further ten overs were lost when the action resumed at 10.45am.

They did exactly that as with only eight runs added Archie Vaughan edged a defensive push off Kyle Abbott through to wicketkeeper Ben Brown.

It was 69 for four when Rew, on 30, dragged a delivery from James Fuller onto his stumps.

The lunch score was 83 for four off 21 overs.

That became 99 for five when Lewis Goldsworthy, who had contributed 22 to a stand of 30 with Abell, was caught behind down the leg side by Brown to give off-spinner Washington Sundar a wicket.

That was as good as it got for Hampshire, Abell and Aldridge settling in to play some sweetly-timed strokes.

Aldridge pulled a six off Fuller as the pair put together a half-century stand off 88 balls.

Abell moved to fifty with a firm clip off his legs for four off Eddie Jack, having faced 99 balls, and Aldridge, who is leaving at the end of the season to join Durham, followed to the same landmark off 76 deliveries.

The century partnership was brought up off 143 balls and at tea Somerset had recovered to 208 for five.

The final session saw Aldridge reverse sweep a six off Sundar, while a similar shot for four by Abell brought Somerset a first battling point and took the partnership past 150.

A single off Fuller then took Abell to 96 and 1,000 first class runs for the season.

His 20th first class hundred was reached with a boundary through mid-off, Fuller again the bowler, having faced 164 balls and hit 13 fours.

It followed an innings of 130 in the previous Championship match against Yorkshire at Taunton.

When Aldridge played Sundar through the off side for two it took the stand to 190, a Somerset record for the sixth-wicket against Hampshire.

Aldridge also been involved in the previous highest, 188 with James Rew at Taunton in 2023, he celebrated with a pulled six of Jack as the light closed in.

A single of Felix Organ took the all-rounder to his second first class century off 155 balls, with 11 fours and 3 sixes.

He cleared the ropes for the fourth time with the cleanest of straight hits off Organ before the spinner responded by bowling Abell as he stretched forward.

His departure meant a second bowling point for Hampshire, who then lost Nick Gubbins to injury two balls into his fourth over of the innings.

Aldridge slog-swept a fifth six off Sundar before Abbott bowled Ben Green in the first over with the second new ball.

At stumps, Aldridge had faced 206 deliveries and extended his boundary count to 16 fours and 5 sixes.

Day One

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No play was possible on the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship Division One match between Somerset and Hampshire at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.

Heavy overnight rain had created a wet outfield and, although a pitch inspection was planned for 12.30pm after an early lunch, it was cancelled when the rain returned.

Tea was taken at 3.10pm, but the weather, including high winds, failed to improve sufficiently. Umpires Ben Debenham and David Millns eventually abandoned any hope of a start at 4.20pm.

More rain is forecast overnight, but the outlook is brighter for tomorrow.