Abbott masterclass dents Somerset's title hopes
Somerset have finished runners-up as many as five times in the County Championship. The painful memories from September 16, 2010, still haunt Somerset's faithfuls when Nottinghamshire picked up three wickets to gain the required bonus points versus Lancashire to steal the title away from Somerset.
Nine years later, the County again believed that they could seal the elusive Championship. However, Somerset were dealt a massive blow to their title hopes after Hampshire's Kyle Abbott ripped through the visiting side's batting unit in both innings to pick up a rich haul of 17 wickets in the match to pilot his side to a resounding 136-run win at Rose Bowl. After posting 140 in the first innings, they folded for 144 in the second.
While chasing down a sizeable target of 280, the opening duo of Murali Vijay and Steven Davies provided the platform with a stand of 86. However, against the run of play, Abbott removed Vijay, with the Indian opener falling to an ill-advised pull shot. Abbott then took over by extracting seam movement to run through the cream of the batting order. Somerset's major collapse can be capsulised by the fact that they lost seven wickets for the addition of just 14 runs.
During the course of his dream spell, Abbott also dislodged the set batsman, Davies. Lewis Gregory (34*), lower down the order, tried to stage a recovery but he had too much to do as the visitors were cleaned up in the 49th over. Meanwhile, Abbott returned his career-best match figures in a first-class game. After the game, Tom Abell aptly said to BBC radio: "When he (Abbott) gets on a roll, it is hard to stop and we didn't have answers to it today." Earlier, James Vince had composed a brilliant 142 on a tricky pitch to single-handedly propel the side to 226.
Somerset will play their final game of the Championship against current table-toppers Essex.
Brief scores: Hampshire 196 (Liam Dawson 103; Lewis Gregory 3-63) & 226 (James Vince 142; Josh Davey 3-22) beat Somerset 142 (Dominic Bess 37; Kyle Abbott 9-40) and 144 (Steven Davies 51; Kyle Abbott 8-46) by 136 runs.
Essex, Somerset's main rivals, put on an impressive display at Chelmsford to clinch their game versus 2018 County Champions Surrey, as they leapfrogged Somerset with a 12-point lead at the top of the points table. Surrey could manage just 181 in their second innings and slipped to an innings and 40-run defeat.
After Essex were bowled out for 395, Simon Harmer, the off-spinner, ran through Surrey's batting order to return impressive figures of 7 for 58. Jamie Porter also played his part with a two-wicket haul. Meanwhile, Mark Stoneman, Ollie Pope and Jordan Clark all got starts, but couldn't convert their starts into substantial scores. Eventually, the visitors were cleaned up in the 78th over.
Daniel Lawrence and Ryan ten Doeschate also played key roles in Essex's easy win with hundreds in the first innings.
Brief scores: Surrey 174 (Ben Foakes 34; Samuel Cook 5-53, James Porter 5-62) and 181 (Jordan Clark 33; Simon Harmer 7-58) lost to Essex 395 (Daniel Lawrence 147, Ryan ten Doeschate 103; Jordan Clark 3-52) by an innings and 40 runs.
Sam Billings (122*) composed his second century of the game to ensure Kent inched closer to an emphatic victory over Yorkshire in Leeds. Darren Stevens, the hero of Kent's first innings, also played a pivotal role with a four-wicket haul to leave Yorkshire reeling at 44 for 6, still needing 507.
Kent, who began the day on two for no loss in their second dig, lost their first two wickets early. However, Oliver Robinson (97), batting at number 3, and Billings stitched a 124-run stand for the fourth wicket to extend the visiting side's dominance. Even after Robinson was dismissed by Duanne Olivier, Billings continued to flay the opposition attack. Stevens and Harry Podmore also played with freedom as Kent declared at 337/7.
Stevens then tormented Yorkshire by scything through the top order, with Matt Milnes providing the support. The two seamers accounted for all the six wickets to fall on Day 3 to more or less seal the game.
Brief scores: Kent 482/8 decl. and 337/7 decl. (Sam Billings 122*, Oliver Robinson 97; Matthew Fisher 2-38) lead Yorkshire 269 (Matthew Fisher 47*, Tim Bresnan 39; Matt Milnes 5-87) and 44/6 (Darren Stevens 4-12) by 507 runs.
Oliver Hannon-Dalby, the tall lanky seamer, picked up three wickets to give Warwickshire the upper hand over the bottom-placed Division 1 side Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. The home side finished the day at 105 for 5, in front by just 115.
After Dominic Sibley (215*), the man in form, had powered Warwickshire to 488, Hannon-Dalby and Jeetan Patel made regular incisions to leave the hosts in trouble at 51 for 4. The promising Joe Clarke tried to resurrect Notts' innings with an unbeaten 59, but at the fag end of the day, Joey Evison was dismissed by Hannon-Dalby as the visitors slid further.
The foundation for Warwickshire's strong position was built by England prospect Sibley. The opener carried his bat by remaining undefeated.
Brief scores: Nottinghamshire 498 (Steven Mullaney 179, Joe Clarke 125; Henry Brookes 3-131) and 105/5 (Joe Clarke 59*; Oliver Hannon-Dalby 3-25) lead Warwickshire 488 (Dominic Sibley 215*; Paul Coughlin 2-75) by 115 runs.
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