Bob Willis Trophy: Somerset poised for win over Glamorgan
- Published
Somerset captain Tom Abell plays a shot as Glamorgan's Chris Cooke looks on
Bob Willis Trophy, Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton (day three): |
Somerset 296 and 290-8 dec: Abell 119, Green 54; Bull 3-112 |
Glamorgan 131 and 126-5: Cooke 67* |
Glamorgan (3 pts) need 330 more runs to beat Somerset (5 pts) |
Somerset moved within sight of victory over Glamorgan who start the final day on 126-5 chasing a virtually impossible target of 456.
Craig Overton took his match tally to seven wickets as the visitors slumped to 29-3.
But Chris Cooke's composed unbeaten 67 made sure the match went into a final day.
Earlier Tom Abell hit his first hundred at Taunton for five years in Somerset's 290-8 declared.
The captain smashed Kieran Bull for 24 in an over before holing out in the chase for quick runs, while Ben Green made a solid maiden fifty after being called in as a concussion substitute for George Bartlett.
Abell gave his bowlers four and a half sessions to dismiss the visitors, and they fared little better than first time round as the Overton twins reduced them to 29-3 at tea, Jamie working up a head of steam from the river end after taking over from Craig.
Billy Root (26) added 66 with skipper Cooke before being bowled trying to reverse-sweep spinner Roelof van der Merwe, while Dan Douthwaite was given lbw to Jamie Overton in the final over of the day to leave Somerset jubilant.
Somerset captain Tom Abell told BBC Radio Somerset:
"I'm pretty relieved with the way things have gone because I had a bit of a stinker pre-season. Any time you get a hundred, especially at home, is pretty special.
"I'm under no illusions that we were under pressure on day one because of our top order but it's nice to capitalise on the position our bowlers put us in.
"I'm delighted with the position we're in, our bowling has been a strength of ours for quite a while now, we're fully aware of what they're capable of and they really delivered on day two.
"We always knew it was going to be tougher (in the second innings) but we've stuck to our task well."
Glamorgan captain Chris Cooke told BBC Sport Wales:
"It was nice to get a few away (batting), I felt we had a really good partnership going with Rooty, pleasing from a personal point of view but the job's not even half done.
"It was disappointing to lose the last two wickets there but we'll keep fighting. It's a question of taking it over by over, session by session and seeing where we are- Graham Wagg has got a double hundred and he's no mug.
"Somerset have got a fantastic bowling unit, but that's Division One cricket and that's where we want to be, it's a brilliant test for us and it can only do us good."