Somerset closing in on big win over Sussex

BBC News

17-05-2025

Rothesay County Championship Division One, Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton (day two)Somerset 338: Vaughan 80, Lammonby 60; McAndrew 4-71Sussex 152: Pretorious 3-24, Overton 3-30 & 127-4: Haines 50Sussex (3pts) trail Somerset (5pts) by 59 runs with six wickets remaining.Match scorecard
Craig Overton played the starring role as Somerset moved into a strong position on the second day of the County Championship Division One match with Sussex at Taunton.Having extended their first innings score to 338 all out, with Archie Vaughan last man out for 80 and Nathan McAndrew claiming 4-71, the hosts skittled their opponents for 152 after Overton claimed 3-30 and three fine slip catches to help establish a lead of 186. Sussex were made to follow on and reached 127-4 by stumps, with openers Tom Haines and Daniel Hughes out for 50 and 40 respectively, to trail by 59 runs.The day began with Somerset adding just 21 runs to their overnight score for the loss of four wickets. Three of them fell to McAndrew, who began by having Overton brilliantly caught off an inside edge by wicketkeeper John Simpson for 28.Pretorius edged through to Simpson off Ollie Robinson and it was 333-9 when Matt Henry skied a catch to mid-off to give McAndrew his third wicket of the innings.The fourth ended Vaughan's career-best knock as he went on the attack and perished to another catch at mid-off. The 19-year-old had faced 134 balls and hit 15 fours to bolster what looked a good total given the nature of the pitch.Sussex made a decent enough start to their reply, Hughes and Haines taking the total to 37 in the tenth over before the latter pushed forward defensively to Overton and nicked a catch to wicketkeeper James Rew.Haines had moved fluently to 24 but his departure signalled a turning point as the next over saw Tom Clark fall lbw to Henry and at lunch the scoreboard read 68-2.It was 75-3 when Tom Alsop edged Pretorius into the bucket hands of Overton at second slip and 80-4 in the following over, Josh Davey this time profiting from Overton's prowess as a slip fielder to send back James Coles for a duck.With just 17 runs added, Simpson was bowled shouldering arms to Overton, who soon followed up with a similar delivery from around the wicket that brought the demise of Hughes, also playing no shot.Overton claimed his third catch when Fynn Hudson-Prentice edged a back-foot defensive shot off Pretorius before Jack Leach weighed in with the wickets of McAndrew and Robinson.Pretorius ended the innings by bowling last man James Hayes and Sussex had been shot out in 46.2 overs. Expecting the pitch to become flatter as the match progressed, Gregory took the understandable decision to enforce the follow-on.Both Hughes and Haines played positively, raising a half-century stand off just 57 balls in warm late afternoon sunshine.Haines, dropped at second slip by Tom Lammonby off Overton, reached an attractive fifty off 72 balls.Hughes was equally impressive, bringing up the century stand with a swept four off Leach before falling in the same over, caught behind off bat and pad. Haines quickly followed, leg before to Pretorius and suddenly Sussex were 100-2, still 86 behind.Jack Carson, promoted in the order, fell to Henry with 11 runs added. And when Leach had Clark caught behind attempting an injudicious slog-sweep it was clearly Somerset's day.ECB Reporters' Network supported by Rothesay.