cricket at taunton…

I went along to Taunton yesterday to watch the first day of the County Championship game between Somerset and Sussex. After a reasonable start to the season, Somerset had (somewhat embarrassingly) lost their previous two matches – after being in good positions after first innings in both of them… so, no pressure then!
Somerset won the toss and elected to bat and they went on to enjoy a pretty successful day – ending on 335-5 at the close. Tom Abell continued his excellent form, finishing on 74 not out at stumps, and James Rew celebrated his England Test squad call-up with an impressive 86 (including 3 sixes). Tom Lammonby also batted well for his 73. Sussex’s Ollie Robinson (also in England’s Test squad) bowled beautifully – especially in the morning session.
A really enjoyable day’s cricket and well worth my train journey!
I always enjoy watching cricket Taunton, but did find yesterday a little frustrating from a weather/spectator perspective. Somerset don’t make all their stands accessible (even for members), so there were two large areas of seating completely closed off (which, for the morning session, were both out of the wind and out of the sunshine). For me, as a non-member (I can’t access ‘membership stands’), my seating options – especially for the morning session, when there was only a smattering of sunshine and strong, cold winds blowing (ok, so I just had my jumper, no fleece or whatever!) – my options were somewhat limited. I could either sit in the face of the strong, cold wind; or in bleak shadow; or in the single, quite crowded stand. In the end, I just gritted my teeth and put up with the wind(!)… so it was good that the cricket was pretty decent. In the afternoon, when the sun was more prominent, I sat in a ‘perfect’ location… but the only problem was that it was a ‘no alcohol’ stand! So, I swallowed my pride (not beer!) and enjoyed the sunshine and the cricket. In the end, I only had a single pint of beer all day (which I consumed at lunchtime while poring over a treasure trove of old cricket books – fortunately, my satchel didn’t have any spare capacity!).
It was lovely to be back at Taunton… everything feels ‘just a little better’ than the quality of the cricket and/or the facilities you get at Bristol these days (despite the convenience, for me, of easy and speedy access). First Division cricket for £20, compared with Second Division cricket at Bristol for £17.
I hope to be back again soon.
PS: Somewhat ironically, Gloucestershire and Somerset were BOTH playing at home… so, when I heard that Glos had been 19-4 against Northants (they ended up 154 all out), I was glad I’d plumped for Taunton! Having said that, Northants struggled in their innings too and were 37-3 at the close (and rain had also stopped play)!
Photo: James Rew and Tom Lammonby leaving the field at lunchtime after a successful morning.