His first 5-fer. These rain breaks are also helping him (and us). Allowing him to fresh up through the game being delayed, as opposed to through patrolling the boundary. He's not far off having bowled 50% of our overs. Of course, roles could be reversed in due course, if Morkel also gets to benefit from such breaks.
Well bowled Mason and good work from McManus. Hants are going to have to score very quickly to make this a match or get bowled out cheaply!
I can only see two routes to go down from here: 1. Declare pretty much now. Then Surrey are given about 50 overs to bat (and agree to declare if not bowled out by then), with us then given about 75 overs to chase their lead down. 2. Continue with this innings as normal (eg until its normal end). Then agree to give Surrey 8 to 16 overs of declaration bowling - eg Northeast just lobbing them up, with Roy to clear the boundary at about 20+ runs per over. The exact amount would depend on how well our innings goes (the better it goes, the more declaration bowling Surrey would want/need). Then give us the remaining overs to chase their lead down. First option is the easiest, but it means we both lose out of any more first innings bonus points. Which isn't the case for the second option. I can't realistically see any other way of getting a positive result. And without that, both sides are done in this competition (Surrey probably are already).
Ideally, today should see Somerset take Warwickshire’s last 4 wickets between showers and get our first maximum point tally so far. If Yorks and Derby draw, Northants beat Worcester, and Sussex at least hold Essex to a draw, that should give us some daylight at the top.
Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Sussex and Essex are all in a different group to you so surely doesn't matter too much what they do?
Of course it does. Only the two group winners with the highest points total get to play in the final at Lords. Somerset are great at winning, and great at bowling sides out, but this is the first game we have managed a decent first innings score, courtesy of having 5 all-rounders in the side!
We seem to be getting a wicket just before each rain break at the moment. Warks 140-8, so in reality we only need one more, as Matt Lamb’s broken toe is likely to prevent him batting again. If it would just stop raining long enough!!!!!
No, there are only 3 groups, so semifinals would have been difficult! I think time was a factor as well, as the Big Blast will be starting on the 27 August.
Time was the issue I think otherwise I think they could easily have done group winners plus best runner up as the semi finals.
Which would have been fairer, because it could easily turn out that, say Yorkshire or Derby could finish second with a higher points total than, say, Somerset.
Great stuff so far. Although those first 5 wickets weren't a problem in the first innings either. It was these two for the 6th wicket...
