Make him play

Somerset 562-7
v Yorkshire 311 all out
and 141-6 following on
Match Drawn

Wednesday 18 May 2016

County Championship Division 1

Played at Taunton

Twitter @ball_sup

(What an epic getting back to Sheffield)

Well. Yorkshire did what they had to do. A bit of weather around complicated things. It's an odd dynamic isn't it? Essentially, Yorkshire were very unlikely to churn enough runs to make Somerset bat again. So, you take runs out of the equation. And, it really is about survival.

Lees batted for over 2 hours. Faced nearly 100 balls. For 11. Fella has had a little pop at me. He's done the sarcasm when Alex (eventually) got to double figures. I explained Somerset’s job is to get him out. “He's not playing shots”. Somerset’s job is to make him play. “When he plays, he plays defensive shots”. Somerset’s job is to set the game up so it's worth his while playing attacking shots. I dug him out by saying how pleased I was to be able to explain the game to him on his first visit. He wasn't happy.

But. Inevitably. You have watchful batsmen. In there for ages. Not many on the tins. And, they get out. Rhodes & Ballance, both over the hour. Both gone for 18 each.

The best summary is Draw. They were second best. But they got it done.

A can of Harbour Brewing Co, Session IPA at 4.3%.

319/666