Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Trent Bridge (day 4)
Somerset 310 & 355-7 dec: T Rew 127*
Nottinghamshire 193 & 166: O’Neill 54*; Overton 5-29
Somerset (21 pts) beat Notts (3 pts) by 306 runs
Needing seven extra Nottinghamshire wickets firstly of the day, Somerset bought residence with consummate ease at Trent Bridge to say their third win of this yr’s County Championship marketing campaign.
Nottinghamshire, in concept requiring 426 when resuming on 47-3, have been bowled out for 166 giving Somerset victory by a mammoth 306 runs.
This was the reigning champions first defeat at residence in 14 video games, and solely their second of their previous 23 total.
Jake Ball, a substitute at tea on Sunday for injured Somerset skipper Lewis Gregory, took 2-33 towards his outdated county however it was Craig Overton (5-29) who swept apart three of the six specialist batters.
Fergus O’Neill, with a doughty unbeaten 54 at quantity 9, was the one man to cross 25.
The Australian, supported by Dillon Pennington, took the sport past a delayed lunch because the pair summoned belated resolve by 18 overs so as to add 48 for the ninth wicket, however Somerset completed clear title contenders in a race now even tighter.
Nearly earlier than the house aspect had time to blink they discovered three batters again within the dressing room throughout the first 10 overs.
Joe Clarke, who had turn into this yr’s highest run-scorer in the middle of the sport, misplaced his off stump to Ball’s inswinger for 4.
Clarke, who arrived simply earlier than Sunday’s shut however had not confronted, took a boundary from Ball’s wayward opening supply of the morning solely to be undone by his eighth.
His in a single day associate, residence captain Haseeb Hameed, enduring a poor season with the bat after his excellent 2025, simply hinted that fortunes may need modified.
However having added 13 to succeed in 25, his skinny edge at a large legside Overton ball was caught behind, typifying Hameed’s summer season thus far. He now averages 23.75.
Worse adopted for Lyndon James who accomplished a pair in a match to neglect when, driving in Overton’s subsequent over, he edged to Tom Rew whose personal match he’ll bear in mind eternally.
After his magnificent maiden century on Sunday, Rew, preserving wicket, dived at full stretch to carry the possibility beautifully.
Now 75-6, Nottinghamshire confirmed each probability of not reaching the interval however Jack Haynes was joined by Liam Patterson-White in a partnership which was to show the longest of the day’s first half dozen, albeit simply 38 balls.
With Overton rested after his six morning overs introduced 2-17, Migael Pretorius got here on on the Radcliffe Street Finish to take away the brand new batter together with his ninth ball. Driving, Patterson-White was held low by Overton, now at second slip.
South African Pretorius gained his second success six overs later when Haynes’ defensive edge gave Rew his fourth catch of the innings.
There had simply been ironic cheers from the few devoted spectators nonetheless within the stands when the innings handed three figures however Haynes, out for twenty-four, left the tally at 104-8.
Solely then did resistance materialise, O’Neill and Pennington maybe making a degree to the batters. They have been lastly parted when Pennington, slicing a drive to sq. cowl for 15, gave Overton his fourth wicket.
Even then, refusing singles with final man Mohammad Ali now in, O’Neill wouldn’t concede, reaching his sixth profession fifty from 94 balls earlier than Ali fell in a tangle with a bouncer, lobbing a catch to the infield as Overton accomplished his first five-wicket haul since September.
It was not at all Somerset’s biggest championship triumph by runs – they’d crushed Kent at Tub by 419 runs in 1939.
They now meet Warwickshire on Friday whereas Nottinghamshire go to Essex.
Report by ECB Reporters’ Community, supported by Rothesay.
