[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Day Four

Morning: For once the weather played ball, even if the winds were as arctic as they'd been all weekend; but the pitch had no intention of offering enough to secure a positive result in this encounter. It could have been different had fortune not favoured the batsmen on early half-chances that went begging; as it was, Adam Finch made the belated breakthrough by bowling Jake Ball for 29, and shortly before lunch Brett D'Oliveira accounted for Matt Renshaw with his third delivery, the batsman spooning one to short leg on the sweep for a dogged 12. 68-3 at the interval, Somerset still trailing by 74, hope was just about alive.

Afternoon: But in the long wicketless session that followed, the Pears were too often guilty of not making the batsmen play, and by the time tea was taken on 141-3 with the visitors trailing by just 1, it was all largely academic.

Evening: Even the deadest of rubbers can conjure up majestic moments, and the match's final wicket was one of them, as Ben Gibbon stuck out a single insouciant paw with minimal fuss or effort to pluck a return catch out of the air at arm's length and see off Andy Umeed for 60; a bit of box-office athletic magic to brighten up the greyest of days. A few more instances of its kind might have changed the script, but at five o'clock on the dot, with the score at 190-4 and the Somerset lead at 48, handshakes were in order.

Match DRAWN

The Verdict: Fifteen welcome points certainly help to banish last week's chastening defeat from the mind, and it goes without saying that in comparison to the same point in the 2018 campaign, the Pears are doing very nicely indeed. In a ten-team division with eight points for a draw, others have demonstrated in recent years that staying hard to beat and pinching a couple of big wins equals survival; however, with the likes of Surrey and Essex still to come, the journey down to Kent in a fortnight's time will be a huge encounter, because that first victory can't come soon enough.

[themaclad]

Had it on yesterday was a tad dull

[themaclad]

Josh Baker 20 has died played last season

[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

He didn't just play last season, he's been in and around the first team for two or three years and was tipped as having a very bright future in the game; he was even bowling for the Second XI only yesterday. Genuinely astonishing and gut-wrenching news, can't even imagine what happened. RIP Josh.