Picture by John Heald. The damp scene at Taunton today.
Yorkshire’s 12th round Rothesay County Championship clash with Somerset is heading for a draw following a heavily rain-affected third day at Taunton.
The weather meant only 10.3 overs were bowled at the Cooper Associates County Ground, immediately at the start of play, with Somerset advancing from 391-6 to 441-6 thanks to some aggressive batting from all-round pair Kasey Aldridge (42) and Ben Green (33).
Play restarted at 3.20pm, by which time Somerset had declared. Yorkshire started their second innings, but were only able to face two overs – reaching 17-0 – before the rain returned.
Unfortunately, there was no further play possible, and play was abandoned at 4.10pm with 92 overs lost, taking the total in the match to 173.3.
Yorkshire currently have one bowling bonus point under their belts and would collect eight more for the draw come this time tomorrow added to any further points they would accrue for passing 250 in their first innings.
A draw would be a satisfactory outcome for a White Rose side whose first port of call over the next few weeks is to secure their Division One status for 2026.
They came into this fixture – the first of three remaining in the summer – with a 12-point cushion over second-bottom Durham, who are under some pressure down at Essex this week.
Yorkshire’s game is the one which has been most affected by the weather across the country.
It was somewhat of a surprise that Somerset batted on this morning.
They are third in the table with an outside chance of winning their first ever title. But, realistically, they need to win all three games to have a chance of overhauling reigning champions Surrey.
To win this game, they must take 20 wickets, and as much time as possible is needed for them to do that.
You felt that eight overs bowling this morning would have been more useful than eight overs batting.
As it was, Aldridge and Green batted aggressively before the rain came.
Green hit a couple of sixes against seam, one pulled over mid-wicket against Matthew Revis and then other hoisted over wide long-on against Jack White.
When Yorkshire started their second innings, runs came quickly, albeit with the help of seven extras. Openers Fin Bean and Adam Lyth hit a boundary apiece.
Given Somerset’s greater need to win this fixture, it’s not inconceivable that they lead discussions to try and contrive a fourth-day finish.
It would surely have to be in Yorkshire’s favour for them to even consider it.
Yorkshire captain Jonny Bairstow said
“You can’t control the weather. We’ve tried very hard to get back on a couple of times. But, unfortunately, it’s not panned out.
“We’ll turn up tomorrow and try and get as many bonus points as possible.
“There hasn’t been anything at the moment (conversations regarding a contrived finish).
“We could have bowled a bit better. The way Tom Kohler-Cadmore played, he made the lads drag their lengths back a little bit by advancing down the wicket.
“But I was really happy with how the lads kept trucking in.
“It’s moving in the right direction for us. You can see improvements from the start of the year with how the lads have developed, and that’s all you want.”
