A crucial eighth-wicket partnership worth 139 runs between James Hildreth (130) and Jamie Overton (51) held up Lancashire's bid for victory on the third day of their Specsavers County Championship encounter against Somerset at Taunton.
James Anderson (3-72) took three wickets in five balls, helping Lancashire to reduce the home side to 150/7 before Hildreth and Overton's vital partnership. Somerset's collapse saw them lose five wickets for the addition of 48 runs, with England's all-time leading wicket taker turning the game on its head in one magical over.
Even with Hildreth's century, Somerset were bowled out for 313 and asked to follow-on by Lancashire, who took a first-innings lead of 180 runs after Liam Livingstone's maiden first-class hundred helped the Red Rose to declare on 493/9 yesterday.
With just one over left in the day, Somerset survived six deliveries from Anderson, with Tim Groenewald opening the batting as nightwatchman. Somerset closed on 0/0, knowing that Hildreth and Overton's partnership may well have saved them from defeat, as well as the lengthy rain delay yesterday, that saw the better part of 34 overs forfeited to bad weather.
Somerset managed to avoid any late scares yesterday evening during the six overs they were forced to bat, following Lancashire's mammoth first-innings total. However, they suffered an early setback, losing veteran Marcus Trescothick (5) to the seventh ball of the day, as Kyle Jarvis (2-56) struck with his first delivery.
Trescothick played his shot too early and offered a simple catch to Jarvis, as he returned to the pavilion with the Somerset crowd in stunned silence. The west country outfit made a positive recovery through Tom Abell (29) and captain Chris Rogers, as they added 61 runs for the second wicket.
Lancashire's seamers found life similarly difficult on a sun-bathed day at Taunton, with little in the pitch of the overhead conditions to exploit. It was therefore hardly surprising that Simon Kerrigan's leg-spin offered the Red Rose their best hope of a breakthrough before lunch, with his flighted left-arm spin testing even the likes of Rogers, who was playing in his 300th first-class match.
The experienced Australian batsman, who made the switch to Taunton from Middlesex this winter, treated Lancashire's threatening seam attack with respect, but he did take a shine to Kiwi paceman, Neil Wagner, who received early treatment from the Somerset skipper after taking 11 wickets on debut against Nottinghamshire.
Kerrigan (3-63) was eventually rewarded for his persistence, trapping Abell lbw for 29 with the score at 76/2, but Rogers (55) continued to offer resistance for the home side, reaching his first half-century for his new county in 80 balls just before lunch.
Having batted brilliantly prior to the interval, Rogers fell to the first ball he faced from Anderson after lunch, flashing a loose drive to Karl Brown at short extra cover, a wicket that started a purple patch for Lancashire and a sorry one for Somerset.
Anderson went on to take three wickets in the space of five balls, removing Roelof van der Merwe lbw for a golden duck, as the umpires finger came up almost as soon the ball had struck his pad. 102/2 became 102/5 when Peter Trego was also out for no score after being wrapped on the pads by Anderson, with Hildreth stood at the other end in disbelief, as the wickets continued to tumble.
Hildreth, who scored 1,390 runs at an average of 53.46 last summer, anchored Somerset's collapse, hoping to find support from wicketkeeper, Ryan Davies. The pair added 41 runs to halt Anderson's dominant spell, with the England paceman holding figures of 3-18 after his superb over. Hildreth was happy to absorb time, knowing that Somerset needed to reach 343 to avoid the follow on, but his responsible approach was not shared by the Somerset lower order, as two more wickets fell before tea.
In what can only be described as a rush of blood to the head, Davies advanced down the wicket, taking a wild swing at Kerrigan and he was suitably punished for his lapse in judgement, as Alex Davies whipped of the bails at 143/6.
Craig Overton made a career-best 99 when these two teams last met in the Championship at Taunton, but on this occasion he was particularly unfortunate to be bowled cheaply by Jarvis for four to a delivery that kept low and sent the bustling allrounder back to the pavilion not long after the wicket of Davies.
The follow-on was beckoning for Somerset and Hildreth needed a batting partner that could occupy the crease for a substantial amount of time. The early signs suggested that Jamie Overton did not want to play the sensible approach, as he clobbered Wagner for six to continue a miserable day for the New Zealand fast bowler.
Overton then adopted a combination of his instinctively aggressive and positive approach with the tact Hildreth had possessed all day, as they went on to add 139 runs for the eighth wicket to frustrate Lancashire either side of tea.
Hildreth reached a vital half-century in 102 deliveries, as he and Overton (51) capitalised on the older ball and started to eat away at Lancashire's hefty lead. Their partnership continued to build long into the evening session, with the experienced Hildreth leading the way for Somerset on his way to his 36th first-class century.
Even with the new ball, Lancashire were not able to extract any fortune from this batsman-friendly Taunton wicket, as Hildreth's twelfth boundary took him to a vital hundred in 169 balls. Overton went on to record only the fourth fifty of his tender career in 89 balls, but the very next ball he offered a thin edge through to Davies off Wagner (2-89).
Despite his important contribution to Somerset's cause, Somerset still trailed by 204 runs and so it was crucial that Hildreth did not buckle at Overton's departure. Jack Leach (7) was next to fall when he was caught by Steven Croft at short leg, supplying Kerrigan with his third wicket of the innings, as Somerset reached 307/9.
Hildreth's resistance eventually came to an end when he was superbly caught at deep mid-wicket by Jarvis off Wagner, as he fell for a potentially match-saving score of 130. After being bowled out for 313, Somerset were asked to follow-on and bat for only one over at the end of the day, still trailing Lancashire by 180 runs.
Groenewald, the only Somerset batsmen not to be dismissed in their first innings, kept his pads on to accompany Trescothick for the one over that the home side were forced to face at the end of the third day, as Somerset survived six dot balls. The hosts enter the final day with every chance of saving the draw, given the nature of this wicket, but Lancashire's strong seam attack will fancy their chances, especially with Kerrigan bowling well on a dry wicket.
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