Hameed makes 43 in Somerset friendly

Lancashire endured a tough day of batting against Somerset, progressing to 180/7 in testing overcast conditions at Taunton Vale.

Haseeb Hameed made a determined 43, sharing a fifty partnership with Luke Procter (24) for the second wicket before Somerset fought back to enjoy the better of proceedings.

The visitors lost six wickets for 61 runs, as they stumbled to 138/7, relying on an unbeaten partnership worth 42 runs between Jordan Clark (35*) and Stephen Parry (11*) to prevent any further setbacks.

Only 15 balls were possible on the first day of this three-day friendly due to relentless rain, with no play occurring on the second day before lunch owing to a wet outfield and a waterlogged run-up at one end.

Hameed’s application at the crease allowed the teenage prodigy to survive until after the tea interval, as he continued to soldier on in spite of the testing swing bowling conditions.

With no play until 1.30pm, the umpires finally decided to get the game moving, although all fast bowling took place from the same end of the ground because of the poor surface at the other end, where only spinner Roelof van der Merwe bowled from.

Karl Brown (12) and Hameed spent most of yesterday staring at one unforgiving shower after another washing away their pre-season practice and so they were keen to make up for lost time. The pair started well but conditions soon got the better of Brown, who edged a flashy drive to Jim Allenby at first slip off Lewis Gregory.

Hameed and Procter stood strong and assembled a strong platform for Lancashire, encouraging signs ahead of what promises to be a testing season. They reached the fifty-partnership just before tea, only for Tim Groenewald to pick up the wicket of Procter, who was caught brilliantly by Max Waller at mid-wicket at 77/2.

Wickets continued to tumble after the interval, with Luis Reece (11) edging behind off Gregory, attempting to hook the ball into the leg-side. Hameed also found the gloves of Ryan Davies, as Scotland pace bowler Josh Davey encouraged a thin edge through to the keeper to end a valiant innings from the promising opening batsman.

Davey enjoyed a rampant spell for the home side, but he was assisted by the lack of a shot offered by Alex Davies, who had his off-stump removed to send him back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers.

Youngster Ben Green contributed another breakthrough, trapping the Lancashire captain Steven Croft lbw for 18, a wicket which left the visitors on 120/6.

Liam Livingstone continued his promising pre-season form with the bat, opening his account with two delectable cover drives to the boundary, but his promising start was halted when he edged behind off Peter Trego, as the seaming conditions continued to dominate the day.

This wicket left Lancashire in a spot of bother at 138/7 and it was therefore vital that Clark and latterly Parry stood up to a buoyant Somerset attack and ensure that the efforts of Hameed and Procter had not been squandered in an instant.

They added an unbeaten partnership worth 42 runs, taking Lancashire to 180/7 at stumps, as both batsmen favoured a combination of patience and good running between the wickets. Clark was also happy to dispatch the rare bad ball to the boundary, with a swinging ball and testing light putting the value of their partnership into true perspective.

The weather has tended to dominate this match in one way or another and it looks as though tomorrow will be no different, with scattered showers predicted for the third and final day of this match in the west country.