Records tumble as Trego and Davies enjoy mammoth partnership

Peter Trego (154*) and Ryan Davies (86) both made career-best scores to help Somerset achieve their highest ever eighth-wicket partnership on the second day of their trip to Old Trafford.

The pair added 236 runs in a dominant partnership to allow Somerset to declare on 553/8, with Tom Bailey taking 5-111, before Lancashire closed on 138/2. Haseeb Hameed (56) made his eleventh half-century of the season in red-ball cricket to lead the Red Rose reply, before Liam Livingstone (20*) and Alviro Petersen (25*) successfully navigated a testing spell before the close.

Lancashire endured a wicketless morning session, as both Trego and Davies prospered on a friendly batting track, with the duo going on to break a record that had only just been broken seven days ago by Somerset in their last match County Championship against Hampshire.

The 164-run stand between Craig Overton and Roelof van der Merwe – which had previously broken a 17-year-old record - was obliterated by the ruthless approach shown by Trego in particular, who reached his second century of the summer.

Trego and Davies added 146 runs in the morning session having already recorded an unbroken stand worth 52 runs overnight to steer Somerset to safety following a burst of four wickets in seven balls from Bailey at the end of the first day. Starting the day on 49, Trego advanced to fifty off the third ball of the day in just 43 deliveries, as the dangerous all-rounder continued to find the boundary regularly for the visitors.

This allowed Somerset to add 100 runs in 137 balls, with Trego and Davies going on to achieve the biggest eight-wicket partnership at Old Trafford. Somerset opted to prioritise building a sizeable total above chasing a fifth batting point, although the visitors did reach 400 only five balls after 110 overs had gone by.

Nevertheless, the freedom exercised by Trego and latterly Davies demonstrated the friendly nature of wicket for the batting side. Davies opened up his shoulders by hitting Simon Kerrigan for three boundaries in the same over to bring up his fifty in 94 balls, with the 150-partnership coming up in 194 deliveries.

Trego's 16th boundary saw him race to 101 at a run-a-ball shortly before lunch, by which time Somerset had advanced to 485/7. With Trego and Davies already achieving a record eighth-wicket stand against Lancashire before the interval, the pair continued to command proceedings by adding 200 runs in 251 deliveries, with Overton and van der Merwe's record falling in the early stages of the afternoon session.

After adding 236 runs together, Davies and Trego's partnership came to an end, with Bailey collecting  the third five-wicket haul of his first-class career. Bailey forced Davies to chop on for a career-best 86 at 523/8, but Tim Groenewald (17) hit Lancashire on the counter attack with a huge six over mid-wicket.

Trego achieved a new career-best score when he reached 143, beating the 141 he made for Central Districts against Auckland, before reaching 150 in 155 balls with his 24th boundary. By the time Somerset declared on 553/8, the visitors had added 219 runs for the loss of just one wicket on a frustrating second day for Lancashire, who responded strongly to end the day in a safe position.

With Luke Procter out of action due to an illness, Hameed and Rob Jones (34) emerged from the pavilion as Lancashire's youngest ever opening combination, but their combined age of 39 did not deter them from setting up a good platform for the Red Rose county. Jones, playing in only his second first-class game, shined on his home debut for Lancashire with another gritty innings in response to Somerset's huge total, while Hameed exercised typical maturity despite still being a teenager.

The ever-present Hameed featured in Lancashire's fifth different opening combination, as he and Jones added a fifty-partnership in 95 balls to guide the hosts to 57/0 at the tea interval. Hameed, who scored centuries in both innings against Yorkshire in his last appearance at Old Trafford, shepherded a great deal of the strike after tea to relieve some of the pressure from Jones, as he reached fifty for the eleventh time this season in 87 balls.

Hameed and Jones were going strongly in the deteriorating light in Manchester, but both batsmen fell in quick succession courtesy of Groenewald (1-26), both as a bowler and a fielder. After encouraging Hameed (56) to edge behind to Davies, Groenewald reacted quickly to Jones ambling down the crease with a direct-hit, as Jones fell for 34 after batting for over two hours.

Lancashire stumbled from 87/0 to 96/2 after the loss of both openers in the space of six overs, but  Livingstone and Petersen stood firm to ensure that the home side encountered no further losses before the close of play. Petersen reached 1,000 first-class runs for the season in the process of adding an unbroken partnership worth 42 runs with Livingstone, as Lancashire closed on 138/2, still trailing by 415 runs.