Career-best haul for Overton gives Somerset slender chance against Essex
CRAIG Overton returned career-best bowling figures to help restore Somerset pride on day two of the LV=Insurance County Championship First Division match against Essex at the Cooper Associates Ground in Taunton.
Recently returned from the Caribbean, the England seamer claimed seven for 57 as the hosts, shot out for 109 on day one, staged a fightback of sorts to dismiss Essex for 180 and concede a first-innings deficit of 70.
Yet any thoughts of a concerted recovery were quickly dispelled when Somerset's top-order batting suffered another cataclysmic failure. Matt Renshaw raised a stubborn 45 and Steve Davies made 51 as they were dismissed for 154 in 60.2 overs. Set 84 to win, Essex reached the close on three for the loss of Nick Browne, eminently well-placed to wrap up an inside-the-distance victory on day three.
Overton knows Somerset have a task on their hands to win the game, but has not given up all hope.
"I still think it's possible to bowl Essex out for under 81 and win the game, but we are going to have to bowl really well,” said the former North Devon CC player.
“Alastair Cook is the key to it really and, if he bats for 30 or 40 minutes in the morning, it's going to be very difficult for us.
“If we can get him out early, like we did today, then we might be in with a chance. Once he was gone, Essex made only about another 70 between them, so we know what we have to do.
“Personally, it was good to be back at Taunton and bowling in cooler conditions and on a pitch with some green on it. But you still have to bowl a good line and put the ball in the right areas and I felt I did that better here than in the West Indies.
“It's a pity we've under-performed with the bat and it's not for the want of trying to put it right. We cannot think too much about what has gone before, but need to work hard on our game and focus on finding the improvements we need to make."
Rested at the behest of England and forced to sit out the opening round of fixtures, Overton certainly made a difference on his return to action. Having seen their team come off second best in each and every session so far this season, cider county supporters must have feared the worst when Essex resumed their first innings level-pegging, but with eight wickets in hand.
Finding Taunton in Spring-time more to his liking than the lifeless tracks he encountered on the recent winter tour to West Indies, Overton set about redressing the balance in magnificent fashion. Peter Siddle had already set the tone for the morning session when accounting for Alastair Cook with the first ball of the day, the former England captain edging to slip without adding to his overnight 59.
Nightwatchman Sam Cook was next to go, shouldering arms to a ball that nipped back at him as Overton went to work from the river end. Intent upon cementing his place in the England set-up, Dan Lawrence appeared visibly upset when adjudged lbw to a Siddle delivery that looked destined to clip the top of off stump, while Matt Critchley became the latest batsman to fail to reach double figures, pushing hard at a length ball from the relentlessly accurate Overton and offering a chance to Renshaw at second slip.
Adam Rossington also came and went quickly, paying the penalty for playing across the line to a ball from Overton that nipped back off the seam. Now operating from the Marcus Trescothink Stand end, Overton further undermined the visitors, inducing Wheater to waft outside off stump and nick behind.
Fired up and performing at the very peak of his game, Overton clearly had his sights set on a career-best return and Snater duly obliged, seeking to evade a short-pitched delivery and gloving a catch behind. Having eclipsed the 6-24 he took on this same ground against Cardiff MCCU in 2019, Overton was unfortunate not to bag an eighth victim, Simon Harmer twice surviving bellicose appeals for lbw.
The honour of wrapping up the innings fell to Lewis Gregory, who pinned Mark Seketee in his crease, leaving Harmer stranded on 25 not out. It may have been Somerset's morning, but Harmer had nevertheless played a key role in establishing a more than handy first-innings advantage.
