SAM DALLING AT TAUNTON: It was the 11th century of Abell's red-ball career but only four have come at Taunton for the Somerset captain
2,504 days. That is an awful long time. Almost two Olympic cycles. Cities have been designed and built. But the wait was worth it. Finally, for only the second time in his career, Tom Abell could raise his bat and acknowledge the warm applause of a home LV= Insurance County Championship crowd. The smile was broad when three figures came, his great mate Dom Bess nurdled into the leg-side.
It is a remarkable statistic. So, let's give it some context. For there is no criticism; just an acknowledgment of a series of events that have led in alternative directions. It was the 11th century of Abell's red-ball career but only four have come at Taunton. The pair sandwiched between his knock against Hampshire in September 2015 came behind-closed-doors in 2020, although he has twice fallen just a few shy.
A disconsolate Abell admitted post-semi-final T20 defeat to Hampshire that Somerset were below their best. He also promised they would regroup and be ready to go again here. Relegation remains a very real possibility. Well, he certainly led from the front with a fine unbeaten 114. Somerset ended 262 for 5, and honours were just about even.
Abell was so far from the man he was at Saturday afternoon's post-match media duty. When he hurts, it is obvious. This time, he bore a tired grin. The look of a man who had just completed a satisfying day's work. "I hate playing against him," he said of Bess while laughing. "He doesn't let me concentrate, he's always in my ear. I would have loved to have taken him down a little, but he bowled very well. Full credit to him. He's a very good friend but I was obviously trying to get the better of him out there.
"It was hugely pleasing and I'm very proud. It's nice to play my part in a decent day for us. We won the toss so had to make sure we batted well. The job's certainly not done but we are pretty pleased with our position."
Tom Abell ended a long wait for a red-ball Taunton hundred (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
As they have in every game in this competition thus far, Somerset batted first. Confidence needed restoring. Both these teams had journeyed to Edgbaston on Saturday but fell at the first hurdle.
After some initial jitters, Abell looked in complete control. A patient start, followed by a little acceleration thanks to three crisply struck boundaries off consecutive Matthew Revis deliveries. Those raced him through the fifties. Strong, as ever, off the back foot, Shannon Gabriel was cut away with aplomb. A period stuck on 80 navigated when Jack Shutt was introduced and twice slog-swept over deep square. At his fluent best, Abell is batting eye-candy. And he was for much of the day.
On a difficult day for bowlers, a nod to Matthew Waite. Many English quicks have endured injury hell, but Waite's toil has taken him there and back. Since his 2014 debut, he has been restricted to just 59 appearances. There was a troublesome ankle injury that ruled him out of the 2017 season, and at the start of the 2020 Covid summer Waite suffered a freak pre-match injury at Chester-le-Street: a tendon tore clean-off his bone, boggling the minds of physios nationwide. Waite even became a case study.
To add to the misery, he had been earmarked to step up and replace Tim Bresnan. Instead, Jordan Thompson skipped ahead and barely glanced backward. Fortunately, Waite was awarded a new two-year contract, and more than half of his appearances have come since the start of the 2021 summer.
That said, by May 2022, more than three years had passed since he played a red-ball game. His chance came at Worcestershire in a two-week loan to cover for Joe Leach. On this evidence he has grasped his opportunity.
Matthew Waite impressed for Yorkshire (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
There is an economy of run-up, perhaps eight steps in total, limbs shooting in multiple directions. But there was an economy of runs too, Somerset batters only able to take five from his first seven overs. Among them, he got one to straighten, wrapping Matt Renshaw on the pads. The batter's glanced guiltily at the umpire, waiting for the inevitable.
It took until the penultimate ball of his ninth over for Waite to concede his first boundary. George Bartlett made it back-to-back fours, 'ruining' Waite's figures by doubling his runs conceded count. Bartlett, whose future is in doubt, had been kept in the side ahead of Tom Banton and started nicely enough. But on 46 he took on a Waite bouncer and failed.
Bartlett is a conundrum. His numbers do not reflect his talent. But for a football injury he would have started the summer in the XI. Instead, he has had to bide his time, and, with his contract expiring, uncertainty remains.
Bess is unlucky to be a footnote here by the way. He bowled as well as he ever has on this ground, on what is his first return since joining Yorkshire in 2020. He finished with 2 for 29.
The day was in fact a shortened one. "Rain stopped play" were not words cricket-watchers expected today. Not on the day when the Mercury, for the first time ever in this country, touched 40C. Umbrellas were plentiful, but their intended use was shade.
Yet at lunchtime the unexpected occurred. Proper rain, forcing the full selection of sheets to be dragged onto the outfield. Pre-play murmurings of the curtailed day offered to counties by the ECB given the extreme temperatures, failed to materialise.
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