First day at Taunton serves up comforting reminder that for all the differences, it is still cricket

SAM DALLING: Ordinarily, Somerset would have expected to attract a few thousand souls through the turnstiles for the first day of the County Championship. Instead, for their Bob Willis Trophy debut, there were just a handful

• Scorecard: Somerset v Glamorgan
• Surrey sign Jamie Overton

It was the same, but different: sanitisation breaks ever six overs, makeshift pavilions, press conferences via Zoom.

It matters little. County cricket is back. Stumps have been reached. At one point even that looked unlikely.

Ordinarily, Somerset would have expected to attract a few thousand souls through the turnstiles for the first day of the County Championship.

Instead, for their Bob Willis Trophy debut, there were just a handful. The key number was 90. Get 90 overs in. Everything else was superficial.

Victory was rolling off the covers, giving cricket nerds their scorecards to refresh and finding their way towards the new normal.  

Of course, there isn’t a typical title at stake here. Domestic cricket’s most prestigious prize will remain with Essex for another year. Rather, the sides are competing in a regionalised tournament – a product of ECB improvisation.

But dangle the carrot of a Lord’s final in front highly charged, well-rested professional athletes, and competition will be fierce.

Had 2020 gone ahead as planned, these two sides – Somerset and Glamorgan – wouldn’t have met in whites. They’ve not gone head-to-head in first-class cricket for well over a decade.

How would they stand up to a side who missed out on last year’s title by the narrowest of margins?

Not badly, as it turned out. The five-pronged seam attack fared so well in fact that at one point Somerset were stumbling at 148 for 8.

Cricket is a funny old game though, and a frantic last session meant Somerset ended making a more than respectable 296.  Steve Davies was the mainstay with a classy unbeaten 81 and Jack Brooks made a swashbuckling 72 batting from No.11 in a 107-run stand.

But take nothing away from the visitors. They were on top until after tea, when perhaps fatigue and an ageing, saliva-less ball kicked in. Marchant de Lange was the standout bowler. His figures were good, but he bowled even better.

The South African is a genuine paceman. Big, strong and not shy of a word or two. He’s got quality too – a dozen international caps will attest to that. Little doubt he’d fare well if promotion ever comes Glamorgan’s way.

He produced the ball of the day; an absolute peach that sent Somerset skipper Tom Abell’s off-peg cartwheeling and a hostile post-lunch spell would have had spectators on the edge of their seats.

^{George Bartlett ended up on the ground}

George Bartlett certainly had to be on his toes, hopping around his crease in a desperate attempt to avoid a nasty blow. At one point he ended up on the deck. Fast bowling as it should be.

It would have been better still but for the unfortunate Charlie Hemphrey, who shelled opportunities in the slips to give lives to Tom Lammonby and Davies.

Then there was Michael Hogan, who was as miserly as you’d expect. Approaching 40, the Aussie veteran will be one who benefitted most from the elongated rest.

He was a late bloomer too, only making his first-class debut for Western Australia in 2009, which makes his 595 red-ball wickets at less than 25 apiece even more impressive.

Had he been a decade younger, perhaps even less, there’s every chance he’d be the proud owner of a baggy green. Australia’s loss has been Glamorgan’s gain though; 371 wickets in just 95 games a brilliant return.

Metronomic in line and length, he set the tone by beating the bat first up and stopped Lammomby in his tracks after lunch. Alongside Hogan was Ruaidhiri Smith, who looked every bit the part on his way to a three-wicket haul.

He continued to beat the bat as late as the 70th over, and the signs were there that he is ready to establish himself as a Glamorgan regular. A top tier bowler in the making? Time will tell.

Honourable mentions must also go to the supporting cast of Graham Wagg and Dan Douthwaite – two bowlers at opposite ends of their careers.

Veteran Wagg may have lost a little bit of his zip, but he’s still no slouch and his clever left-arm variations can still cause trouble. Douthwaite too looked nippy times, albeit expensive. Add in his ability with bat in hand and there’s enough to suggest promise.

Somerset could point to missing Tom Banton and Lewis Gregory, but you can only play what’s in front of you, and that’s exactly what Chris Cooke’s men did.

The seamers can put their feet up tonight knowing they were more than a match for their more illustrious opposition, though they will probably be rueing an opportunity lost.

Catches win matches, and they dropped some crucial ones. All that hard work undone in an hour or so.

Tomorrow it’s the batsmen’s turn to take to the ring. On the first day’s evidence, that won’t be easy either.

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