Somerset Start With Away Draw
Somerset’s bid for success in the 2024 County Championship kicked off with a draw after Kent were able to hold on and avoid defeat in a rain-affected game in Canterbury.
As with a number of other games, the opening day of the season would be wiped out by rain, with Somerset electing to bowl first when the action kicked off on day two.
Kent were slow starters when it came to getting runs on the board, and once Tawanda Muyeye was dismissed with the score on 59, wickets would fall regularly as the hosts were all out for 284; Somerset skipper Lewis Gregory taking 4-66 as pick of the bowlers.
Bad light meant Somerset’s reply only kicked off on day three, and they bounced back from the early loss of Sean Dickson to surge into the lead, with Tom Lammonby hitting 90 and Matt Renshaw 66 guiding the visitors to a 90 run lead by the end of the day.
James Rew and Kasey Aldridge also struck half centuries having shared a partnership of 101, with Somerset eventually bowled out for 403 to hold a lead of 119 on the final morning.
Muyeye and Ben Compton were both removed early as Somerset chased an unlikely win, but centuries from both Joe Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond allowed Kent to make it 290-4 before declaring to leave the game as a draw.
With 15 points scored, Somerset sit second in the table to Essex; the only side to secure a positive result from the opening round of fixtures.
Next up is a trip to the Oval to face Surrey.
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