57 overs: Essex 111-4 (Westley 25, Ten Doeschate 0) It’s been all spin today, though the briefest gander at this Cyderabad surface makes that entirely understandable. As Van der Merwe demonstrates by dismissing Bopara – that’s three wickets for nine. Just another 16 to go (including a brief thrash-batting interlude). Job’s a good’un.
Wicket! Bopara c Abell b Van der Merwe 1, Essex 111-4
Another one down. Bopara pops one up to silly point, where Abell takes the catch.
56 overs: Essex 111-3 (Westley 25, Bopara 1) Nice from Westley, leaning forward and smothering the spin to push away on the legside for two. Wonder if he’ll ever get an England chance again? There were technical flaws – playing to leg across the line – but technical strengths too, and he didn’t look hopelessly out of his depth.
55 overs: Essex 109-3 (Westley 23, Bopara 1) Bopara does well to keep out a grubber from Van der Merwe but is otherwise untroubled in an eventless maiden.
Going back to pencil cricket – and variants thereof – did anyone used to play ‘book cricket’, whereby you’d allocate an outcome (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, caught, bowled, lbw, runout, stumped) to each letter in the alphabet and then compile innings based on painstakingly going through a book or newspaper?
54 overs: Essex 109-3 (Westley 23, Bopara 1) It’s turning square at times here, which means Leach isn’t finding an edge with some of his rippers, but Westley sees out the maiden under the attentions of six close fielders.
53 overs: Essex 109-3 (Westley 23, Bopara 1) Van der Merwe is giving the batsmen something to think about too, finding some extravagant turn against Bopara, though he’s a seasoned campaigner, our Ravi, and does nowt rash.
52 overs: Essex 109-3 (Westley 23, Bopara 1) Leach rips another leg-break past Bopara’s outside edge, before the new man gets off the mark with a single. It’s a beautiful sunny day. “We wouldn’t have been here for a fourth day with this surface if the weather had stayed good,” says Dominic Cork in the commentary box. But then we’d have a different type of surface if it was sun-baked. Though this is Taunton.
51overs: Essex 108-3 (Westley 23, Bopara 0) Ooh! For all that Somerset have been unlucky with decisions today, there’s a suggestion that Overton might not have got his hands underneath that catch to dismiss Lawrence. Not easy to tell though. Six off this over, a two for Westley followed by a confident cover drive for four.
Wicket! Lawrence c Overton b Leach 0, Essex 102-3
50 overs: Essex 102-3 (Westley 17) Two in the over for Leach! New man Dan Lawrence edges his second ball low to Overton at slip, and these are deserved scalps.
Wicket! Cook c Banton b Leach 53
49.4 overs: Essex 102-2 (Westley 17) Leach has two slips, a silly point, a gully and a silly mid-off in for Westley, who still manages to squirt an edge past them for a single, bringing to the strike Cook, who brings up a fine 50 with a legside clip off a low full toss for four. The Essex fans in the crowd make themselves heard. Well played sir.
And then next ball – he’s gone, prodding off bat and pad to Tom Banton at silly mid-on
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49th over: Essex 97-1 (Westley 16, Cook 49) Another over featuring one run to Cook, from Van der Merwe. Westley gets one too.
“I think Peter Salmon is onto a winner,” says Kim Thonger of jazzing up our cricketing spin-off games. “But let’s make it a bit livelier. I’m thinking a cross between Its a Knockout, The Crystal Maze and Treasure Hunt. Anneka Rice could compere possibly with Henry Blofeld and Alan ‘Chatty Man’ Carr. I’d do the whole thing on ice if I had artistic control. Ben Stokes in a skintight leotard doing a triple falco ought to set even the most elderly ECB overlord’s pulse racing, hopefully creating a few vacancies on the steering committee.”
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48th over: Essex 95-1 (Westley 15, Cook 48) Leach continues, Cook continues to get ‘em in ones, so he should have his 50 in Leach’s next over. Then another big appeal, as a ripper from Leach jags from leg to off and beats Westley all ends up. No edge discerned by the umpire, replays suggest a possible glove/back-arm combo. Somerset have been unlucky today. Then an ultra-edge examination on Sky finds no nick and vindicates the umpire.
47th over: Essex 94-1 (Westley 15, Cook 47) Van der Merwe appeals for a feathered catch to the keeper down the legside against Cook, but the umpire rules that feather came there none. Somerset have a leg slip and a leg gully in for Cook but he managed to beat both to get a clipped single,
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46th over: Essex 93-1 (Westley 15, Cook 46) Leech returns from the River End – he’s bowled very well today – but Cook, the old master, is equal to it all. He adds another single, the only scoring stroke of the over.
45th over: Essex 92-1 (Westley 15, Cook 45) Thanks Tanya and greetings everyone, as Van der Merwe rattles through another over, yielding a solitary single.. There’s no lack of focus out there, as Somerset continue to crowd round the bat while the Essex pair, it must be said, have shown application and skill in seeing this out. As they surely will now. Somerset need 19 wickets in the next three hours or so.
44th over: Essex 91-1 (Westley 15, Cook 44) Bess has been very busy today, bowling unchanged from the Ian Botham end. On he rolls, dangerous, but without luck. Four tasty byes trickle away.
And that’s it from me, as I hand over to Tom Davies. A wonderful season; thanks to you all for your messages and emails. It’s been a lot of fun.
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43rd over: Essex 82-1 (Westley 15, Cook 43) A drive, for four, off van der Merwe – then a huge lbw appeal, turned down. This is slipping away now.
42nd over: Essex 82-1 (Westley 11, Cook 43) Cook is beaten by Bess, and then rocks back and hits a boundary. Four byes runs away towards the shadows.
41st over: Essex 74-1 (Westley 11, Cook 39) Westley is surrounded by seven praying mantis. A maiden.
Marcus Trescothick is on the radio, on the last day of his professional career after 27 years. “I can’t do like I used to. I have to put my glasses on for a start, it’s not as easy as it used to be. Why would I want to go out there and struggle?”
I think they’ll be back on again in a minute.
This pencil cricket is really catching on. Peter Salmon ponders: “Would Kim see the pencil cricket tournament featuring the actual players? Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler sat at a table with Pat Cummins would make for riveting pencil cricket, really get the kids involved.”
4o.1 overs: Essex 74-1 (Westley 11, Cook 39) And Tom Westley has timely trouble with his pads. On come the water carriers, and the minutes tick by. Oh, here comes the rain again, though the sky is blue. The players are off, though probably not for long
Brian Withington is having thoughts: “Ignoring forfeits, I’m wondering what the lowest third innings score before a declaration might be? And wouldn’t it be nice if Somerset got the chance to break that record some time later today – daring Essex not to chase say 75 in 20 overs of flighted filth?”
Brian, someone on here will know that.
40th over: Essex 74-1 (Westley 11, Cook 39) No luck.
“Afternoon Tanya.” Afternoon David! “Will we see a white pencil cricket superseding a red pencil cricket?”
What a very good point.
39th over: Essex 74-1 (Westley 11, Cook 39) A ball from van der Merwe squeezes off Westley and between the slips. This isn’t going to happen is it, whatever those there daemons.
38th over: Essex 69-1 (Westley 6, Cook 39) Bess continues but Westley and Cook survive, as the Somerset journalists break into “Go Somerset”to the tinny tune of a mobile phone.
37th over: Essex 66-1 (Westley 6, Cook 36) van der Merwe whizzes through another over as a replacement for Leach at the pavilion end.
36th over: Essex 62-1 (Westley 2, Cook 36) Cook gets frisky, chunking the ball through cover for four, cutting down to the pavilion boundary for another. A tasty lbw appeal in between from Bess. The Essex 12th man brings out some no doubt essential towels and water.
Mes writes: “To take Kim’s quite brilliant idea further, these pencil teams need proper franchise names – the ‘Southern Shavings’, the ‘Birmingham Ballpoints’, the ‘Leeds Leads’ (geddit?). Write-ups by journalists to be headed: “Me and my pencil.”
These are more than shavings of an idea.
35th over: Essex 54-1 (Westley 2, Cook 28) Three byes as the ball spins past everyone, batman, keeper, fielders. And glory be, the follow on has been saved! Leach spins the ball hand to hand and, what’s is this? We have shadows.
34th over: Essex 51-1 (Westley 2, Cook 26) Somerset have two appeals to the umpire off this Bess over, an lbw and a catch to the fielder at leg-slip that came off the pad. Hoods go up in the stands. The floodlights are on.
32nd over: Essex 50-1 (Westley 2, Cook 26) You could drive a miniature car under Westley’s forward stretch. Another Leach maiden; yet still they come through the Taunton gates.
31st over: Essex 50-1 (Westley 2, Cook 26) One of the Overtons is down on his knees at second slip, back stretched out as if offering Cook a piggy-back ride. Five dots, then a shorter one, and Cook chops a shorter ball away for four. Classic Cook. Class.
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30th over: Essex 46-1 (Westley 2, Cook 22) Rattled through, that over was. No wickets, no runs, on a dustbowl.
As people seem so keen on pencil cricket I propose we replace the proposed Hundred tournament (circus) with a pencil based version of it, played over a late summer weekend, perhaps by ‘celebrities’, writes Kim Thonger.
“This would free up July and August for proper County Championship cricket, and enable good young cricketers to get some actual red ball cricket in to develop their natural talents and hone their tactical and strategic thinking.”
You know, I think the ECB might go for that.
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29th over: Essex 46-1 (Westley 2, Cook 22) Four close fielders surround Cook waiting, predatory, for that edge. But it doesn’t come. Another maiden. Bess 10-4-12-1.
28th over: Essex 46-1 (Westley 1, Cook 21) Cook is batting in short sleeves; Westley in huge baggy jumper, bouncing, crouching stance. Leach wheels out another half dozen beautifully spinning deliveries, but Essex survive.
27th over: Essex 44-1 (Westley 1, Cook 21) A pleasingly-full Taunton watches Bess bowl another post-lunch over. Another maiden, but it’s not enough.
Abhijato Sensarma writes: “What’s stopping us from calling the duo of Bess and Leach … ‘Beach’? Also, the surface of Ciderabad which they’ve owned, could be called their ‘Backyard Beach’!”
Boom boom.
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26th over: Essex 44-1 (Westley 1, Cook 21) Runs! A boundary, as Cook clips Leach through mid-wicket. But Leach wheels on as the seagulls float overhead. Then Westley is beaten by one that turns a reel; the over finishes with a forlorn shout for a catch behind.
26th over: Essex 39-1 (Westley 1, Cook 16) Cook pushes Bess through for a quick single and then Westley survives one that squeezes and bounces before a vocal lbw shout that was possibly a bit high.
25th over: Essex 38-1 (Westley 1, Cook 15) Leach fizzes in to Westley who does well to survive some almost unplayable balls, ripping through the dust.
24th over: Essex 38-1 (Westley 1, Cook 15) Not quite sure what happened there sorry I was eating lemon cheese cake with Vic and they started a little early.
Lunch is being taken at Taunton
As the covers are pushed hurriedly back onto the pitch, and the brollies rise in unison in the stands.
23rd over: Essex 36-1 (Westley 0, Cook 14)The temporary cabin I’m sitting in is being buffeted by the wind, so it must be blowy out in the middle. Vic joins me in a woolly hat and tells me that Cook was definitely lbw to Leach earlier. And the rain starts to fall.
