Matt Parkinson's efforts in vain as Lancashire have to settle for Somerset draw

Jack Leach's career-best 66 helped ensure Somerset drew their County Championship match against Lancashire at Old Trafford.
Jack LeachJack Leach
Jack Leach

The result leaves Tom Abell’s team undefeated after three matches while Lancashire are still searching for their first win after four.

However, things looked far more hopeful for the home side just after lunch when Somerset were 145-6 with Marcus Trescothick unable to bat because of his broken foot.

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But Leach’s 52-run stand for the seventh wicket with Craig Overton and his 69-run partnership with Tim Groenewald for the eighth all but decided the result of the contest.

Thus, when the Somerset slow left-armer was bowled by Matt Parkinson at 4.45pm, it may have given the leg-spinner his fifth wicket of the innings but it scarcely mattered as far as the outcome of the game was concerned. Leach had batted 146 minutes, faced 131 balls and had hit seven fours and one six.

The game ended a couple of overs later when Somerset declared on 269-8 with Groenewald unbeaten on 36. Parkinson finished with 5-101 from 31 overs and was the only Lancashire bowler to take more than one wicket.

The first wicket fell to the eighth ball of the morning when Matt Renshaw, still on his overnight 20, smeared a great big full-toss from Parkinson to Tom Bailey at mid-on.

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Anderson then trapped George Bartlett leg before for six but Lancashire had to wait over an hour for their next breakthrough. That arrived when Steven Davies was caught at short leg by Steven Croft off Parkinson for 54.

In his next over Parkinson had James Hildreth leg before for 20 but Abell and Lewis Gregory then guided their side to lunch without further loss.

Lancashire struck twice in the opening three overs of the afternoon session, first when Gregory was caught at slip by Liam Livingstone off Joe Mennie for 13 and then 11 balls later when Abell was leg before to Parkinson for the same score.

But after making those breakthroughs Lancashire had to wait over an hour for their next wicket which came when Craig Overton was leg before to Bailey having faced 47 balls for his five runs.

Apart from the fall of Leach’s wicket, the evening session was an anti-climax.

Lancashire took 11 points from the game while Somerset gained 10.