All 11 Somerset players appeal for the final Surrey wicket in the County Championship clash between the sides

Somerset beat Surrey in a County Championship classic to ignite the title race, eight points separating the teams with two rounds to go.

As the clock ticked towards 5.30pm, it looked as if Surrey, intent only on a draw on the final day, would achieve their goal. Jordan Clark and Kemar Roach kept out more than 11 overs in their ninth-wicket stand without a run off the bat. Then Jack Leach had Clark caught behind before pinning Dan Worrall lbw two balls later to spark raucous celebrations. The 11 men of Somerset, all of whom had crowded round the bat, sprinted off into the distance. They were soon joined by Tom Banton, moving as fast as his crutches would carry him, one of several heroes through the game for Somerset. There were 20,000 watching the YouTube stream.

Along with the snapshot of the entire team appealing in unison, the game’s residing image will surely be of Banton hobbling to the middle, having rolled his ankle before play on day three but required to keep his side fighting at its end. He came in with Somerset leading by less than 150 and carved 46 to push the target well past 200, reverse-sweeping Shakib-al-Hasan, Surrey’s one-game overseas player, even as his feet stayed rooted to the spot. That cameo ensured his first-innings century wasn’t wasted, and he was the only Somerset batter to pass fifty in the game. Head coach Jason Kerr conceded he was unlikely to feature in Final’s Day on Saturday, in which Somerset and Surrey will face off again in a tantalising semi-final, the West Country side still in pursuit of an unprecedented treble.

Aside from Banton, Somerset had their two spinners, Leach and Archie Vaughan, to thank. The pair shared all 20 wickets between them, with the latter, 18 years old and son of you know who, emerging with the pick of the figures. His dismissal of Shakib on the final day was the moment Somerset began to truly believe, after a partnership one run shy of fifty and four balls shy of 30 overs between Dom Sibley and Ben Foakes had dampened their hopes.

 

All throughout, this was a game that twisted and turned. Somerset were 305-5 on day one before Shakib and Worrall ran through the lower order, while Surrey were 228-8 and went on to take an unlikely lead through a Tom Curran blitz. Surrey continued their surge before that tenth-wicket stand between Banton and Craig Overton. From that point, Surrey had only thoughts of survival in their minds, and might now regret not going for the runs.

 

It leaves the title race perfectly poised. Surrey lead by eight points, but have Durham, victorious by an innings this week, and Essex, fuming from a heavy points deduction, to play. Somerset face Lancashire, reeling from three innings defeats on the spin, and then Hampshire at home. One of the Championship’s most formidable modern sides, Somerset are nevertheless still without a title in their history. Should this be the year the hoodoo is lifted, they will feel it turned on two spinners, one of each arm, and a batter on one leg.

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