Somerset Dominate Day One with Abell’s Century and Rew’s Half-Century
Somerset’s Tom Abell continued his impressive form with a second consecutive century, leading his team to a commanding 395 for 6 on the opening day of their County Championship clash against Durham.
Abell, who scored an unbeaten 152 against Warwickshire in his previous home game, struck 124 off 181 deliveries, including 18 boundaries. He shared a record-breaking 185-run partnership with Tom Banton (73) for Somerset’s fourth wicket against Durham.
James Rew remained unbeaten on 89 at the close, while Daniel Hogg and Callum Parkinson claimed two wickets each for Durham.
Somerset handed a first-class debut to Archie Vaughan, the son of former England captain Michael Vaughan. The 18-year-old allrounder impressed in this season’s Metro Bank One Day Cup.
Captain Lewis Gregory returned from injury and elected to bat first on a pitch expected to favor spin. However, Somerset lost Andy Umeed on the first ball of the match and Tom Lammonby soon after.
Lewis Goldsworthy and Abell steadied the innings before Goldsworthy was caught behind for 38. Banton joined Abell and the pair added 50 off 86 balls before lunch.
The partnership flourished in the afternoon, with Abell reaching his half-century off 92 balls and Banton following suit off 73 deliveries. Abell went on to score 124 before being dismissed by Parkinson, while Banton fell in the same fashion for 73.
Somerset were 260 for 5 at tea, but Vaughan and Rew added 66 runs in quick time. Vaughan was dismissed for 30, but Rew continued to impress, reaching his fifty off 71 balls.
He struck three boundaries in an over off Carse as Somerset finished the day on a high, with Kasey Aldridge contributing 12 to an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 67.