County Championship: Somerset’s Jack Leach takes seven wickets against Hampshire

A spin bowling masterclass from Somerset’s Jack Leach plunged relegation-threatened Hampshire into deeper trouble on the third day of the County Championship Division One match at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.

After the hosts had increased their first innings total from an overnight 381-7 to 454-8 declared, the left-arm spinner, overlooked in recent times by England, claimed 7-69 from 24.3 overs to help bowl out Hampshire for 172 and make them follow on.

Kasey Aldridge was last man out in the Somerset innings for 180, having begun the day on 149, while Craig Overton finished unbeaten on 50. Hampshire made a better fist of things in their second innings, reaching 35-1 before rain and bad light ended play 15.1 overs early, but still face a backs-to-the-wall fight tomorrow to avoid what might prove a hugely damaging defeat.

The first ball of the day was nudged by Aldridge for the single needed to take him to a maiden 150, having faced 207 balls and hit 16 fours and 5 sixes. Both he and Overton were positive from the outset.

Aldridge cut a boundary off James Fuller to take Somerset’s score past 400 and followed up with an upper cut six off the same bowler. Overton cleared the ropes off Kyle Abbott and Washington Sundar, as the pair took their entertaining partnership to the century mark from 90 deliveries.

The next target was to take the score to 450, which they achieved in the 103rd over to secure maximum batting points. Overton went to fifty off 42 balls and the only remaining question was the timing of the declaration.

It came when Aldridge was run out by Nick Gubbins’ direct hit at the bowler’s end attempting a quick single to mid-off. The tall all-rounder, bound for Durham next season, had batted for more than four and a half hours, facing 233 balls and extending his boundary count to 20 fours and six sixes.

Hampshire’s reply had reached 13 after five overs when Leach was introduced from the River End. In his first over he had Ali Orr bowled between bat and pad by a delivery that turned considerably from outside the left-hander’s off stump.

Soon it was 27-2 as Gubbins reverse swept Leach straight into the hands of Archie Vaughan at short third-man, and three runs later Fletcha Middleton had his off stump clipped by Leach from a delivery that pitched on middle.

Toby Albert launched two defiant sixes off Vaughan in moving to 29 before driving at a wide ball from the off-spinner and offering a straightforward return catch. Lunch was taken with Hampshire 61-4.

Vaughan struck again after he and Leach had swapped ends in the afternoon session, bowling Ben Brown, on 21, as he attempted to cut.

The accurate Leach was bowling some rippers and one accounted for Sundar. Having battled his way to 23, the India Test player pushed forward defensively to a ball that spun back through the gate and bowled him to make the score 102-6.

Fuller tried to counter-attack and had made 24 off 17 balls when becoming Leach’s fifth victim, lbw sweeping. Barker was bowled for 19 attempting to reverse sweep Leach, and Felix Organ top-edged a pull off a Vaughan long-hop to be caught at mid-wicket before Abbott lofted a catch to wide long-on to end the innings and give Leach season’s best figures.

Tea was taken before Somerset enforced the follow-on. The tireless Leach, who played the last of his 39 Tests for England almost a year ago, took the new ball in tandem with Vaughan, while Tom Abell was off the field having suffered a jolting blow on the helmet when fielding at short-leg.

Orr and Middleton took the score to 35 in the 22nd over when Orr fell for 27, lbw when struck on the back pad by a ball from Vaughan. Before the game could restart, the rain which had been forecast for much of the day finally arrived, much to Hampshire’s relief.