Rain ruins big-hitting contest
25-Jun-2011
Marcus Trescothick and Kieron Pollard lit up a grey Taunton evening with an exhilarating stand of 68 in 4.5 overs to help Somerset to 177 for 4 off 15 overs in their Friends Life t20 game with Sussex at Taunton.
But it proved in vain as a match already reduced to 15 overs a side was abandoned by umpires Nick Cook and Nigel Cowley, who ruled the light too poor to continue with Sussex 40 for 2 off 3.4 overs in reply.
Both sides had to settle for a point and a large crowd went away frustrated and disappointed. Eight more balls would have constituted a match and the Duckworth/Lewis method would have decided the outcome, but as it was both sides took one point.
Trescothick smashed 87 off 39 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes, after losing the toss, while Pollard marked his first appearance of the season with 40 off 18 deliveries, with three fours and three sixes.
Umar Gul was the Sussex bowler to suffer most from Trescothick's onslaught. His three overs cost 57, while Kirk Wernars' only over went for 20.
Somerset lost Peter Trego and Craig Meschede early on before James Hildreth helped his captain add 62 by scoring 39 off 21 balls. But it was merely an appetiser to the main course which followed when Pollard joined Trescothick to a hero's welcome from the crowd after Jos Buttler had perished for a first-ball duck.
At 109 for 4, the mighty Trinidadian took a few balls to size up the pitch and the opposition then flat-batted Rana Naved for an extraordinary six over long-on.
The last 22 balls of the innings saw Pollard and Trescothick plunder 63 runs, sharing five sixes and five fours in that period. After three successive home washouts in the competition it was no more than the Somerset supporters deserved.
In reply, Sussex lost Ben Brown to the first ball of their innings, but then kept up with the required Duckworth-Lewis total at the end of each over until Chris Nash was caught at mid-off by Hildreth for 11, miscuing a pull off Steve Kirby.
Lou Vincent was unbeaten on 22 and his team required nine off two balls to be ahead on D/L, but before the next batsman could get to the wicket the umpires took the players off. Soon it was raining steadily and there was no chance of a restart.
