Edgbaston pitch reported for uneven bounce

Somerset 295 and 178 drew with Warwickshire 152 and 4 for 0
Scorecard

The Edgbaston pitch has been reported to the ECB over its indifferent bounce following the Specsavers County Championship match between Warwickshire and Somerset which ended in a draw when the final day was washed out.

Eighteen wickets fell on the second day, after which rain prevented any further play, with numerous batsmen hit around the body and the surface was reported by the umpires to ECB liaison officer Tony Pigott. His findings will now be considered by an ECB disciplinary commission.

"It was not the type of pitch we wanted," admitted Warwickshire director of cricket Dougie Brown. "There were cracks but was it dangerous? No.

"We all know here that Gary Barwell is the best groundsman in the country by a mile. He was preparing this pitch 14/16 days ahead, as always, and when he started it was in snow and ice. Then the weather flipped on its head and suddenly it was very hot, so the drying process was accelerated by the weather.

"When the cricket liaison officer said the pitch had been reported we were incredibly surprised."

While Warwickshire await the commission's findings, they will also wait to see whether captain Ian Bell's injured hamstring will heal in time for him to play against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on Sunday.

Somerset, meanwhile, were left deeply frustrated. With Warwickshire on four without loss in pursuit of their target at the end of the second day, the visitors fancied their chances, only for heavy cloud and mist to take up residence over Birmingham for 48 hours.

"It was very disappointing," said captain Chris Rogers. "On a wicket that was getting harder to bat on, we felt 320 was definitely a winning total.

"There were a few concerns about the pitch. The groundsman didn't quite get it the way he wanted to, though I think had a similar-looking wicket for their first game that didn't play anywhere near as badly.

"I have played on some excellent wickets here so this was different, but fortunately there were no real incidents."

Despite the frustration of not being able to press home a victory, Rogers was pleased with his side's performance. Having spent most of their first three drawn games on the back foot, this time they held the initiative.

"The innings from Tom Abell and Peter Trego were outstanding," he said. "They really gave us momentum and, particularly when you are playing a good side, if a couple of guys step up and lead from the front, it carries through the rest of the team.

"I think we bowled really well, pitched the ball up and challenged the batsmen and got our rewards. Everyone who got the ball in their hand did a really good job."