Craig Overton leaves Durham overwhelmed on 22-wicket day
Drissell takes career-best five-for but Lammonby 89 gives Somerset the clear edge
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22-Jul-2025 • 7 hrs ago
Craig Overton ripped through the Durham batting • Getty Images
Durham 145 (Raine 42, Overton 6-23) and 5 for 2 trail Somerset 250 (Lammonby 89, Drissell 5-59) by 100 runs
Somerset's Craig Overton claimed six for 23 as 22 wickets fell on the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship Division One game against Durham at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.
Invited to bat first on a green pitch, the visitors subsided to 145 all out, with Overton twice on a hat-trick during ten probing overs from the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End. Ben Raine top-scored with 42.
In reply, Somerset posted 250 all out, Tom Lammonby putting the pitch in perspective with an impressive 89 off 109 balls, including 8 fours. Off-spinner George Drissell returned career-best figures of five for 59.
Durham then lost skipper Alex Lees and nightwatchman Callum Parkinson in the three remaining overs to close on five for two and trailed by 100 runs.
There was little sign of the carnage to come when Lees and Emilio Gay launched Durham's day with a stand of 26 in 5.5 overs before Gay edged a low catch to second slip to become Overton's first victim.
The next ball saw Colin Ackerman taken at first slip by Tom Kohler-Cadmore and before they knew it the visitors were 33 for three, David Bedingham nicking a delivery from Gregory to wicketkeeper James Rew.
Overton dropped Ollie Robinson at second slip in the same Gregory over and Durham were relieved when rain arrived at 12.10pm forcing an early lunch half an hour later. The restart saw Overton strike with his fourth and fifth balls, Robinson caught behind off a defensive push and Graham Clark taken at third slip by Tom Abell, both without scoring.
Lees had struck five fours in moving to 27 when miscuing a big hit off Overton and providing the bowler with a steepling catch to make it 43 for six. Drissell drove in the air to mid-off to give Overton his sixth wicket with the total on 71, while Raine hit a defiant straight six off Josh Davey before edging a defensive shot off the same bowler through to Rew.
Neil Wagner struck 4 fours in a Davey over before a cross-batted shot saw him caught at mid-on off Jake Ball and Matthew Potts had cleared the mid-wicket boundary off Leach when reverse-sweeping the left-arm spinner straight to Abell at short third-man to end a Durham innings spanning just 30.1 overs.
Somerset openers Davey and Kohler-Cadmore quickly went on the attack, Davey striking three successive fours off Potts and his partner lofting two sixes over the short boundary on the town side of the ground in the same Raine over.
Kohler-Cadmore dispatched three consecutive Wagner deliveries for four as the pair brought up a half-century stand in just 7.1 overs. But the experienced South African took revenge with the total on 62, accepting a skyed return catch as Kohler-Cadmore top-edged a pull shot.
Tea was taken with Davey unbeaten on 22. He had added 15 in the final session when edging a back-foot defensive shot off Potts to Bedingham at first slip. The same over saw Rew depart for a duck, cutting a catch to gully, and when Abell also fell without scoring, caught at short-leg in Drissell's first over, Somerset had slumped to 103 for four.
Tom Banton could make only ten before Drissell induced another short-leg catch with a ball that turned. But Lammonby and Archie Vaughan steadied the ship and a swept boundary by Vaughan off Parkinson put his side in front.
Lammonby moved to a fluent 52-ball half-century with a reverse sweep for four off Drissell. But Vaughan fell lbw to Parkinson for 15, the first wicket of the day not to fall to a catch, with Somerset just 11 runs ahead.
Lewis Gregory hit 17 before fending a catch to short-leg off Wagner and Lammonby's excellent contribution ended when he edged to second slip off Drissell, who quickly followed up by bowling Overton for 19.
A Ball six off Drissell took Somerset to a batting bonus point, but the former Gloucestershire spinner immediately responded by bowling him to complete a maiden five-for.
Having seen the ball turn, the hosts gave the new ball to off-spinner Vaughan, who struck with the second delivery, Lees edging to second slip. Leach then pinned Parkinson lbw to cap an extraordinary day.
