Somerset v Zimbabweans

In a pleasant match, played from Zimbabwe's viewpoint against the backdrop of the country's crucial elections, the touring team beat Somerset at Taunton by 21 runs with eight balls to spare. The weather was pleasant, although the ground was never quite half full, and the match was competitive until the last four overs.

Some sub-standard fielding showed that Zimbabwe's thoughts may have been centred elsewhere, but a century from Neil Johnson and successful bowling by Gary Brent and acting captain Heath Streak were enough to see them home against a Somerset team missing, like so many county teams against tourists, several key players. These included Test bowler Andy Caddick and captain Jamie Cox, with Marcus Trescothick taking over the captaincy.

On a bright, fresh morning the Zimbabweans won the toss and decided to bat on one of Taunton's traditionally good batting pitches with a fast outfield. Both teams turned out fully clad in their gaily-coloured pyjamas, but the ground at the start was less than a quarter full.

Craig Wishart opened with Johnson, the latter surviving a good lbw appeal by Graham Rose off the first ball of the match but quickly producing a classic off-drive to the boundary off Jamie Grove, followed by another that left cover standing in Grove's next over. Opposing bowlers should know by now about Johnson's preferences, but so many still take a while to learn where to avoid putting the ball. Wishart had a narrow escape on 4 when a firm chance to short extra cover went down.

Johnson held centre stage, hitting ten fours in his fifty, which came off 62 balls. The opening pair put on 81 together before Wishart (18), trying to swing Ian Blackwell away to leg, only succeeded in lobbing a catch to Keith Parsons deepish at square leg.

As he often does around this stage of his innings, Johnson slowed down after his fifty and was overshadowed by Stuart Carlisle, who played some good drives and pulls. He was out for 40 to an extraordinary catch by Blackwell at long-on. A powerful on-drive looked like a six all the way, but Blackwell reached up and caught it left-handed, saved by the boundary board from falling over backwards. Had there been a rope instead the batsmen would have been credited with a six. Zimbabwe were 154 for two in the 34th over.

Alistair Campbell was dropped at the wicket before getting off the mark with a leg tickle for four off Blackwell, followed by a drive to the extra-cover boundary. Both batsmen kept the score moving well, although sweepers now hampered Johnson's off-side driving. The 200 came up in the 43rd over. Johnson reached his century with a degree of fortune, Adrian Pierson missing a difficult return catch which went through to mid-off for a single. It took him 134 balls, but his second fifty contained only three fours compared to the ten of his first. He fell on 101, though, a lofted off-drive off Peter Trego that was well caught low down running in at long-off by Mark Lathwell. Zimbabwe were 222 for three in the 47th over.

Murray Goodwin scored 5 before being bowled by a fine leg-stump yorker from Trescothick, with the score on 232 for four. Campbell, concentrating on hitting straight, began to look more convincing and finished unbeaten on 45, with Guy Whittall on 6, at the end of the innings. The total was 248 for five, not a bad score but again Zimbabwe did not show the ability to score heavily off their last few overs.

Greg Kennis and Trescothick opened the batting for Somerset, the first cautiously watchful, the second occasionally explosive. Trescothick began by driving Johnson powerfully through the covers for four, and two overs later took two further fours on the leg side. After a quiet period he moved down the pitch to the medium-fast Mluleki Nkala and carved him over the covers for four. The bowler quickly gained revenge, though, with a well-disguised slower ball that had the batsman moving across his stumps and trapped lbw for 25; Somerset 44 for one.

Kennis and Piran Holloway batted well together and Somerset were making a good challenge when the total reached 78 for one in the 17th over. Then Streak struck, moving a ball in to Kennis (27) and having him dismissed lbw playing forward.

Mark Lathwell (13) batted usefully without really getting into his stride, and he was out to a smart high catch at short extra cover by Paul Strang off Gary Brent. Somerset were 104 for three in the 25th over. Parsons (1) followed only two runs later, hitting across the line to a full-pitched ball from Brent and becoming another lbw victim.

Michael Burns was quickly in his stride, driving Paul Strang wide of mid-on for a classy four, while Piran Holloway became obsessed with the sweep, sometimes bringing good runs but at others clearly flirting with danger, as he was on several other occasions backing up eagerly at the bowler's end. The pair settled into a good brisk partnership but the scoring rate was gradually rising all the time towards eight runs an over.

Holloway (55) finally drove Dirk Viljoen straight into the hands of Neil Johnson at long-on; Somerset 177 for five in the 42nd over. Moments later Burns on 37 was dropped, a difficult chance, near the square-leg boundary. He celebrated with a powerful straight six into the sightscreen to bring up his fifty, reached off 59 balls. Ian Blackwell (8) played a couple of powerful hits and it was still just possible that a big partnership by these two might have clinched the match for Somerset, but he skied Paul Strang towards mid-off where the bowler took the catch; 203 for six in the 45th over. Still, with Graham Rose coming in, all was not lost.

Burns played three successive good reverse sweeps off Strang for a total of eight runs, but his fine innings eventually came to an end at 68 when, deceived by a good slower ball from Brent, he hit across the line and was bowled. Somerset were 220 for seven at the end of the 46th over. 29 runs were needed in four overs.

The decisive ball was the next one, as Streak returned and immediately yorked Rose (1) with a fine delivery. The two new batsmen Pierson and Trego were never capable of making a challenge. Trego (3) fell lbw to Brent, trying to slog him to leg; 224 for nine. Streak wrapped up the innings at 227 with another fine yorker, uprooting Grove's off stump before he had scored, with Pierson not out on 3. Brent returned the best Zimbabwean bowling figures, with four wickets for 36 runs off his ten overs.