While Somerset were ruing their failure to secure a fourth batting point on the final day of this rain-affected encounter, Paul Horton took the opportunity to score his second fifty of the match. Having been comfortably Lancashire’s leading runscorer in the LV County Championship last year when he totalled 966 at an average of 42, Horton was grateful for runs after failing to make a fifty in Lancashire’s three opening games.
When Lancashire, 56 behind on first innings, lost Tom Smith in the first over of their second, they still had some batting to do to ensure the game was safe. Horton, though, played with sound assurance on a pitch praised by the umpires as an “excellent cricket wicket.”
Offering bounce and turn, it also provided some turn for the spinners on the final day. Indeed, when the Sydney-born 26-year old was caught at point after hitting 14 fours in his 119-ball 68, Lancashire’s middle order did not offer particularly stern resistance.
Mal Loye played all round a straight one to be plumb leg before; Ashwell Prince was caught at mid-on; Francois du Plessis edged one to slip off a ball that Arul Suppiah turned; and Mark Chilton drove at a full length ball to be well caught at first slip by a diving Justin Langer.
Soon after, though, a truce was declared with stumps drawn at 4.55pm. John Holder, who retires at the end of the season, was applauded off the field in this his final match as an umpire at Old Trafford.
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Somerset, 301 for seven overnight, had entertained hopes of salvaging a fourth batting point. Three loose strokes nevertheless proved costly, last man Charl Willoughby being the most culpable when, with just seven more runs needed, he attempted an ill-advised slog-sweep against Gary Keedy and topedged high to mid-off.
Lancashire v Somerset
Old Trafford (final day of four): Lancashire (9pts) drew with Somerset (10)
Lancashire: First Innings 286 (P J Horton 69, G Chapple 55; D A Stiff 4 for 72)
Second Innings
T C Smith c Phillips b Stiff 0
P J Horton c Suppiah b Willoughby 68
M B Loye lbw b De Bruyn 39
A G Prince c Trego b De Bruyn 34
M J Chilton c Langer b De Bruyn 15
F du Plessis c Langer b Suppiah 4
†L D Sutton not out 6
*G Chapple not out 4
Extras (lb 6, w 5, nb 10) 21
Total (6 wkts, 61 overs) 191
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-106, 3-122, 4-159, 5-172, 6-176.
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Bowling: Stiff 6-2-21-1; Willoughby 13-4-38-1; Phillips 7-3-11-0; Thomas 7-1-11-0; Suppiah 13-3-45-1; Trego 6-2-12-0;
De Bruyn 9-1-47-3.
Somerset: First Innings
M E Trescothick st Sutton b Keedy 95
A V Suppiah b Newby 47
*J L Langer c Sutton b Newby 2
J C Hildreth b Du Plessis 60
†C Kieswetter c Sutton b Chapple 45
P D Trego b Du Plessis 0
Z de Bruyn c and b Chapple 7
B J Phillips not out 41
A C Thomas c Prince b Keedy 17
D A Stiff c Prince b Keedy 7
C M Willoughby c Chapple b Keedy 5
Extras (b 4, lb 5, nb 8) 17
Total (103.5 overs) 343
Fall of wickets: 1-131, 2-135, 3-179, 4-250, 5-262, 6-273, 7-274, 8-317, 9-330.
Bowling: Mahmood 19-2-82-0; Chapple 24-7-45-2; Newby 16-4-58-2; Smith 15-3-49-0; Keedy 25.5-3-86-4;
Du Plessis 4-0-14-2.
Umpires: B Dudleston and J W Holder.