Somerset Second XI had the better of the day against Surrey Second XI in the two-day friendly with the visitors hoping to learn from today when they resume on Wednesday morning.
An agreement that both sides would face 90 overs over two innings might give an artificiality to the match but down at an initially muggy Taunton, the day saw Surrey’s bowlers get plenty of miles in their legs.
England U19 starlet James Rew hit a confident century and Will Smeed a less assured 50 while Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton, Nathan Barnwell and Nick Kimber all bowled around ten overs. It was left to Surrey’s spin pairing to pick up the wickets, Amar Virdi snaring two and Dan Moriarty the other as Somerset finished their 60 overs on 226/3. After tea, Surrey were soon in trouble and ended on 76/5, with Nico Reifer hitting 33.
Performance Manager Matt Spriegel says: “I think we probably bowled a bit short on a slightly two-paced pitch but young Rew played really nicely. It was good for the lads to get some overs under their belts and it was one of those days where chances didn’t quite go to hand.
“When we batted they got the ball up there more and there were a couple of loose shots. Nico battled hard and we’ll hopefully learn from today and come back stronger. What we’re after is time in the middle for all our players. We’ll bat 60 and bowl 30 tomorrow – I’m not sure in which order, we’ll have to negotiate overnight!”
