Tom Latham and Will Jacks fell agonisingly short of centuries as Surrey built a commanding position on a rain-shortened second day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton
Both players were dismissed for 99 in a first innings score of 368 all out, which gave the First Division leaders a lead of 198. Matt Henry finished with six for 80, the 22nd time the New Zealand seamer had taken five wickets or more in a first class innings.
Tea was taken at fall of the final wicket and the rain which had been threatening for much of the afternoon arrived to finish play for the day, to the relief of the Somerset batsmen, who would have faced testing conditions under lights against the Surrey seam attack.
The visitors began the day on 138 for four, 32 runs behind, with Latham on 67 and Jacks 13. Both played conservatively against Henry and Craig Overton, with Latham content to leave anything directed wide of off stump.
Jacks upped the tempo with 3 fours in an over from Henry and batting looked increasingly straightforward on a benign day two pitch with the ball having lost its hardness.
The century stand was brought up in 23 overs and Somerset’s task increased when seamer Kasey Aldridge was forced off with a side strain, having bowled four balls of the 52nd over.
Latham had been rock solid in moving to within one of a ton when a light shower brought a brief interruption at 12.05pm. But the first ball of the resumption ten minutes later brought his downfall as he went to cut a delivery from off-spinner Shoaib Bashir and edged to slip where Overton held a juggling catch at the third attempt.
The Kiwi left-hander had faced 167 balls and hit 16 fours. It was 218 for five and Somerset struck again with 21 added when Jordan Clark pushed forward to medium-pacer Ben Green and edge a catch to wicketkeeper James Rew.
Lunch was taken at 246 for six, with Jacks having moved impressively onto 72. He signalled Surrey’s desire to build quickly after the interval by hitting a four and a six over extra cover in Bashir’s opening over.
Jacks took the lead past 100 by clearing the ropes again with a pull shot off Henry. It had not been Craig Overton’s day with the ball and his frustration was compounded when he dropped brother Jamie at second slip off Henry with his score on 18.
Having dispatched Bashir for six over long off, breaking a window in the Colin Atkinson Pavilion at his former home ground, Overton had another life on 28 when Rew missed a difficult stumping chance off a very wide delivery from the spinner.
Jacks survived a confident appeal for a catch behind off Green on 99, but then went to drive the next delivery off a good length and only succeeded in guiding the ball straight into the chest of Tom Abell at backward point.
It was a sad end to an entertaining 138-ball innings, which saw Jacks strike 14 fours and 2 sixes. The second new ball was taken as soon as it became available with Surrey 317 for seven and leading by 147.
Overton had progressed to 42 when top-edging a pull shot off Henry and offering a steepling catch, which Sean Dickson judged well at cover.
The experienced Test Match bowler followed up by having Dan Worrall pouched by Dickson at third-man off an uppercut and last man Tom Lawes caught behind, leaving Gus Atkinson 39 not out.
Henry, making the last appearance of a prolific spell with Somerset, which has seen him claim 32 wickets in six Championship games and 31 to help the club win the Vitality Blast, was warmly applauded by team-mates and spectators alike as he left the field.
But he and his team-mates faced a massive uphill battle to save the game when the clouds gathered and the rain which had been forecast earlier came in to end proceedings.
Umpires Russell Warren and Mark Newell abandoned any prospect of further play at 5pm.
