Aldridge and Thomas Propel Somerset to Dominant 8 Wickets Victory Over Lancashire
Somerset wins by eight wickets thanks to career-best efforts from George Thomas and Kasey Aldridge in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup 2024.
Kasey Aldridge achieved career-high stats of 6 for 33, while George Thomas made his first List appearance. At the Cooper Associates County Ground in Taunton, Somerset defeated Lancashire by eight wickets to make it three victories from of four Group A matches.
Lancashire 218 (Green 65, Bell 56, Aldridge 6-33) lost to Somerset 220 for 2 (Thomas 106*, Rew 60*) by 8 wickets.
Lancashire now have lost four games in a row after posting sub-per total.
After losing the toss, the visitors could only muster 218 all out, with opener George Bell scoring 56 off 81 and Australian all-rounder Chris Green hitting 65 off 68 balls. The second half of the innings saw the introduction of tall seamer Aldridge to the Somerset attack, who claimed seven wickets in 7.1 overs.
In response, Thomas scored an undefeated 106 off 142 deliveries, including 14 fours and two sixes, to lead the hosts to 220 for 2 off 40.5 overs. Lancashire suffered their fourth consecutive group match loss with to contributions from Lewis Goldsworthy (38 wickets) and James Rew (60 not out).
After a cautious start against the formidable Alfie Ogborne, in which Bell and Harry Singh shared an opening stand of 47, they never really got going in their innings. In the 13th over, Jack Leach bowled Singh, forcing a drive through the leg side.
In the 20th over, Josh Bohannon, the visiting captain, was bowled by Thomas for playing off the correct line, making it 79 for 2. Bell reached fifty off seventy-two balls, but on a ground where runs are scored quickly, the innings’ pace was never swift enough.
Lancashire fell to 121 for 4 as Goldsworthy caught and bowled Balderson off a leading edge for 27, then Aldridge had IPL winner Venkatesh Iyer caught by the diving Sean Dickson at cover.
Mitchell Stanley was forced to face a hat-trick ball on his List A debut when Bell chipped a catch to mid-on off Aldridge, and Rocky Flintoff gave Goldsworthy a second caught and bowled. Aldridge then sent back Jack Blatherwick and Tom Aspinwall with consecutive deliveries. Aldridge took his fifth wicket after he survived it and Leach made a brilliant catch, diving full length on the run from mid-off as two teammates closed in on him.
Green and Charlie Barnard shared a last-wicket stand of 51 runs, with Green hitting four fours and four sixes. However, he appeared to be well short of a competitive total when he similarly skied a catch off Aldridge in the decisive over against Lancashire.
That proved to be the case, as Somerset attacked the paltry goal with zest, even after losing Andy Umeed early in their reply. Thomas and Goldsworthy produced a boundary blitz that saw their team reach 64 for 1 by the conclusion of the tenth over. When left-arm spinner Barnard bowled Goldsworthy leg-stump in his opening over, the score had risen to 73.
After reaching a half-century on 79 balls by slog-sweeping a six off Barnard, Thomas promptly celebrated with a pulled six off Aspinwall. Rew proved to be a dependable companion for him as he progressively discovered the right moment to join the glut of boundaries.
After being dropped at long-on by Stanley off Green, Thomas was awarded a life of 77. He then brought up the century stand with Rew by sweeping a four off Barnard. After hitting a single off Green, the 20-year-old from Taunton raised both of his arms in celebration before embracing Rew, who appeared just as happy for his friend and teammate.
Rew reached a 56-ball fifty off a gorgeous cover-driven four from Blatherwick, and the stand with Thomas turned into a Somerset List. A record against Lancashire for the third wicket, surpassing the 118 scored in a 40-over game at Bath in 1978 by a certain Ian Botham and Vivian Richards.
