Excellent Surrey edge towards victory despite Somerset's renewed fight

SAM DALLING AT TAUNTON: Tuesday belonged to Lewis Goldsworthy, and all his nuggety grit. A maiden-first class half century bringing with it a high-score of 67, before eventually falling to Will Jacks' off spin

Taunton (third day of four): Somerset 180 & 319-8, Surrey 382-9 - Somerset lead by 117 runs wth two second-innings wickets remaining

Scorecard

"We didn't find a way to absorb that pressure, we didn’t find a way to counterattack. Watching over the summer, I think every time a team has bowled well against us, we haven't been able to find a way through it."

Damning words from Somerset batting coach Lachlan Stevens, spoken on Sunday night: honest, and lacking platitude. They had, having decided to make first use, just reached a below-par 180. An already tough fixture against table-topping Surrey had become that bit harder.

There will be no great rescue act. Surrey will claim victory on Wednesday and will deserve it. But there was at least some grit, some spirit that Somerset can take forward.

When asked why 48 hours earlier, Stevens said: "Our clarity wasn't very good in terms of the decision making. We made some poor decisions under pressure. It's an execution of a shot thing and it's also a method thing. We were a little timid, a little bit unsure.  Each batter has to work out how they are going to go about it in the second innings to hopefully make amends."

Challenge laid down then. That second innings began 20 minutes into morning three, Lewis Gregory bagging the final two Surrey wickets in the day's first over. There was still no Hashim Amla, so only nine were required.

Gregory (71 not out) then played a typically aesthetically pleasing knock. When he bats like this, the runs almost come too easily. Atkinson was pulled for six, causing photographer Harry Trump to take cover on the boundary.

But Tuesday belonged to Lewis Goldsworthy, and all his nuggety grit. A maiden-first class half century bringing with it a high-score of 67, before eventually falling to Will Jacks' off spin. He had absorbed 107 balls, 78 of them dots. The virtue of patience finally apparent.

^{Lewis Goldsworthy made his highest first-class score (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

Goldsworthy had struggled against Jamie Overton – a man both twice his size and bearing twice the number on his back (88 to 44) – in the first innings, nicking three consecutive balls early on. Overton knew that and whispered a reminder. He came around the wicket too, the ploy obvious with both a short leg and leg-slip. Goldsworthy withstood it with comfort.

Atkinson tried it too, Goldsworthy top-edging onto his helmet and for four. During the obligatory checks, he looked nonplussed. As diminutive batters often are, he is used to the short stuff, and all bar 18 of his runs came behind square. Of those which didn't, none came any straighter than midwicket.

Jordan Clark was hooked for six – granted, Goldsworthy was not in complete control – and a trio of boundaries in a Gus Atkinson over showed real class. The first pair dissected gully and second slip, the last crunched in front of square. Ryan Patel's quest to reach 10,000 steps for the day was virtually done by the time he had retrieved each of them.

"With one short side I was looking to take on the short ball," Goldsworthy said afterwards. "I got a lot of top edges and then at the other end with Jamie bowling I was just looking to get out of the way! He bowls a good pace, and the wicket was a little bit up and down which made it more difficult."

Of his maiden red-ball fifty, typically bashfully Goldsworthy said: "It's taken a while. I've had a couple of 40s and been out of the team this year. It was nice to come back and get my first half century out of the way."

With all the headline-grabbing talent coming through Somerset's academy in recent years – Tom Banton, Will Smeed and Tom Lammonby among others – Goldsworthy often goes unnoticed. And the sense is he doesn't mind that at all: whenever the Behind the Wyvern (Somerset's in-house YouTube show) camera pans his way, he tends to bow his head and scarper.

^{Will Jacks accounted for Lewis Goldsworthy (Harry Trump/Getty Images)}

He impressed on his first-class debut just over a year ago at Taunton, making a patient unbeaten 41 just as Middlesex and Tim Murtagh looked set to defend a 207-run target. The runs have not flowed as freely since, and Goldsworthy has been in and out of the red-ball side this season. He has surely now earned an extended run.

There were several other starts of note that will have Stevens caught between pride and frustration. Tom Abell tucked into Overton, taking 12 off an over. But on 44 he tucked Dan Worrall off his hips and came back for two. Atkinson's arm is exceptional and he hurled into Jamie Smith to break the bails.

On his knees, Abell looked despondent. He should not be immune to criticism – it was a rare and poorly timed lapse in judgment – but no one will chastise Abell more than himself. Plus, he has at times carried the Somerset batting line-up. 

Banton too deserves credit. It would be easy for a player of his white-ball talent to decide to earn a living flying from franchise tournament to franchise tournament, playing half-day stuff and counting dollars. But Banton does not just say he wants to play red-ball stuff; he follows through. There were signs in his 74-ball stay that his methodology is coming.

The Surrey juggernaut will continue to roll on, albeit on a slight delay. For three days, this has been an almost complete performance. They lack stardust – Amla has barely featured here – but are not short of quality. It would be a brave person who bets against them claiming a 20th outright County Championship trophy.

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