County Championship Division One

Yorkshire 520 beat Somerset 196 & 251 by an innings and 73 runs

TOM Abell admitted there were “not many positives” to take after his side were “comprehensively outplayed” by Yorkshire at Headingley.

Somerset’s second defeat in 10 games this season saw them dislodged at the top of the Division One table after Essex wrapped up a 187-run win over Warwickshire at Chelmsford to move four points clear.

The visitors, replying to 520, were made to follow-on 324 runs behind at tea on day three and started day four on 159 for four, only to lose three wickets inside the first 45 minutes of play.

They were later bowled out 251 and secured only one point from this innings and 73-run defeat, confirmed 15 minutes before lunch.

Somerset lost night-watchman Tim Groenewald, Tom Banton for 63 and Dom Bess inside the first 45 minutes, with captain Steve Patterson striking twice in his first two overs of the day on the way to his 400th first-class wicket.

New ball seamer Matthew Fisher made the initial breakthrough in the second over of the day when Groenewald picked out Will Fraine at point, leaving the score at 167 for five in the 59th.

Patterson (four for 54 from 20.5 overs) then claimed the 400th wicket of a first-class career which started in 2005.

The metronomic seamer bowled Banton through the gate with a nip backer, the 35-year-old’s third ball of the morning - 188 for six in the 67th.

In his next over, he bowled Bess, who will rejoin Yorkshire on loan for T20 tomorrow.

Then shortly before the clock ticked over to midday, Steve Davies tamely chipped Patterson to Duanne Olivier, who took a low catch at mid-off, to secure his third wicket and Yorkshire’s fourth inside the first hour of play.

Somerset were 211 for eight in the 73rd.

South African Test spinner Keshav Maharaj was hit for two straight sixes by Craig Overton, but he ousted Jamie Overton lbw to claim his 10th wicket in the match as Somerset slipped to 239 for nine in the 80th over.

Patterson then took the new ball and trapped Craig Overton lbw in the 83rd.

Yorkshire’s victory, their first at Headingley this summer after two away wins and one at Scarborough, was built upon three first-innings centuries from Gary Ballance, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Harry Brook and a superb all-round display from left-armer Maharaj.

Maharaj hit 72 with the bat in the latter stages of Yorkshire’s 520 before claiming match figures of 10 for 127 from 60.3 overs, including seven for 52 in the first innings.

Abell said: “We were comprehensively outplayed in all three facets of the game by a good Yorkshire side.

“We weren’t good enough from day one, and we paid the price for that. 

“We didn’t start as well as we’d have liked, and I thought they played well up top as well. They got a big first-innings score, and from that point on as a batting unit we’re always under pressure.

“We weren’t up to it in this game with the bat. We struggled to establish those partnerships - when we lost one wicket, we lost a cluster. You can’t afford to do that.

“We were better in the second innings, but still not good enough.

“We’re striving for those big scores, but we’re not quite achieving them at the minute.

“We had reasons for wanting to bowl on the first morning. We felt that if we could get a couple of inroads, we could put them under a lot of pressure. Hindsight’s a beautiful thing. 

“Whatever you do first, you have to do it well, and we weren’t at our best on that first morning. 

“I don’t think there’s too many positives we can take away from this game. 

“The reality is we’ve had a fantastic campaign up until now, and there’s still a huge amount to play for. It’s a blip. We lost at Essex and bounced back really well from that result. We’ll be looking to do the same again.”

Copy supplied by ECB Reporters' Network