Sussex and Somerset appeared content with a draw in their County Championship match at Hove after the entire third day was lost to rain.
The result served to cement Somerset’s standing among the leaders in Division One, while Sussex secured valuable points to maintain their position closer to the bottom of the table.
When Somerset set Sussex a target of 303 runs to win from just 44 overs, the visitors showed no urgency to chase it down. Sussex chose instead to bat out the remaining overs. Any chance of a result evaporated when play was halted by rain with Sussex on 62 for 1 after 14 overs. The sole wicket to fall was Dan Hughes, who was caught off the bounce created by Migael Pretorius, with Tom Abell taking an excellent tumbling catch at second slip.
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Somerset head coach Jason Kerr commented: “A draw was always on the cards after losing the third day, especially given the nature of the pitch. It was incredibly frustrating to lose that time yesterday.
“There was an opportunity to gain an advantage in the match but, unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance. We had numerous discussions on the morning about our approach; balancing attack with caution was crucial.
“In the end, with 300 runs to chase from 44 overs, only we could have won. We should have scored a few more runs in our first innings. Tom Abell was outstanding once again.
“I thought our bowling on the second day was incredible, and we got ourselves back into the game, so despite the weather, there is plenty to take away from this match.”
Somerset began the final day at 167 for 2, leading by 119 runs, and by lunch it was apparent that a draw was the most likely outcome.
They had added 83 runs at the loss of just one wicket during the opening session. That wicket came when Henry Crocombe, bowling from the sea end, had Tom Lammonby lbw with his first ball. Lammonby had compiled 93 runs from 171 deliveries, including twelve boundaries, marking his highest score of the season.
Somerset’s fourth wicket fell at 266 when Sean Hunt bowled Abell, who was dismissed for 37 after a difficult dropped catch by the bowler two balls earlier.
The visitors mounted another breakthrough at 283 when Henry Nicholls, shortly after reaching a solid half-century, was caught at deep midwicket by James Coles. Nicholls appeared to aim for a clearance over mid-on but took a thick inside edge.
This was the first wicket claimed by all-rounder Joey Evison, who recently joined Sussex on loan from Kent ahead of a permanent move next year. Evison soon took another wicket.
Craig Overton had just hit Evison for six but was caught at deep square leg on the next delivery by Jack Carson, who took a straightforward catch despite the powerful, flat shot.
James Rew, in an effort to accelerate the innings before a potential declaration, was caught at deep point attempting to attack Tom Clark, having scored 27 runs from 44 balls.
Pretorius was the eighth wicket to fall at 343 when wicketkeeper John Simpson made a diving catch towards square leg. Somerset declared their innings on 350 for 9, with Jack Leach being caught well by Hunt off Carson.
Before the match, Somerset’s Jake Ball replaced Josh Shaw, whose partner gave birth to a baby boy over the weekend.