On the third day of the Rothesay County Championship Division One match at the Cooper Associates Ground in Taunton, Somerset’s Tom Lammonby and Tom Abell delivered remarkable batting displays, both reaching career-best double centuries. Their performances came against a weakened Surrey bowling attack as Somerset amassed a commanding total.
Lammonby and Abell constructed a new Somerset club record for the fourth wicket with a partnership of 334 runs. Responding to Surrey’s first innings total of 422, Somerset piled up 691 for eight wickets, marking their highest ever total against Surrey and establishing a lead of 269 runs.
Starting the day unbeaten on 103, Lammonby went on to score 229 runs off 359 balls, including 28 boundaries and 4 sixes. Meanwhile, Abell, who began on 63, remained undefeated on 284 runs from 385 deliveries, hitting 29 fours and 7 sixes.
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Despite this dominant batting display, Somerset’s hopes of claiming their first-ever County Championship title ended when Warwickshire secured an innings victory over Leicestershire, confirming Somerset as runners-up for the seventh time this century no matter the outcome of the remaining game.
Surrey’s bowling unit was notably depleted, missing spinners Rahul Chahar and Dan Lawrence due to injury and international duty respectively. This, combined with some fielding errors, contributed to the Somerset batsmen’s success. Early in the innings, Lammonby was dropped at slip by Rory Burns off Ralphie Albert, and Abell survived a dropped catch at short cover off Mahipal Lomror.
Following the second new ball at 267 for three wickets, Lammonby surpassed his prior highest first-class score of 133 with a boundary off Reece Topley. Abell reached his fourth Championship hundred of the summer, skilfully scoring boundaries and appearing in full control.
By lunch, Somerset were 353 for three, with Lammonby on 180 and Abell unbeaten on 114. In the afternoon session, Lammonby celebrated his maiden double century, displaying a range of elegant shots throughout his innings.
The partnership exceeded the previous Somerset fourth-wicket record of 313 runs, previously set by Abell and James Rew against Nottinghamshire last season. Lammonby’s dismissal shortly after his double hundred ended this substantial stand.
Subsequent batsmen added valuable runs, with Abell moving past his previous highest score to reach his maiden double century, further solidifying his outstanding season. A late surge from Abell and Migael Pretorius included a rapid 150-run partnership for the ninth wicket, highlighted by Pretorius’s swift fifty and Abell’s impressive consecutive sixes.
While Somerset did not secure the championship, the performances of Lammonby and Abell marked a high point in the season and set new records in the club’s history.