Tom Lammonby dragged Somerset’s title bid back into sharp focus with a timely, fluent innings on a compelling second day against Sussex at Hove.
On a surface that grew friendlier by the hour, the left-hander produced his most assured knock of the season, an unbeaten 74 from 143 balls, to steer Somerset to 167-2 and a lead of 119 in their second innings. It was chanceless, controlled and quietly ruthless – exactly what his side needed after conceding a first-innings deficit.
Earlier, Somerset had watched Sussex stretch their overnight position into a 48-run lead, thanks largely to Tom Clark’s brisk 85 and a spirited last-wicket stand between John Simpson and Jaydev Unadkat that pushed the hosts to 250. At that stage, with Sussex sniffing a far greater advantage, the game threatened to tilt away from the visitors.
Instead, it swung.
Lammonby stands tall
Somerset’s reply began with intent and calm. Lammonby and Josh Thomas settled quickly, leaving well, punishing anything overpitched and cashing in on truer bounce and a softening ball. Their opening stand of 92 took the sting out of Sussex’s seamers and, crucially, the edge off the scoreboard pressure.
Sussex captain Tom Haines shuffled his three quicks, searching for a crack. It took 23 overs for one to appear.
Sean Hunt, switching to the sea end, finally forced the error. He got extra bounce from a good length, Thomas fended tentatively, and Charlie Tear flung himself low at slip to complete a sharp catch. Thomas had made a composed contribution, but at 92-1, Somerset were already back on level terms psychologically.
Archie Vaughan then joined Lammonby and kept the tempo steady. They added 49 for the second wicket, Vaughan looking to drive and Lammonby quietly ticking past fifty, his timing and judgement improving as the light softened and the bowlers tired. Unadkat broke the stand, drawing Vaughan into an ambitious drive that feathered an inside edge through to the keeper.
By then, though, Somerset were in front. Henry Nicholls arrived to see out the final 10 overs with Lammonby, the pair closing the day with minimal fuss and maximum control, leaving Sussex to ponder a long shift in the field on day three – if the weather allows it.
Sussex let it slip
Sussex will know they should have been dictating terms long before Lammonby took charge.
At 149-2 in their first innings, with Clark scoring at a run a ball and the game moving at his tempo, they were perfectly placed to build a commanding lead. Instead, his dismissal sparked a collapse that stripped the innings of authority and opened the door for Somerset’s seamers.
Clark, who had played fluently and decisively, gave it away. He wafted at a length ball from Craig Overton, feet rooted, and nicked to slip. From that moment, seven wickets tumbled for 61 runs in 29 overs.
Overton, who had already been in the thick of things for good and bad, drove the collapse. He finished with 4-66, deserved reward for a spell that grew fuller and more probing as the innings wore on. As well as Clark, he removed Tear after the young batter had impressed in a 92-run stand for the third wicket, and then came back after lunch to dismiss Jack Carson and Henry Crocombe in the space of three balls.
Tear’s 34 hinted at promise, but Overton finally got one to swing in and straighten, beating him on the inside. James Coles then chopped on via a thick inside edge as he tried to swat Lewis Gregory into the leg side, another wicket born as much from poor shot selection as from good bowling. Somerset’s attack, though, deserved credit: they went a touch fuller, invited risk and were rewarded.
It was not a flawless day for Overton. In the slips, he shelled Tear on 10 and Simpson on 14. The second drop, in particular, threatened to haunt Somerset.
Simpson and Unadkat change the mood
Those misses grew in importance as the Sussex tail wagged.
When Hunt fell as the ninth wicket, Sussex still trailed by one. Somerset looked set to clean up quickly and claim a significant psychological edge. Simpson had other ideas.
The wicketkeeper marshalled the strike expertly, farming the bowling and punishing anything loose. He threaded boundaries through a packed ring, using angles and gaps rather than brute force. Dropped again on 56 by Migael Pretorius at mid-off, he made Somerset pay, finishing unbeaten on 64 – his highest score in eight Championship innings.
Unadkat joined the fun in his own way. He faced few balls, but made them count: two scoring shots, both launched over the leg side for six. Their last-wicket stand of 40 did more than just drag Sussex to 250 and secure a valuable batting bonus point; it shifted the mood, briefly, in the home dressing room.
It took Jack Leach to end the resistance, trapping Unadkat when he missed a sweep. The left-arm spinner may yet have a larger role to play if the pitch begins to wear and Sussex are left chasing on the final day.
For now, though, the game sits in Somerset’s hands. They have runs on the board, form rediscovered at the top of the order, and two set batters in Lammonby and Nicholls. Sussex still harbour faint title ambitions of their own and cling to that extra bonus point, but with a poor forecast looming over day three, both sides face the same question.
Can either force the pace quickly enough to turn this absorbing contest into a decisive victory, before the weather closes in?
