Clarke and Hannon-Dalby frustrate Somerset

Rikki Clarke and last man 
Oliver Hannon-Dalby batted out a nerve-tingling final hour to earn Warwickshire a battling draw with Somerset in the LV=County Championship match at Taunton.
Rikki ClarkeRikki Clarke
Rikki Clarke

Jack Leach (5-63) and Jamie Overton (3-122) looked to be bowling the hosts to victory when they reduced Warwickshire to 376-9, still 138 behind, with more than 19 overs remaining.

But Clarke finished undefeated on 61 off 139 balls, while former Yorkshire bowler Hannon-Dalby saw out 62 deliveries, surviving a hugely confident appeal for a catch behind off Overton.

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They took 11 points to Warwickshire’s six with the Bears’ 427-9 their best-ever last-innings knock.

Varun Chopra, unbeaten on 81 overnight, made 108, while Laurie Evans (55), Tim Ambrose (65), Chris Woakes (42) made Somerset fight all the way to the tense finale.

The visitors began the final day on 144-3, needing an unlikely 515 to win. Dropped by Craig Kieswetter on 106, Chopra added two more before being bowled behind his legs by left-arm spinner Leach. He faced 199 balls and hit 15 fours.

The ball before the break struck wicketkeeper Kieswetter on the end of a thumb. Jos Buttler took over the gloves following lunch.

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Ambrose and Evans moved to their half-centuries in the same over in the afternoon.

Their stand of 102 was finally broken when Ambrose attempted to pull a short ball from Overton and got a top edge. James Hildreth, running towards the sightscreen, took a well-judged catch over his shoulder.

With the total on 316, Evans was taken at first slip by Hildreth having edged a cut shot off a wide ball from Jamie Overton.

Soon after tea Overton claimed his third wicket, bowling Woakes as he pushed half forward.

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The umpires took the players off because of bad light at 4.20pm, but less than 10 minutes later they returned and only two overs were lost. Somerset were unable to use the pace of Overton immediately on the resumption, because of the light, so Leach took up the attack and immediately had Jeetan Patel caught at slip by Marcus Trescothick off bat and pad.

Alfonso Thomas pinned Chris Wright lbw for a duck, but Clarke was dropped twice in the slips as Warwickshire held on.

Nick Compton had notched up his first hundred of the season for Somerset as he bids to stake a place in England’s Test line-up.

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