Somerset v Yorkshire: Yorkshire keep in sight of win through Rashid

The England batsman has been in tremendous form and scored his maiden Test century at Headingley last week.

In the less celebrated confines of the County Championship, however, there is another Yorkshire cricketer blazing a trail.

Adil Rashid can apparently do no wrong as he resurrects a hitherto ailing career.

Rashid’s unbeaten 103 at Taunton yesterday, as Yorkshire scored 450-5 declared before Somerset reached 232-6 at stumps on day three, was his third successive Championship hundred.

It followed a career-best 180 against the same opponents at Headingley three weeks ago and 110 not out against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Rashid has scored 504 runs in six Championship innings this year at the remarkable average of 252.

Only Middlesex’s Sam Robson (652) and Chris Rogers (552), along with Somerset’s Alviro Petersen (512), have made more runs in Division One, although they have each had at least four more innings than the revitalised Rashid.

Had Rashid not been left unbeaten in four of his innings, heavens knows how many more runs he might have accrued.

The 25-year-old looked as though he could have gone on forever at the County Ground, such was the effortless nature of his stylish strokeplay.

As it was, Rashid’s latest masterclass ended half-an-hour before lunch when Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale made a well-timed declaration.

It gave his bowlers 20 minutes at the home team before the break and although no wickets fell during that time, three went down in the afternoon, along with a further three in the evening session.

Despite the opening day having been lost to rain, Yorkshire still have a chance of winning this match.

Somerset must reach 301 to avoid the follow-on and, with their batting brittle and their confidence shot, the visitors could yet pull this one out of the bag.

Sunshine is forecast for the south-west today and, if the follow-on can be enforced, a buoyant Yorkshire could yet prevail.

Their prospects were greatly improved when Adam Lyth took two wickets late in the day.

The part-time off-spinner – who went into this game with three first-class wickets at 102.33 – bowled Alex Barrow and had Peter Trego caught and bowled with the fourth and fifth deliveries of his opening over.

Yesterday, however, belonged to Rashid, who began on 47 as Yorkshire resumed on 341-5.

He was soon to his fifty with a cover-driven boundary off pace bowler Gemaal Hussain, a landmark achieved from 59 balls with eight fours.

Andrew Hodd, 24 overnight, once more gave him excellent support although he did have a couple of lives along the way.

On 41, the wicketkeeper was badly dropped by Marcus Trescothick at first slip off Steve Kirby, the former England batsman putting him down again off the same bowler soon after Hodd had reached his half-century from 84 balls.

Needing 59 from 15 overs at the start of the day for a fifth and final batting point, Yorkshire made it – but only just.

There was one ball left before the 110-over cut-off mark when Rashid pulled Hussain to deep square-leg, where a fumble from Craig Meschede allowed the batsmen to complete the two runs still needed.

Somerset’s fielding was often lackadaisical, their body language typically resigned.

They looked every inch a team without a Championship victory this season and at the opposite end to Rashid of the confidence spectrum.

Rashid brought up his century from 119 balls with an exquisite back-foot drive off Meschede which fair scorched the grass on its way to the boundary.

Hodd finished unbeaten on 68, his highest score for the county, after adding 170 with Rashid in 35 overs.

After Yorkshire recorded their fourth successive score of 400-plus, Somerset began shakily as they slipped to 52-2.

Steve Patterson had Arul Suppiah lbw and then inflicted an identical fate on Lewis Gregory, who inexplicably shouldered arms.

Trescothick, playing his 300th first-class match, including 205 for Somerset, proved predictably harder to dislodge.

Trescothick’s previous 10 first-class innings against Yorkshire were 146, 96, 117, 16, 39, 53, 189, 151*, 53 and 33*, and the left-hander scored 74 this time before falling lbw to Rich Pyrah with the total on 103.

When Dean Elgar, the South African making his Somerset debut, slapped Ryan Sidebottom to Rashid at point just after tea, Somerset were 120-4 and starting to wobble.

Elgar, who should rightly be playing for Worcestershire with a surname like that, had looked in good touch and it was a soft dismissal from the home point of view.

James Hildreth and Alex Barrow added 52 for the fifth wicket before Lyth’s double strike, after which Hildreth (76) and Meschede (16) shared an unbeaten 60.

Lyth was only given the ball because the light was poor, but not as poor as this Somerset side.