Somerset v Hampshire nostalgia – the 1899 record Poore and Wynyard still hold

However, the Somerset ground remained shut – along with all the other county grounds – due to the Covid-19 pandemic.So with no action to report on, The News looks back at some memorable games between the two counties at Taunton – some recent, and some a long way back in time.

1899Robert Poore became Hampshire’s first ever triple centurion in a match still etched into the County Championship record books.Replying to Somerset’s 315 total, Hampshire were 62-4 before Poore and Thomas Soar put on 196 for the fifth wicket.Soar fell for 95 – the closest he would ever get to a first class century in 101 matches.His dismissal only brought in Teddy Wynyard at No 7, and along with Poore he took Hampshire’s score to a scarely credible 669.The pair’s 411-run stand remains a Championship record to this day for the sixth wicket by any team.Wynyard was first to fall for 225, with Poore departing a run later for 304 – still Hampshire’s third highest ever individual innings.The visitors declared on 672-7 – a total which remained their highest ever for 106 years until Hampshire amassed 714-5 declared against Notts in 2005. It is still their second highest total.Wynard took 3-18 as Somerset were dismissed for 206 to lose by an innings and 151 runs.

1901Two years later, Hampshire again rattled up a formidable total en route to another innings victory.This time South African Charlie Llewellyn starred by doing something only four other players in Hampshire history have achieved.He followed up a first innings 5-115 haul in Somerset’s 315 total with a second innings 5-68 (176 all out).In between, coming at No 6, he struck 153 after earlier tons by opener John Greig (113) and No 3 Edward Sprot (147).They enabled Hampshire to total 642-9 – the county’s seventh highest in Championship history.It also gave them an innings and 121-run success, and Llewellyn became the third man to score a century and take 10 wickets in a first class game for Hampshire. The feat has only been emulated twice in the subsequent 118 years.

1985Two Hampshire tailenders scored maiden Championship centuries as the county’s bowlers survived two onslaughts by cricking legends to win by five wickets.Skipper Ian Botham smashed 149 out of 298 all out for the hosts, before Hampshire dipped to 107-7.They were rescued by No 8 Kevan James (124) and No 9 Tim Tremlett (102) who put on 227 for the eighth wicket in a total of 334-8.James had never previously scored more than 34 in the Championship while Tremlett’s highest had been 88.Viv Richards blasted 186 (19 fours and 10 sixes) as Somerset made 358-5 declared, and Chris Smith became the game’s fifth centurion with 121 as the visitors won on 325-5.

2004Skipper Shane Warne starred with bat and ball as Hampshire took another step towards promotion from Division 2 of the Championship.First, Warne came in at No 9 and top scored with 47 as the visitors reached 301. Then, after a couple of declarations had left Somerset 351 to win, the Australian Test legend span his side to a dramatic win.Former Hampshire batsman John Francis top scored with 110, but he was one of Warne’s six victims (6-127) as the hosts lost by just 10 runs.

2008James Tomlinson grabbed career best figures in Somerset’s first innings before the hosts claimed a draw with a huge second innings total.Somerset crashed to 23-6 on the first morning with Tomlinson taking all six – including the prize scalps of Marcus Trescothick, Justin Langer (first ball) and James Hildreth.He ended with 8-46 as the hosts were dismissed for 126, before John Crawley (104) and Kevin Pietersen (100) earnt Hampshire (359) a big first innings lead.Langer (188) and Trescothick (151) had different ideas second time around, while Zander de Bruyn made 98 and Peter Trego was 84 not out as Somerset amassed 654-6 declared.With the wicket now a bowler’s nightmare, Michael Brown (104 not out) helped Hampshire reach 198-1 at the close.

2011Jimmy Adams and Michael Carberry set a new Hampshire Championship record in the county’s innings and 61-run success.Replying to the hosts’ 204 all out first innings score, Hampshire lost opener Liam Dawson for a duck. But that only brought Carberry to the crease and he helped his captain add 373 for the second wicket – a new county record.Carberry was first to depart for 182 with Adams falling for 204.Sean Ervine fell two short of becoming a third centurion as Adams declared on 627-9 – the county’s ninth highest total of all time.Somerset were 23-3 in their second innings but No 8 Alfonso Thomas’ 94 enabled them to reach 362.

2016Only 18 players have ever achieved this feat for Hampshire in Championship history, and Sean Ervine was the last to do it four years ago.Batting at No 3, he struck a century in each innings – only the 26th time it had been done by a Hampshire player.He followed a first innings 103 (out of 338) with a second innings 106 (out of 254-5).In between, Somerset had totalled 587-8 following a stunning 217-run stand for the eighth wicket between No 8 Reolof van der Mewre (102) and No 9 Craig Overton (138). Both men were scoring their maiden Championship hundreds.

2018Skipper James Vince struck the second double century of his career as Hampshire overcame a daunting first innings deficit to claim a draw.After the visitors had been bowled out for 231, James Hildreth hit 184 as Somerset went from 285-7 to 506 all out.He was first helped by No 8 Craig Overton (80) before No 10 Dom Bess (92, then a career best) helped him put on a further 145 for the ninth wicket.Faced with a deficit of 274, Vince (201 not out) and South African Hasan Amla (107) – the latter in his last Championship innings for the county – ensured Hampshire avoided defeat.Rilee Rossuw (65 not out) also helped Vince add an unbroken 178 for the fifth wicket before the captain declared on 432-4.