On the second day of the highly anticipated County Championship Division One clash at Taunton, Surrey’s Ryan Patel led a determined batting display against Somerset, finishing the day unbeaten on 61.
At the close of play, Surrey were 169-3 in their first innings, trailing by 148 runs, with seven wickets in hand. Rain interrupted the match just after 15:00 BST, with 26 overs still to be bowled.
Patel, 26, alongside Ben Geddes, who scored 50, held Surrey's innings together. All three wickets that fell were taken by Somerset’s promising 18-year-old off-spinner, Archie Vaughan, who finished the day with figures of 3-45.
Earlier, Somerset had posted 317 in their first innings, led by a commanding 132 from Tom Banton and a valuable 49 from Tom Abell. Hasan and Daniel Worrall were the pick of the bowlers for Surrey, claiming 4-97 and 3-41, respectively.
When Surrey began their reply, overcast conditions greeted them. Somerset’s Brett Randell, making his debut, and Craig Overton bowled well in the opening overs, beating the bat multiple times. However, Surrey openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley survived the early scare.
Spin was introduced as early as the eighth over, with Jack Leach and Archie Vaughan brought into the attack. The Surrey pair resisted for a while, putting on 41 runs in 16.2 overs. Sibley was the first to fall, trying to slog-sweep Vaughan, only to be caught by Abell at mid-wicket for 16. Burns soon followed, trapped lbw by Vaughan, without adding to his 21.
At 48-2, Surrey found themselves in some trouble, but as the skies cleared, Patel and Geddes steadied the innings. They rotated the strike well and pounced on any loose deliveries, especially from Leach.
By lunch, Surrey had reached 91-2, with Patel on 19 and Geddes on 27. Vaughan, bowling with accuracy, had figures of 2-17 from 12 overs.
After the break, Geddes reached his half-century off 93 balls but soon perished trying to sweep Vaughan, handing a simple catch to Lewis Goldsworthy. Surrey were 128-3, with Patel continuing to look solid.
Patel brought up his fifty off 130 deliveries, showing great patience and skill against the spinners. However, with the score at 168-3, the floodlights came on, and rain soon followed. Play was eventually abandoned for the day around 16:30.
Both sides secured three bonus points each, leaving Surrey still 24 points ahead of their rivals in the title race, with two games remaining.