Scores: Somerset 433 & 99 (Thomas 39, Porter 4-18); Essex 438 (Walter 158, Elgar 118, Overton 6-88). Essex requires 95 runs to win.
Jamie Porter delivered a stunning four-wicket haul, dismantling Somerset`s brittle batting lineup for just 99 runs. His performance has positioned Essex perfectly for what would be only their second home victory in this season`s Rothesay County Championship.
With solid support from debutant seamer Charlie Bennett and later, spinner Simon Harmer, Porter`s impressive figures of 4 for 18 from twelve overs brought his seasonal wicket count to 49. This left Essex needing a mere 95 runs for victory, though bad light prematurely halted play on day three, 17 overs short of schedule.
Earlier in the match, a magnificent 277-run opening partnership between Dean Elgar and Paul Walter on day two had suggested a substantial first-innings lead for Essex. However, the advantage ultimately shrunk to a mere five runs as Essex lost their remaining ten wickets for an additional 161 runs within 45 overs. This was, of course, before Somerset`s second innings.
Craig Overton was largely responsible for limiting Essex`s first-innings total of 438. His relentlessly accurate bowling earned him 6 for 88, a performance that also saw him surpass 500 first-class career wickets. The pitch, initially docile, transformed into a seamer`s paradise, a condition Overton expertly exploited to claim his second six-wicket haul of the season.
Essex`s pace bowlers wasted no time making inroads into Somerset`s second innings. Porter dismissed Archie Vaughan with sheer pace, while Bennett trapped Tom Lammonby lbw with a delivery that kept unusually low.
James Rew briefly stemmed the flow of wickets, scoring a rapid 19 runs off an equal number of balls, including four boundaries. His resilience ended, however, when he offered a simple catch to mid-wicket off Bennett.
In the very next over, Tom Kohler-Cadmore`s off-stump was dislodged by Doug Bracewell, a dismissal potentially aided by the fading light. The floodlights were activated shortly thereafter.
Josh Thomas, seemingly unaffected by the collapse, scored a defiant 39 runs from 65 balls, featuring seven boundaries. Nevertheless, he became Porter`s 550th first-class wicket for Essex, falling lbw to a low delivery. In the same over, Kasey Aldridge edged a ball through to substitute wicketkeeper Simon Fernandes.
As Somerset plummeted to 89 for 6, Essex made the decision to offer free admission for all spectators on the final day. Overton`s brief stay at the crease ended quickly when he missed a delivery from Porter. The situation worsened when Jack Leach was run out after attempting a quick single off Porter, failing to make his ground before Charlie Allison`s accurate throw allowed Fernandes to complete the dismissal.
Lewis Goldsworthy showed some resistance, facing 58 balls, but was eventually defeated by a spectacular delivery from Harmer that pitched wide outside off-stump and turned sharply to bowl him. Jake Ball swiftly followed, dismissed by another straight delivery from the spinner, completing Somerset`s collapse for 99 runs in less than 34 overs.
Under the morning`s grey skies, Somerset had enjoyed a brief period of optimism when Overton secured his second wicket in ten balls, a spell interrupted by overnight play. He executed a short delivery, which Tom Westley hooked directly to deep square leg.
Elgar`s innings lasted only another half-hour. He managed to add just seven runs to his day-two score before being trapped lbw for 118 by the second ball of an Aldridge spell, having played across the line.
Overton returned to the attack with the second new ball, already four overs old, and struck with his thirteenth delivery, a fast, angled delivery that flattened Allison`s middle stump.
Lewis Gregory had been the most threatening bowler for Somerset, beating the bat on several occasions. He was eventually rewarded when he trapped Matt Critchley lbw for playing down the wrong line.
Just before lunch, Michael Pepper became Overton`s fifth victim, dismissed lbw while attempting to work the ball through midwicket.
Gregory`s afternoon session was cut short after just eight deliveries when he sustained an injury and briefly left the field. Consequently, he missed Overton`s sixth wicket, as Bracewell attempted a powerful leg-side swing but instead offered a simple catch to wide mid-off.
Bennett displayed aggressive batting, hitting five fours in his 22-run knock off 26 balls before succumbing to a tame return catch to Leach. Porter then emphatically smashed his first ball for six, pushing Essex into the lead, but was dismissed shortly after, skying a delivery from Leach into the covers.
