Somerset’s losing run continues after three-wicket defeat in south London
Matt Roller24-Apr-2022High hands in his backlift, disdainful pull shots in front of square, front-foot slaps over cover and wristy whips through midwicket. Forget Ryan Patel, this was more like Ryan Charles Lara.Patel’s second first-class hundred, more than three years after his first, set up a stroll to victory in the south London sunshine for Surrey and subjected Somerset to their seventh straight Championship defeat. It was a result which had seemed impossible barely 24 hours before, when Somerset were 161 runs ahead and two wickets down in their second innings, but their collapse on the third evening and Patel’s remarkable knock kept them bottom and put Surrey top of the nascent Division One table.Related
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Surrey needed 237 to win in their second innings after Jordan Clark had prised out the final wicket early on the final morning, and Patel brought up a 60-ball half-century on the stroke of lunch, making his intentions clear early on by swiping Craig Overton for two boundaries in the space of three balls.He had a hundred by tea, punching the air as he scampered through for a single off Jack Leach and acknowledging the applause from a healthy Sunday crowd as he reached his landmark off just 127 balls. Patel was by no means guaranteed his place in the side at the start of the season, but is now the second-highest run-scorer for a Surrey side brimming with international quality.The tempo of his innings was completely out of kilter with his reputation as a blocker but Patel has reinvented himself as a red-ball batter. His strike rate across his first-class career was just 38.95 at the end of last season but a remarkable innings of 131 off 70 balls in the Royal London Cup at Guildford last summer appeared to spark a transformation, giving him confidence in his attacking shots.He furthered that transition over the winter, working closely with Vikram Solanki – before his departure to become Gujarat Titans’ director of cricket – and then Gareth Batty. Backed to open alongside Rory Burns ahead of Jamie Smith and Cameron Steel, Patel started the season with 75 not out off 107 balls against Warwickshire, and has 256 runs at 64 across his five innings to date.”I’m very, very happy at the minute,” Patel said. “It’s just down to confidence in my own game. The main thing for me was backing myself and backing my ability: I can score runs. Confidence is the biggest thing and I feel very different to last year.”I’ve always been a bit tentative and a bit nervous to get going in first-class cricket. I don’t think it’s been a conscious effort to make [my strike rate] better, it’s just that I’ve been playing shots that previously I wouldn’t have through lack of confidence.”Now I’m going out there and backing myself to hit a four, first ball; I don’t need to leave the first few. If the ball’s there to be hit, hopefully, I’ll hit it. I’ve always wanted to open the batting and obviously with Mark Stoneman going to Middlesex, that opened up a spot for someone to grab. I’m glad I’m taking that opportunity.”Patel fell shortly after reaching his hundred, edging Josh Davey through to Steven Davies, but Surrey looked comfortable in pursuit of their target despite a late wobble. Ben Foakes, who was cleared of concussion after his collision with Jamie Overton last night, finished 48 not out, clipping the winning runs off his hip through midwicket with three wickets to spare.Somerset had restricted Burns, Hashim Amla and Ollie Pope to 31 runs between them, with Burns top-edging a pull, Pope cutting a short, wide ball straight to gully and Amla edging behind, but struggled to strike a balance between stopping the flow of runs and attacking.They were also hampered by Craig Overton’s bruised toe, which caused him to leave the field two overs into his first spell after lunch, while Davey pulled up sore on his return to the side. Sam Curran hit Leach out of the attack, chipping his second ball after tea into the pavilion for six then heaving him over wide long-on, and while Jack Brooks finished with four wickets, he bowled too many four-balls to apply sustained pressure.Jason Kerr, their head coach, said Somerset’s performance represented “progress” despite their eventual defeat. “It’s certainly an improved performance but obviously the result isn’t what we wanted,” he said. “We’ve been working incredibly hard but ultimately the players need to step up. We need to rally around each other, stick together as a unit, and keep trying to turn it round.”He also revealed that Lewis Gregory, who missed this week’s game with a stiff back and has struggled with back injuries throughout his career, will undergo a fitness test tomorrow. “If that’s positive, great. If it’s not, it could be a lengthy lay-off,” Kerr said.