Lord Botham has launched an extraordinary tirade against his first county Somerset over an “appalling” pitch they served up for the championship match against Durham, which was over in just five sessions.
England legend Botham, 69, represented Somerset between 1974 and 1986 but left in acrimonious circumstances after they fired his great friend Viv Richards. Botham moved first to Worcestershire, then Durham, where he was chairman until earlier this year.
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Despite being replaced in the chair by Phil Collins, Botham is now the club’s honorary president and has gone in to bat for Durham over a County Championship match they lost on Wednesday by five wickets before tea on the second of four days.
Botham posted pictures of the heavily-used pitch at Taunton (where there is a stand named after him) before the match. It was played using the Kookaburra ball, with which bowlers have struggled to take wickets. There were no such struggles at Taunton, with 22 wickets falling on the first day and 13 more on the second. The last 18 wickets all fell to spin, with Jack Leach eventually taking a match-winning six for 63 for Somerset.
Somerset’s Jack Leach took six wickets in Durham’s second innings – Getty Images/Harry Trump
It is understood that the pitch has been graded “below average” by the match referee Simon Hinks, with an investigation to follow from the cricket regulator which could lead to a deduction in the 19 points Somerset picked up in the match.
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Botham said conditions like these were putting the England hierarchy off selecting players based on county form, and criticised Somerset for their desire to stick at 14 championship matches per season when some clubs – including Durham – are pushing for a reduction to 12 in search of greater quality.
Botham said on X: “Before a ball is bowled… As an ex-Somerset player I find this appalling… at a time when county cricket is under pressure for relevance as a breeding ground for international [cricket].
“Players and Somerset members have apparently voted for the status quo, the club produces this pitch. These are not first-class cricket conditions in mid-summer… I am not surprised that Rob [Key] and Ben [Stokes] unfortunately have to disregard county performances in assessing players for Test quality appearances.
“Durham raised serious concerns the day before the game started… change is needed… both Somerset and Durham have high quality batsmen… Somerset do not need to do this… reduces the game to a farce.”
Lord Botham made his feelings clear on X – Getty Images/Steve Bell
The Somerset head coach Jason Kerr described the pitch as “incredible”, pointing to the fact that 400 runs were scored on the opening day. The Durham chief executive Tim Bostock disputed this.
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“We made our displeasure clear before a ball had been bowled, both to Somerset and the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board],” Bostock told Telegraph Sport. “I’ve no doubt the pitch will attract the attention of the ECB.
“Somerset are one of the counties who want to keep the championship at 14 matches, but if they continue to prepare pitches like this then there’s little point in that. The wicket was used, and not fit for first-class cricket. Yes, 400 runs were scored on the opening day, but that is only because of batsmen attacking at very aggressive strike-rates before the pitch inevitably got the better of them, confirmed by the fact that 22 wickets fell for those runs.
“In the cold light of day I am sure Somerset will be disappointed with that pitch, irrespective of the result.”
Graham Onions, the Durham bowling coach, said “there was excessive turn”, adding: “The bottom line is that it is day one and a half and the game is over, which is not good for county cricket.”
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