Abell & Lammonby punish depleted Surrey

Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton (day three)

Surrey 422: Lawrence 139, Sibley 72, Foakes 64; Leach 4-91, Gregory 3-85

Somerset 691-8: Abell 284*, Lammonby 229, Pretorius 72*; Lomror 4-196

Somerset (5 pts) lead Surrey (4 pts) by 269 runs with two wickets remaining

Match scorecard

Double centurions Tom Lammonby and Tom Abell put Surrey's depleted bowling attack to the sword as Somerset ran riot on the third day of the County Championship Division One match Taunton.

The pair set a new club record for the fourth wicket with a stand of 334, both making career-best scores, as their side made a massive 691-8, their highest ever total against Surrey, to lead by 269.

Unbeaten on 103 overnight, Lammonby was eventually dismissed for 229 off 359 balls, with 28 fours and four sixes, while Abell, who began on 63, contributed an unbeaten 284 from 385 deliveries, hitting 29 fours and seven sixes.

All that in a day when results elsewhere confirmed Somerset, who have never won the title, as runners-up for the seventh time this century whatever the outcome of this game.

Deprived of spinners Rahul Chahar and Dan Lawrence by a back problem and England call-up respectively, Surrey did not help themselves with some shoddy fielding when play got underway with Somerset 222-3.

Lammonby, on 106, was dropped by Rory Burns at slip off Chahar's replacement Ralphie Albert and later Abell was given a life on 87 when Adam Thomas spilled a straightforward chance at short cover off Mahipal Lomror.

A boundary through backward point off Reece Topley took Lammonby past his previous highest first class score of 133, made against Warwickshire at Edgbaston last season.

And Abell went to his fourth Championship hundred of the summer, clipping a Lomror full toss through mid-wicket for his 13th four.

Lammonby lofted two sixes over wide long-on off Lomror and at lunch Somerset were 353-3.

The afternoon session saw Lammonby go to his maiden double century with a single off Albert.

Abell brought up the triple century stand with a six before the next landmark was reached, his partnership with Lammonby exceeding the Somerset fourth-wicket record of 313, sent by Abell himself and James Rew against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge last season.

Lammonby celebrated with three fours in a Dan Worrall over before the seamer pinned the left-hander lbw with a full delivery to make the score 431-4.

James Rew could make only a single before electing to reverse sweep Lomror and directing the ball straight to Burns at slip.

Archie Vaughan made 26 in a stand of 63 with Abell before being caught behind attempting to sweep Lomror and Craig Overton quickly holed out to mid-off to give the left-arm spinner a fourth wicket.

By then, though, Somerset were past 500 and 89 in front.

Abell's maiden double hundred was reached with a single to leg off Adam Thomas. He had faced 338 balls in crowning a prolific season that has featured the best form of his career.

Lewis Gregory fell cheaply, but the torment for Surrey was far from over as Abell and Migael Pretorius went on full-out attack, putting together a 150-stand for the ninth wicket off just 105 balls, with Pretorius striking a 52-ball fifty and Abell blasting four successive sixes off Albert.

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