Essex win County Championship: Draw at Somerset confirms 2019 title

Specsavers County Championship Division One, Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton (day four):
Somerset 203: Van der Merwe 60; Harmer 5-105, S Cook 4-26 & innings forfeit
Essex 141: Cook 53; Leach 5-32, Van der Merwe 4-41 & 45-1
Somerset (9 pts) drew with Essex (8 pts)

Essex were crowned county champions, while Somerset missed out again, as their title decider concluded in a dramatic draw at Taunton.

Somerset had to win, but rain on all four days left them needing to take 20 Essex wickets on the final day to clinch their first Championship title.

Jack Leach’s 5-32 helped dismiss Essex for 141 in their first innings and the hosts forfeited their second innings.

That left 63 to win for Essex, who managed to see out the last hour.

As Essex’s first innings did not finish until 16:15 BST, Somerset were left with little choice but to bowl again with no time to set a bigger target.

Somerset have now finished second in Division One in three of the past four seasons, while Essex have won the title in two of the past three years.

With more than 200 overs lost to the inclement conditions over the first three days, Essex knew at stumps on Wednesday that, barring a calamitous collapse, the title was theirs.

Despite Somerset director of cricket Andy Hurry insisting his side “would not wave the white flag”, another 90-minute delay on the fourth morning seemed to have wiped out any remote chance of forcing a victory.

When play eventually got under way at 12:00, Somerset bowled their three spinners from the off, with most fielders surrounding the bat.

Essex were content to block, aided by a couple more rain showers, with Alastair Cook nudging his way to 53 off 148 balls.

The former England captain’s dismissal by Leach sparked a flurry of quick wickets as Essex went from 102-1 to 141 all out either side of tea.

However, with just over an hour left to pick up another 10 Essex wickets, openers Cook and Nick Browne snuffed out most of the spin threat second time around.

With the game drifting to a draw, Somerset legend Marcus Trescothick came on as a substitute fielder for one final time before his retirement, but the 43-year-old could only watch Essex bat out the game.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight with the state of the wicket,” Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate told BBC Test Match Special. “We knew it was prodigiously turning and needed some calm heads at the end there.

“I wasn’t nervous, but you never know when the wicket is spinning like that.”