Useful contributions with the ball from Simon Harmer allowed Essex to beat Dean Elgar’s Somerset by eight wickets.
Somerset vs Essex
Essex secured their first victory of the new County Championship season with an impressive eight-wicket victory over Somerset in Taunton. It was Alastair Cook to do most of the damage, as the former England skipper scored a half-century and then a ton chasing in the second innings. Elgar made two good starts on debut, scoring 34 and then 27 in the second innings. In the one over he bowled, he took the wicket of Cook for 110, with the damage already done.
The man to get Elgar out in the second innings was Harmer, who trapped him lbw for his only wicket in that innings (1-26). His 2-51 in the first innings proved very useful as Somerset were bowled out for 209.
Glamorgan vs Worcestershire
It wasn’t a successful outing for the South African trio plying their trade in Wales. Colin Ingram, Jacques Rudolph and Marchant de Lange‘s Glamorgan went down by eight wickets in Cardiff.
Ingram went for a golden duck in the first innings before scoring 42 in the second, while skipper Rudolph’s return of two and 29 summed up Glamorgan’s misery with the bat, posting totals of 207 and 223. Worcestershire’s 403 left them only needing 28 for victory, with De Lange taking figures of 2-94, for Glamorgan to suffer back-to-back defeats.
Gloucestershire vs Leicestershire
It was a match to forget for Colin Ackermann in Bristol, as his side lost by an innings and six runs to make it two losses out of two. The Warriors batsman was forced to retire hurt on eight in the first innings, and never recovered in time to come back for the second innings, as he was hit on the hand by fast bowler Craig Miles.
Graeme van Buuren was in good form, scoring 79 for Gloucestershire, who only needed to bat once.
Photo: Kieran Galvin/Getty Images
