All posts by csb10.top

Some players wear expectations of greatness lightly. Eight years and 37 Tests into his career, it is fair to say that Lahiru Thirimanne has not.In his early years, Thirimanne appeared as he still appears now – mature, measured, responsible, astute, always with that determined look upon his face. Here was a serious young player. That determined scowl rarely leaving his face, “serious” in every sense of the word, in a side whose other young players were free-flowing and fearless (read: flippant).When Thirimanne bent that knee and sent the ball scorching through cover, as he did on several occasions during his breakout 91 at the SCG eight years ago, the comparisons were hard to resist. The new Kumar Sangakkara?Angelo Mathews, who was a young captain back then, certainly couldn’t escape being drawn in a few months later: “Thirimanne has the potential to bat at number three in the long term,” Mathews said in 2013. “He has the composure, he’s very calm and he makes good decisions. He’s showed a lot of maturity and he’s got a long future. I’m sure he can be the next Sangakkara.”At the time, Sangakkara was in the midst of the most extraordinary run of his career, unlocking audacious new strokes in limited-overs cricket, while maintaining his Test-match excellence, but even then, this almost seemed a reasonable expectation. Thirimanne left the ball well when it was swinging, clipped the ball nicely through the legside, seemed unperturbed by the short ball, drove elegantly, and though he did seem to nick off to the ball angled across him – which young left-hander doesn’t?Until the end of 2015, Thirimanne even began to make good on some of that early promise, if just in limited-overs cricket. He led Sri Lanka to victory with 101 in the 2014 Asia Cup final. Not long after that, he was his team’s top-scorer in the World T20 semi-final against West Indies – a tournament Sri Lanka went on to win. He’d get it right in the longest format, eventually, right? I mean, the guy didn’t smile. Clearly his temperament is to play Tests.But close to seven years later, what do we have? A Test average of 23.57, even counting his ongoing 76 not out in Galle. Now in his 72nd Test innings, Thirimanne has made only 1532 runs, his only century having come against Bangladesh on arguably the flattest pitch Sri Lanka have played on in the past 10 years. Good looking 20-odds ended by a rash stroke, momentum sapping knocks such as his 17 off 58 at Lord’s in 2016, or his 2 off 59 against New Zealand at the P Sara three years later, and overall, a pattern of not only failure to deliver on his early promise, but of failure full stop. Before this Test, no top-order batsman in Test history had played more than 50 innings and averaged fewer than he had.(Kusal Mendis, who has copped more flak in recent weeks for his series of noughts, has at least produced some great innings. His 176 against Australia was Sri Lanka’s finest in the last decade apart from Kusal Perera’s 153*. He’s also batted out an entire day at the Basin Reserve for a match-saving 141* alongside Angelo Mathews, and later also produced an effervescent 84* to seal a game at Port Elizabeth.)And yet, Thirimanne has continued to be picked in Sri Lanka’s Test squads, frequently falling out of favour after several low scores, but often making a return to squads depleted by injury, or whenever new selectors are installed. The belief seems to be that Thirimanne had been unfairly shafted by the previous lot who kept moving him around the top order. “We’ll get Thiri right, though, you’ll see.” And so he comes in, plays a few of his attractive-but-brief innings. Then he gets dropped again, and not seen for several months until a new lot comes in, or the team is in a serious slide. Other talented batsmen – Roshen Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama, and more recently, Pathum Nissanka – must wonder what they have to do to gain this kind of goodwill with Sri Lanka’s cricket establishment.His knock in Galle has given Sri Lanka hope of making England bat again, if not quite achieving a strong position just yet. He was dropped in the 50s, but has otherwise been solid. For much of this innings he was batting in the slipstream of the more aggressive Perera, though Thirimanne did have pressure heaped upon him when Kusal Mendis arrived at the crease. In this innings, as in general, Thirimanne has just been there… mostly inoffensive, occasionally useful, decent without being extraordinary, and most of all, hinting that he is capable of more without ever taking the game by its collar.If he goes on to hit his second Test hundred on Sunday, on a difficult pitch, against a decent attack, he will still not have vindicated his selection all these years, so great are the debts he’s racked up. Even in a modest Sri Lanka team, an average of less than 25 is not justifiable over the span of innings he has had the chance to play.But there remains the possibility of his doing something truly monumental – leading Sri Lanka to a position of strength when they had given up a lead of 286. And because even at the age of 31 he continues to be picked on looks and potential, Sri Lankan cricket almost has no choice but to hope this innings will kickstart the phase of his career that sees him live up to even some of those early expectations.

It was exactly 50 years ago, on March 6, 1971, that Sunil Gavaskar made his Test debut in Port of Spain on India’s tour of the West Indies, which they won 1-0 – a seminal achievement, one of the high points in the history of Indian cricket.To mark the occasion, the BCCI felicitated Gavaskar at the lunch break on the third day of the ongoing fourth and final Test between India and England in Ahmedabad with a commemorative Test cap. For his part, Gavaskar chose to make another debut of sorts on the day, on Instagram.Back in 1971, the debutant opening batsman made 65 in that first innings and 67 not out in the second as India won the Test by seven wickets, and scored 774 runs in four Tests on that tour. That remains the record for the most runs in a Test series by an India batsman, and joint 12th (with Steven Smith, in the 2019 Ashes) in the overall list of batsmen with most runs in a Test series. Gavaskar went on to achieve many milestones in his career, including becoming the first to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, which he got to in Ahmedabad, at the same Motera stadium (though it was far from being the massive facility it is today) where the current Test match is being played. That was in March 1987, against Imran Khan’s Pakistan.Gavaskar retired from the game later that year with 10,122 runs from 125 Tests at an average of 51.12, with a then-record 34 centuries in the format. He also played 108 ODIs, scoring 3092 runs in them at an average of 35.13. He has since worn many hats, including being the president of the BCCI for a short period in 2014, but it is as one of the busiest television commentators that he is most recognised these days.

New Zealand coach Gary Stead has criticised his team’s approach with the bat in the fourth T20I, saying the batsmen did not “fire a shot” at Australia early in the run chase on what was a challenging surface.Stead acknowledged the game swung significantly Australia’s way when Aaron Finch took 26 off the last over from Kyle Jamieson, but felt New Zealand were timid with their response – they were 25 for 1 after the powerplay and then collapsed to 82 for 9 before some late hitting from Jamieson pushed them to three figures.The surface changed considerably from the first match – this was the fourth game on the surface in three days with the women’s series also taking place – which “surprised” Stead but he said the batsmen had been too slow to adjust.”The disappointing thing for me is I’m not sure we fired a shot at them tonight. When Kyle came in and played the way he did, it was too late then, the game was gone, so we need to think how we do that a little earlier,” he said. “In those situations, when it is tough, that was a very good score they had, then you have to try and get ahead of the run rate if you can and that provides a little more opportunity for the middle order to work out the way they need to play it.Related

• 'Thought about that first ball a thousand times' – Meredith

• Aaron Finch and spinners earn Australia series decider as New Zealand collapse

• RCB 'not too worried' about Jamieson despite his struggles

“It’s that intent to hit boundaries, get on the front foot, even just running between wickets and things like that and I thought we took a step backwards from where we had been earlier in the series. There are things we can do better.”Spinners were effective throughout the game with Mitchell Santner setting the tone, and Stead said that Kane Williamson had considered using himself or Glenn Phillips but did not feel the match-ups were right with Finch still at the crease.Finch had the advantage of viewing conditions at very close quarters for 20 overs and was quick to hand Ashton Agar the first over of New Zealand’s chase with the left-arm spinner bowling three in the powerplay.”It was one of those days where we got a lot of information out of the way New Zealand bowled and we adapted beautifully,” he said. “Ashton Agar was outstanding and all the bowlers were really good.”Finch was often starved of the strike but made the decision reasonably early that he would try and take the innings as deep as possible. “We always knew two new batters on a surface like that was going to be really challenging, especially towards the back end when you expect guys to blast them, it’s going to be tough on that kind of surface.”After a poor performance in Christchurch and a narrow loss in Dunedin, Australia now have the chance to clinch the series before quickly packing their kit bags and jumping on a chartered flight back across the Tasman on Sunday evening.”The fact we were 2-0 down and back to 2-2, really proud of the way we’ve fought,” Finch said. “It’s not the first time we’ve done it, either. It’s a really good character test at the best of time because the ebbs and flows are so big.”

Mahmudul Hasan Joy struck a maiden List-A century to set up Bangladesh Emerging Team’s five-run win over Ireland Wolves at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. The home side clinched the one-day series 4-0, with Joy being adjudged Player-of-the-Match and Player-of-the-Series for his two fifties and the century.Batting first, Bangladesh Emerging made 260 in 49.4 overs. Joy shepherded the innings till the 49th over, making 123 off 135 balls with nine fours and three sixes. Anisul Islam Emon (41) and Mahidul Islam Ankon (33) also made handy contributions with the bat but the Ireland Wolves bowlers, Mark Adair in particular, made sure they were kept to a gettable total.Adair took three wickets – and effected a run-out – while Ruhan Pretorius and Harry Tector took two each. Peter Chase and Gareth Delany chipped in with one wicket each.Stephen Doheny then kept Ireland’s chase together till the 35th over. The opener made 81 off 99 balls with nine fours and a six, while Adair completed a fine all-round showing with 45. Neil Rock struck three fours in a quick 35, and it all added up to the visitors needing 11 runs off the final over to take a consolation win. But pacer Rejaur Rahman Raja snuffed out those chances with an accurate final over.Bangladesh Emerging captain Saif Hassan took three wickets while Shafiqul Islam and Tanvir Islam took two each.The two sides will play a one-off T20 on March 16, before the visitors depart early due to modified Covid-19 restrictions back home.

When this morning’s play began Lancashire had a lead of 188 over Northamptonshire and all their second-innings wickets in hand. By the time the long day closed at 7.20pm they had reduced the visitors to 59 for 3 and a victory target of 425 appeared merely fantastical. A good day for the Red Rose, you might think, and you would be correct. Yet much of their batting had been so careless that it might have been designed to have their head coach, Glen Chapple, emulating Bertie Wooster’s Aunt Agatha and hopping about with a hatchet.The one player exempted from Chapple’s ire was Steven Croft, whose unbeaten century will have had Lancashire supporters smiling in shared pleasure. Croft’s love for the county of his birth is undoubted. When he pulled Nathan Buck for six to reach his hundred, thereby prompting a declaration, the home dressing room erupted in noisy acclamation. Croft was hugged by Tom Hartley, his batting partner, and he raised his arms towards his team-mates, some of whom may still have been watching Peppa Pig when he first played for Lancashire.The century had been the product of careful workmanship rather than effortless style. There were pulls to square leg, nudges through the slips and leg glances but only seven fours. The one concession to modernity, albeit Croft has kept his place in Lancashire’s T20 team, was the reverse sweep, which he now plays as easily as Robert Browning once produced rhyming couplets. He could have gone for three early in the morning session had Adam Rossington clung on to a right-handed diving catch but Croft has long been careful to make the most of such opportunities, for he has no clue how many more he might get.Three years ago he thought he would not get another contract with Lancashire but the coaches opted to give him another season, then one more, then another. There was nothing indulgent about these decisions. Although not the five-furlong favourite he once was, Croft can still do a job anywhere in the field and held on to two slip catches as Northants subsided this evening.Related

• Centuries to Joe Root, Adam Lyth put Yorkshire in command at Kent

• Kiran Carlson scores second ton for match to bring Glamorgan back into contest

• 'Sack it, I'm going to try and rip it' – Matt Parkinson on his ball-of-the-century contender

Croft played in the side that won the Championship in 2011 and he skippered the team that won the T20 Blast in 2015. He is 37 in October yet it is an offence against nature to think of him as a veteran. Like schoolboys with a favourite master, supporters honour him with a nickname, although ‘Crofty’ is hardly in the class of ‘Rhino’, the name the boys at Thursgood’s gave to Jim Prideaux. This was his first Championship century since 2017 but there have been more than enough valuable innings in the meantime to reassure supporters wondering if a much-loved cricketer might have hung on a season too long.Application and an awareness of responsibility are often made particularly noticeable by their absence elsewhere and Lancashire’s other batsmen probably made Croft’s effort appear a little better than it was. Both openers were dismissed in the first nine deliveries of the morning, Keaton Jennings playing around an inswinger from Ben Sanderson and Alex Davies pushing forward just enough to edge Tom Taylor to Ricardo Vasconcelos at first slip. But the worst was yet to come.Having driven the Northants seamers for three of the pleasantest boundaries we will see this season Josh Bohannon played skew-whiff at a well-flighted off-spinner from Rob Keogh and inside-edged the ball onto his leg stump. Given that he had been presented with a good opportunity to collect a cheeky 80 runs or so, Bohannon’s 22 must have frustrated the coaches. But Lancashire were still well placed on 162 for 3 at lunch. On the resumption sanity left the stadium.In the first over of the afternoon session Dane Vilas played the ball to square leg and called Croft for an absurd single. The daftness of the exercise was plain almost immediately but not soon enough to save Lancashire’s skipper. Two overs later Croft clipped the ball in a similar direction only to see Rob Jones scampering down the wicket as if escaping a lunatic with a sharp knife. Emilio Gay threw the ball to the non-striker’s end and someone noted that five of Lancashire’s last 18 wickets had been lost to run outs. For the only time since last August one was grateful spectators were not present.The rest of the innings was less deranged. Luke Wood and Tom Bailey helped Croft take Northamptonshire’s target beyond that scored by any side in the fourth innings to beat Lancashire and the visitors’ job was made even harder by Saqib Mahmood’s magnificently hostile five-over spell with the new ball from the James Anderson End. The fast bowler beat both Ben Curran and Gay for pace and is clearly well suited to the short burst Vilas gave him. He will be steaming in again in the morning and then Matt Parkinson will send down some leg spin. Northants have form when it comes to foxing the bookies but one cannot like their chances.

Most greats of the game empty bars rather than filling them, but Hashim Amla’s unflappable, effortless manner does not lend itself to edge-of-the-seat drama.Amla’s triple-hundred at this ground against England in 2012 was record-breaking: no single day of cricket at The Oval has seen higher takings at the bar than the Saturday of that Test, when he batted through 98 overs to move from an overnight score of 47 to 183 not out. County Championship crowds tend not to be as thirsty, not least when forced to watch via a live stream, but the prospect of seeing him bat in the flesh later in the summer should bring a smile to the faces of Surrey’s members.Amla’s greatest quality is his ability to dictate the pace of a day. He batted throughout this one, adding 156 to his overnight score, and played role of the becalmed senior partner in stands of 257 and 100 (unbroken) with Ollie Pope and Jamie Smith respectively; both men are at least 15 years his junior and when Amla made his first-class debut, Smith had not been born. He had managed only 78 runs in his first three games of the season, including a pair at Lord’s last week, but this innings was a throwback to his heyday, as he punched through cover, steered through third man and whipped through midwicket with a roll of the wrists.Amla was thwarted by birds more regularly than by Hampshire bowlers: a back-foot punch through the covers was stopped by a flock of pigeons grazing in the deep, and he backed away moments before a Liam Dawson ball that pegged back his off stump as one flew across his line of vision, resulting in a dead ball. Scott Currie, the 19-year-old seamer, induced a couple of false shots and had him dropped at wide slip on 184, but he will resume unbeaten on Saturday morning, barring an overnight declaration.Related

• Notts near end of three-year drought as Derbyshire are battered

• Hill hundred leaves Gloucestershire with mountain to climb

• James Hildreth records Somerset milestone as Middlesex chip away between showers

The result is that Surrey are in an impregnable position after two days and should force a first win of the season against Group Two’s early leaders. Their only concern will be that this pitch has flattened out: Pope suggested that Amla “made it look better than it is” but Rory Burns had to drag himself off after bottom-edging a pull off Dawson onto his own stumps, realising he had missed the opportunity for a mammoth hundred. The heavy roller seems to have taken any spice out of the healthy grass covering, but a lead of 421 will allow Surrey to set attacking fields throughout Hampshire’s second innings.Given the dip in his international returns over the last nine months, it is easy to lose sight of Pope’s freakish record in first-class cricket. At The Oval, he has scored 1373 runs in 17 innings at an average of 105.61. This was his fourth first-class innings against Hampshire at this ground and his second-lowest score, behind knocks of 145 in 2018 and 221 not out two years ago. Pope’s physical appearance can make him look like a boy playing in a man’s game, but his record is the other way round.Pope was not quite at his best, playing three false shots against Ian Holland in the 90s and nicking through the gully on 78. He took an off-stump guard, and played his drives very late, occasionally finding himself in a rush and a tangle, as was the case in both of his dismissals against Middlesex last week. It did not stop him cashing in, but New Zealand and India’s analysts may be taking notes for Test series later this summer.”I’ve been out a few times playing some pretty average cover drives this year, nicking off to them, and that’s how they were trying to get me off,” Pope said. “Abbas and Holland try and challenge your pads and nip it around a little bit. I was trying to help myself leave those fifth-stump balls and if they wanted to go straight and bowl at the stumps, that’s one of my strengths.”The standout feature of Pope’s innings was his ability to rotate the strike. Amla is hardly the quickest man between the wickets, but Pope has a knack of finding gaps and weighting his shots to ensure that he can pick up ones and twos; he maintained a strike rate of 75.72, even though fewer than half of his runs came in boundaries. The biggest surprise of his innings came after tea, when he sliced Currie to wide gully; Hampshire’s third wicket inside 110 overs ensured that their visit to South London was not pointless in the literal sense, at least.After a top score of 34 in eight innings in India, Pope has reverted to type this summer and is clearly benefitting from home comforts. “We’ve played a lot of cricket in bubbles and in tough conditions and it’s been nice just to get some consistent game-time with Surrey,” he said. “I feel like I’m getting back to my best and getting my batting back to where it should be. It’s about remembering what made you successful, and there are a few little technical adjustments as well; I want to get my movements right and hopefully go into that New Zealand series full of confidence.”

Ollie Robinson is among seven Sussex players self-isolating following a positive Covid-19 test for an eighth, the 20-year-old top-order batter Tom Clark.Clark, who has played seven of Sussex’s eight County Championship fixtures this season, tested positive on Tuesday and has entered self-isolation. Seven other squad members and an unnamed member of support staff were identified as “having had close contact” with Clark in the 48 hours before the onset of his symptoms.Robinson, who has played two T20 Blast games in the last week following his indefinite suspension from international cricket pending an investigation into historic tweets and a short break from all cricket, is one of the seven, along with Jamie Atkins, James Coles, Henry Crocombe, Tom Haines, Sean Hunt and Delray Rawlins.Only Rawlins and Robinson are first-choice players in the T20 Blast, though Crocombe has made one appearance and had been named in the squad for Tuesday night’s fixture against Kent, which was abandoned two hours before the scheduled 7pm local start time because of a wet outfield. It was a fifth abandonment in the competition for Sussex this season.With both sides picking up one point Kent moved above Gloucestershire into top spot and Sussex sat in third place.Related

• Rashid Khan to fly to England for T20 Blast immediately after PSL

• Robinson taking 'short break' after social media furore

The news follows players missing games through either positive tests or track-and-trace requirements at Durham, Glamorgan, Middlesex, Nottinghamshire and Surrey earlier this season, while Hampshire, Northamptonshire and Yorkshire were all affected in 2020.Meanwhile, Sussex have announced that Rashid Khan is only likely to play two Blast group games this season. Khan was due to spend the full season at the club but withdrew from the start of the group stage to play in the rescheduled PSL for Lahore Qalandars.He will arrive in the UK on Thursday from the UAE, which is on the UK government’s red list for travel, meaning he will have to spend 10 days in hotel-room quarantine. As a result, he is only due to be available for the final two group games, against Hampshire and Kent on July 16 and 18. He will then stay in the UK to play for Trent Rockets in the Hundred.

Chinelle Henry and Chedean Nation, the two West Indies Women players who collapsed on the field during their team’s second T20I against Pakistan Women, have recovered and are back with the team ahead of the third and final T20I.Both players had collapsed on the field in separate incidents during the second T20I on Friday, but were back with the team on Sunday, the day of the third game.In separate messages posted on Twitter, both said they didn’t have any hospital stay or restrictions imposed on them.”I just want to thank you guys for all your concern and well wishes, and I am doing well. No hospital stay, no restrictions. Now I’m just focussed on going out there and getting the series 3-nil,” Henry said. Nation also thanked all those who had expressed concern. “Just want to say thank you guys for the love and support I’ve received over the past 48 hours. No hospital stay, no restrictions, just eager and ready to get out there and hit some sixes.” Both incidents had taken place during Pakistan’s chase, which was also beset by weather interruptions. West Indies eventually won by 7 runs via the DLS method, as Pakistan fell short of an 18-over target of 111. West Indies had also won the first T20I, by 10 runs after scoring 136 for 6 and restricting Pakistan to 126 for 6, and thus have an unbeatable 2-0 lead heading into the last game.Nation has batted at No.5 in both games, while Henry has come in at No.7. Nation has had a reasonable outing with the bat so far, making 14 off 13 and then 28 off 33. Henry was not out on a run-a-ball 4 in the first game, and made 1 off 2 in the second.

A superbly constructed century partnership between Shimron Hetmyer and Dwayne Bravo was the cornerstone of an impressive West Indies performance as they went 2-0 up against Australia.Having pulled victory from the jaws of defeat 24 hours ago this time a West Indies victory felt far more secure after they had posted a formidable 196 and removed Australia’s openers cheaply.

Watch cricket on ESPN+

West Indies v Australia is available in the US on ESPN+. Subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to the match.

Hetmyer, who had been given a vote of confidence by injured captain Kieron Pollard prior to the series, found the ideal balance between seeking boundaries and keeping the scoreboard ticking as he reached a career-best and just his second T20I half-century. Bravo, promoted ahead of Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran when West Indies were three down inside 10 overs, batted at his highest position and produced his highest score for at international level for five years although was given two lives.The fourth-wicket stand of 103 was West Indies’ best in T20Is then the innings was given its finishing touches by Russell. There were 13 sixes (and just eight fours) in the innings but what will please captain and coaching staff was how the strike was also rotated. West Indies managed 123 runs off the second 10 overs.Mitchell Marsh made his second consecutive half-century and West Indies lost Fidel Edwards from their attack with injury, but the asking rate climbed out of control. In the end, Australia fell in a heap for the second night running.Pressure grows on GayleThere is no arguing about what Chris Gayle has achieved in his career, but right now batting is looking a pretty painful affair for him. He has 102 runs in nine innings since returning to the side against Sri Lanka and his 13 off 16 deliveries today did not hint at any return to fluency. Over his career there have been many examples of him eating up dot balls but turning around an innings with such force that it doesn’t matter, but he’s not getting out of the starting blocks at the moment. On this occasion he ended up dragging on against Marsh in the eighth over which left West Indies uncertain at 59 for 3, but it may have been the best thing to happen to the innings.Mitchell Starc’s last two overs cost 30 runs•AFP

The perfect partnershipIt was surprising to see Bravo walk out at No. 5 but it proved a masterstroke, although Australia had their chances to remove him. Adam Zampa missed a low caught-and-bowled chance when he had 2 and Dan Christian made good ground to a chance at long-off when Bravo had 15 but it spilled out. That second dropped chance came in the 12th over with the stand still to move through the gears and Bravo’s run-a-ball display was threatening to be polarizing. But in the 13th over, both he and Hetmyer cleared the ropes against Ashton Agar and from there the innings never looked back. Hetmyer struck the ball beautifully having calmly played himself into his innings, bringing up a 29-ball fifty with an audacious scooped six against Mitchell Starc whose last two overs cost 30 on another difficult night. The final four overs of the innings were carted for 14, 15, 16 and 16 with Russell finishing it emphatically.Level pegging, but not reallyIt was worth noting that after eight overs both teams were 59 for 3, but from there the two innings went on vastly different paths. Australia had been set back by the early loss of both openers – Matthew Wade pulled the second ball to mid-on and Aaron Finch was flummoxed by Edwards’ slower delivery – then Josh Philippe couldn’t get going before missing a straight delivery from Hayden Walsh Jr. Marsh’s innings was also ended by Walsh, who took his tally to six wickets in two matches, which heralded another clatter of wickets. Australia’s position was summed up when Christian and Agar were both left watching the big screen to see who had been run out when both ended up at the same end.

Warwickshire 289 for 7 (Lamb 92) beat Somerset 287 for 8 (Goldsworth 79, Hildreth 72, Lamb 4-35) by three wicketsWarwickshire beat Somerset by three wickets in a thriller at Edgbaston to spoil the west country side’s hopes of qualification for the Royal London Cup knockout stage.The home side went into action with qualification already beyond them but their youngsters delivered an impressive victory driven by a powerhouse all-round display from Matt Lamb.Lamb’s List A-best bowling of 4 for 35 limited Somerset to 287 for 8 after a third-wicket stand of 118 between Lewis Goldsworthy (79) and James Hildreth (72) left them apparently heading for 300-plus.The 25-year-old then scored 92 off 103 balls as the Bears reached 289 for 7 with six balls to spare. At 108 for 4, they were on the back foot but Somerset’s qualification bid was then unpicked by stands of 77 between Lamb and Dan Mousley and 88 between Lamb and Jacob Bethwell.After choosing to bat, Somerset soon lost Sam Young to a sharp return catch by Tim Bresnan but Steven Davies (46) gave the innings early momentum before lifting Bethell to deep mid-wicket.Goldsworthy, in his eighth List A appearance, and Hildreth, in his 220th, dovetailed nicely to add 118 in 20 overs. Hildreth passed 50 in 52 balls and was accelerating dangerously when he hoisted Craig Miles to deep square.At 219 for 3 in the 40th over, Somerset looked set for 300-plus but, after Goldsworthy chipped Bethell to mid-wicket, the innings lost momentum. Lamb’s fiendish variations earned him his first List A wickets to continue a productive RLC for the 25-year-old who scored his maiden List A ton in the home win over Leicestershire.Josh Davey then inflicted early damage on Warwickshire’s reply with two wickets in the third over. Rob Yates sliced to point and Will Rhodes nicked a superb delivery to wicketkeeper Davies.Ed Pollock sped to 44 from 29 balls but Somerset skipper Green astutely kept the impressive Davey on and was rewarded when Pollock chipped to mid-wicket.Michael Burgess made a fluent 38 but then also perished to a catch at mid-wicket, off Ned Leonard. That was 108 for 4 but Lamb and Mousley added 77 in 15 overs and, after Mousley was bowled by George Drissell, Bethell settled immediately.Somerset’s young side fought valiantly and when Lamb and Bethell sent up catches with 12 still needed, the game was back in the balance but Brookes and Bresnan saw the Bears home with six balls to spare.