'We've got to ensure we start well and we're not chasing the game'

Only slightly less remarkable than Tom Banton’s 371 for Somerset at Taunton last week - the fifth-highest score in County Championship cricket — was that opponents Worcestershire escaped with a draw.

- by Chris Waters

But as the 10,000-plus glued to the tense closing stages on the Somerset live stream could testify, this correspondent among them, along with everyone present, escape they did with a Yorkshireman firmly to the fore at the end.

Matthew Waite, the 29-year-old all-rounder, who swapped Headingley for New Road at the end of 2022, batted for over five-and-half hours to finish unbeaten on 87, eating up 319 deliveries in the process.

Tom Hinley, a 22-year-old left-arm wrist spinner who had earlier had Banton caught behind to end his mammoth knock, faced 44 balls himself in making an undefeated five as Worcestershire held out with nine wickets down, surviving exactly 200 overs in their second innings.