The One-Day Cup match between Somerset and Leicestershire saw a moment of genuine confusion which led to smiles at the end on both sides of the field.
The match was eventually won by Somerset by 23 runs, but not before the high-scoring encounter saw plenty of heavy hitting and some real moments of confusion.
Leicestershire won the toss and elected to field first. The decision did not prove to be a wise one in the end as they lost the match. Batting first. Somerset amassed 334/5 with all-rounder Lewis Goldsworthy scoring an unbeaten 115 runs off 86 balls. His knock included six fours and five sixes. Along with him, wicketkeeper-batsman James Rew scored 71 runs off 57 balls, hitting 10 fours. Together they added a stand of 131 runs.
Meanwhile, during his unbeaten knock of 115, Goldsworthy was stern in attack, especially against all-rounder Ian Holland. He managed 59 runs in his 10 overs and it was while he was bowling that the Somerset all-rounder hit him for a big six over the square leg area. The ball found its way into the Leicestershire training squad.
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Watch: Confusion at Somerset v Leicestershire One-Day Cup match
Have you ever seen anything like this?
Lewis Goldsworthy scored a six in Leicestershire’s training uniform.
This creates a lot of confusion about where the ball is and which one is the correct one. image.twitter.com/bRDzZ6N0Li
— Metro Bank One Day Cup (@onedaycup) August 18, 2024
For a while, a comedy of errors ensued as the support staff near the Leicester dugout and the fielders failed to identify the correct ball. Ajinkya Rahane, who was fielding near the boundary line, failed to get to the ball. However, it took him and the support staff some time to find it. There were four or five kits placed near the dugout and the ball went into one of them.
Eventually, the ball was retrieved from one of the green kits placed there. Rahane then handed the ball over to the on-field umpires, who then checked the ball properly and gave the correct ball to the bowling team. The mix-up caused the game to be stopped for a while due to all the confusion going on around.
During Leicestershire’s chase, they fell well short of the target at the end. They needed 335 to win and ended up scoring 311/9. Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Peter Handscomb’s valiant 111 went in vain. Openers Ian Holland (40) and Sol Budinger (33) added 54 for the first wicket. Ben Cox, batting at number six, scored a valiant 49 off 55 balls.
Somerset’s bowlers managed to keep the strike rate high in this high-scoring encounter. Five of the seven bowlers used by Somerset took wickets and right-hander Ben Green got three. It was Somerset’s sixth win in eight matches, while Leicester’s second defeat in as many matches.
Somerset thus won the first semi-final and Glamorgan won the second semi-final against Warwickshire. The final will now be played between Somerset and Glamorgan in the One-Day Cup at Trent Bridge, Nottingham on Sunday 22nd September.
Both teams will have plenty of time to review their campaign and prepare for the title match. Meanwhile, confusion in finding the right ball was one of the talking points of the match.
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