Tom Abell recorded a career-best 307 as Somerset’s season concluded with a high-scoring draw against Surrey at Taunton. The result confirms Somerset as County Championship runners-up for the seventh time since 2000, finishing behind Warwickshire who secured the 2026 title with an innings victory over Leicestershire at Edgbaston.
Abell’s innings of 307 came from 407 deliveries and included 31 fours and eight sixes. He is now the eighth player in Somerset history to reach a first-class triple-century, joining a list that includes Viv Richards, Justin Langer, and Tom Banton. During the final morning, Abell and Migael Pretorius (84) established a new club record for the ninth wicket with a partnership of 195 runs.
“Someone sent me the list of Somerset players who had previously made triple hundreds and, to be honest, I feel a bit of a fraud being mentioned alongside those greats,” Abell said. Despite the milestone, Abell finished the campaign with 1,287 runs—exactly one run behind Nottinghamshire’s Joe Clarke (1,288) for the Division One leading run-scorer title.
Analysis of the final standings suggests this one-run margin serves as a microcosm for Somerset’s season, where the club again finished narrowly short of a maiden title. While Abell dominated the scoring, Warwickshire’s Ethan Bamber finished as the division’s leading wicket-taker with 69 dismissals to help secure the trophy for the Bears.
Surrey reached 127 for 5 in their second innings before the match was drawn. The visitors’ attack was adjusted mid-match as Ralphie Albert substituted for the ill Rahul Chahar, while Dan Lawrence departed to join the England ODI squad. In the final over of the season, Somerset wicketkeeper James Rew was brought on to bowl.
Somerset captain Lewis Gregory acknowledged the difficulty of breaking the club’s cycle of second-place finishes. “I don’t think there’s a reason why we can’t get over the line other than it is a bloody difficult competition to win,” Gregory said.
