Because it is an Australian summer, many cricket fans are viewing other matches through the lens of a five-match war that has not yet been waged. Marnus Labuschagne tries to help Glamorgan defeat Worcestershire at Cardiff, Marcus Harris fields for Gloucestershire at Derby and wonders when he will get his next opportunity to bat in what has been a rain-soaked season for his team, and Jonny Bairstow scores 16 runs without being out at Chester-le-Street to convince the umpires that he should bat and keep wicket for England this summer.
This is already self-evident to Bairstow; at Grace Road, Steve Smith is out leg before wicket to Wiaan Mulder for three; and at Emirates Old Trafford, James Anderson's absence from the second day of Lancashire vs. Somerset's match sets off a hysterical commotion on social media and other platforms.
These five cricketers may be present at Edgbaston in exactly five weeks, but right now they are competing for their counties in Championship games, or in Anderson's case, not competing.
These latter matches are what matter, according to many people who are watching the cricket this afternoon at Emirates Old Trafford. They may take note of Lancashire's verbal assurance that Anderson's "minor issue" is being attended to by the county's physio, Sam Byrne, but their main worry is that the problem is sufficiently serious to prevent their finest bowler from aiding his team in fending off James Rew's supernatural abilities. Others who are watching the game find the situation amusing. At lunch, someone quipped, "Jimmy Anderson's up a step ladder changing light bulbs," which confused everyone until it was revealed to the non-initiated that the man in issue is actually an electrician in Lancashire's maintenance division.
In the end, word gets out from unnamed sources that Anderson, the bowler and not the spark, has a groin problem. No one will tell if the problem is serious or not, or even if Anderson needs to get a scan of the injured area. It hardly counts. Twitter goes gleefully wild, as some memories date back to the Australian summer of 2014 when Anderson was shot in the calf at Sedbergh and only played one Test and bowled four overs before exiting the series.
Rew was likely taking his GCSEs at King's College in Taunton four summers ago, where he doubtless cared little about anything other than the idea that he could play Championship cricket.
He only cared about Anderson's absence insofar as it made it easier for him to lead Somerset's comeback from 135 for 5 to 361 all out. Lancashire is, by far, his preferred rival. They were the opponents in three of his 13 first-class games, and he scored 362 runs overall at an average of 72.
However, Dane Vilas' team is not the only one he has caused trouble for. With 421 runs, he is presently Somerset's leading run scorer. Even though county cricket is not a sport for wimps, James Rew must be experiencing something particularly new and beautiful right now. There was a time when Anderson might look forward to comparable pleasures.
The poise and self-possession Rew displayed on Friday morning was not particularly surprising to Lancashire fans who saw him bat at Taunton three weeks ago or at Southport last year. His primary places for scoring runs are on the outside, and he can drive with relative ease from straight mid-off to backward point. Rew made good most of his escapes to assist Kasey Aldridge in putting 106 runs together for the sixth wicket after being released on both 20 and 70 when Lancashire's slip cordon missed opportunities — in all, Vilas' fielders missed seven catches throughout Somerset's innings.
Henry next parried a hard-hitting drive from Luke Wells before catching the ball with both hands, giving the Somerset bowlers exactly the early breakthrough they required. Henry was encouraged by his own cheery thuggery. However, for the majority of the evening session, it appeared that Tom Abell's assault would have to settle for that victory. However, after having many confident legs before appeals were denied, Jack Leach made the decision to cut out the middleman and bowled Josh Bohannon for 31 in three overs before the session ended. Rew ran from behind the stumps to celebrate with his bowler as is customary in his line of work, and his wide grin will stay with us as a lasting memory of the day's play.
But the young man might learn something about fish prices in the morning. He will see that the headlines are not about him if he opens the cricket sections of the major newspapers.
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