Glamorgan’s 18-year-old seamer Tom Norton made history on his County Championship debut by taking a hat-trick, rocking Somerset after the visitors secured a first-innings lead of 125 runs.
Norton dismissed England prospect James Rew, Tom Lammonby, and Archie Vaughan in his third over of the second innings, sparking wild celebrations with his teammates at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. He became the youngest player to record a first-class hat-trick for Glamorgan, the youngest on record to do so on first-class debut, and the first to achieve the feat on a Championship debut since 1906.
Somerset collapsed to 32-6 on a tricky pitch, leading by just 157 runs. Reflecting on his achievement, Norton said: “It was great, a moment I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. It was a pretty surreal moment to get a hat-trick and get them six down overnight.”
Earlier, Glamorgan had been bowled out for 229 in their first innings, with Migael Pretorius taking three for 50 as Somerset’s seamers dominated. Ben Kellaway top-scored with 59.
Somerset, resuming on 337-9 after losing late wickets on day one, managed to reach 354 to earn their first batting bonus point of the season. Last man Jake Ball struck two boundaries before being bowled by Mason Crane’s googly.
Glamorgan’s reply started frantically, with Zain Ul Hassan hitting two fours off a Lewis Gregory over that also included two no-balls. But Asa Tribe was dismissed early, leaving the score at 16-1. Ul Hassan edged Gregory to slip for 16, and Pretorius then took control, dismissing Kiran Carlson for 21, trapping Colin Ingram lbw, and bowling former teammate Sean Dickson.
From 93-5, Kellaway and Chris Cooke launched a strong fightback with an 80-run stand. Kellaway hit eight fours before being bowled by England left-arm spinner Jack Leach. Cooke fell lbw to Craig Overton for 39, and Mason Crane was controversially given out caught behind off Ball. Norton (11) helped Timm van der Gugten avoid the follow-on before being caught at mid-on. Van der Gugten was last out for 30.
With van der Gugten off the field after a blow to the elbow, Norton seized the spotlight in Somerset’s second innings. He struck Rew on the glove, found Lammonby’s edge, and trapped Vaughan lbw to complete the hat-trick. England paceman Jeff Jones had been the previous youngest Glamorgan hat-trick taker at age 20 in 1962.
Josh Thomas fell to Ryan Hadley for 15, and night-watchman Leach edged to slip. Norton then had Will Smeed caught behind in the final over, making it the fifth duck on Somerset’s card.