Petersen makes first ton of summer

Alviro Petersen led the way with an unbeaten century as Somerset took the attack to Lancashire on the first day at Old Trafford.

Petersen held firm on 109 not out - his first Championship century of the summer - and was ably assisted by Nick Compton with 91, as the visitors racked up an impressive 312 for 3 on the opening day in Manchester.

With an England Test selection meeting in the next few days, Compton would have been eyeing a three-figure score himself to put his name firmly in the mind of the selectors. But he fell an agonising nine runs short when he was trapped in front by a ball from Kabir Ali towards the end of the day.

Somerset captain Marcus Trescothick won the toss and chose to bat, and it looked to have been an inspired decision as his side scored runs freely. Trescothick saw off the opening overs with Johann Myburgh before the latter fell in the 17th, when he was trapped lbw by Tom Smith for 35.

That brought Compton to the crease and the duo looked to be settling in only for Trescothick to be bowled by Simon Kerrigan on 55 shortly after making his half century, leaving Somerset two down for 96.

But the combination of Compton and Petersen proved to be altogether more fruitful, with the pair putting on a stand of 193 for the third wicket. The partnership was broken when Compton was trapped lbw by Ali in the 85th over, just nine runs short of his century.

Petersen was able to reach the landmark though, with his ton coming up off 146 balls in 196 minutes, with 10 boundaries to his name. He made the Lancashire bowlers toil in the field with Smith's 1 for 45 off 13 overs the most economical figures of the day.