Patel's five gives Warwickshire early advantage

Warwickshire 22 for 0 trail Somerset 265 (C Overton 51, Patel 5-89) by 243 runs
Scorecard

Warwickshire spinner Jeetan Patel secured his first five-wicket haul of the season as Somerset made uneven progress after choosing to bat in the LV= County Championship match at Edgbaston.

The visitors elected to bat on a pale surface offering little assistance to seam-bowlers but were bowled out for 265. That appears below-par and would have been even more significantly so without a tenth-wicket partnership of 64 in 24 overs between Alfonso Thomas and Tim Groenewald.

After seven wickets had fallen in the afternoon session, the two former Warwickshire players came together with their team in deep trouble at 201 for 9 and compiled the only half-century stand of the innings.

They showed powers of patience and shot-selection which might have embarrassed one or two of their team-mates too many of whom perished to loose strokes at Patel and Chris Woakes.

It was a satisfying effort from an injury-hit Warwickshire team deprived of senior fast-bowlers Chris Wright and Boyd Rankin, both nursing sore backs. The home side completed a solid day's work by reaching the close 22 without loss.

Patel took the only two wickets to fall in the morning session, the first with his first ball which Tom Abell steered to slip. Michael Bates ground out 16 runs from 69 minutes before chipping Patel to midwicket just before lunch.

Marcus Trescothick was unbeaten on 47 at lunch but added just a single afterwards before skying Patel to cover, a rash stroke which triggered a collapse.

Finding his rhythm from the City End, Woakes delivered a burst of 3 for 14 in 24 balls. He produced perfectly-shaped outswingers which Tom Cooper, James Hildreth and Peter Trego edged into a cordon which supported the bowlers all day with sharp catching which gave the innings a rare quirk: all ten wickets fell to catches but none to the wicketkeeper.

Jim Allenby counterattacked for 37 from 42 balls then edged Rikki Clarke into the slips and, after Abdur Rehman lofted Patel to extra cover, Craig Overton biffed a belligerent run-a-ball 51 before falling to a brilliant catch by Sam Hain at short leg off the spinner.

That was 201 for 9 and, though Thomas and Groenewald rebuilt to some degree, Somerset were no doubt hoping for plenty more than 265 when they chose to bat.