Kohler-Cadmore century as Somerset make Warwickshire toil

Tom Kohler-Cadmore struck his 12th first-class century as Somerset laid the platform for an imposing total against Warwickshire in the Rothesay County Championship at Edgbaston.

Somerset chose to bat on a pitch offering bowlers no help and closed the opening day on 327 for 3. Opening pair Kohler-Cadmore, 104 from 138 balls, and Josh Davey, 64 from 121, added 186 and Tom Lammonby followed them with an unbeaten 75 (129).

It was a gruelling day in the field for a Warwickshire side without Chris Rushworth due to a tweaked hamstring, and including Australian spinner Cory Rocchiccioli, on his debut at the start of a short-term contract.

Somerset's decision to bat proved fruitful and their decision to promote Davey to open was also emphatically vindicated as he and Kohler-Cadmore eased to 100 in the 24th over. Davey offered Jacob Bethell a bracing reintroduction to county cricket when he lifted the spinner's third ball straight for six. Bethell, brought on early and ahead of overseas specialist Rocchiccioli, went for 23 in his first two overs.

Kohler-Cadmore exploited the benign pitch to reach 50 from 67 balls and advance to 100 in 128, reaching three figures with his 16th four, pulled off Che Simmons. The young seamer soon gained his revenge, however, when he removed both openers in six balls.

Davey, a sixth first-class half-century banked and a career-best (75) beckoning, hoisted a short leg-side delivery to long leg. Kohler-Cadmore gloved a pull to wicketkeeper Kai Smith. Somerset's record opening stand against Warwickshire, in peril while the batters chugged comfortably along, remains the 223 by Jimmy Cook and Peter Roebuck at Taunton in 1990.

Warwickshire had a glimmer of opportunity with two new batters at the crease, but Lammonby and James Rew played responsibly to reassert their side's control with a stand of 68 in 26 overs. Rew departed livid at himself for lifting a wide, slower ball from Olly Hannon-Dalby to point but Lammonby pulled Simmons for four to post a 93-ball half-century and, with Tom Abell, prevented further damage.

Warwickshire's bowlers persevered nobly to keep the scoring slow in the last hour of what was a tough baptism on an unresponsive track for Rocchiccioli. He finished the day with none for 68, but bowled well enough and can take solace from the fact that fellow spinners Eric Hollies and Jeetan Patel also suffered on their Warwickshire debut at Edgbaston (1 for 150 against Sussex in 1932 and Yorkshire in 2009 respectively) and they didn't do too badly in the long run: 3,743 wickets.