Rain interrupts Somerset's progress

Somerset 16 for 1 v Hampshire 284
Scorecard

Somerset's weary troops might have benefited from the chance to put their feet up but the loss of all but 21.3 overs to bad weather here has left them needing to advance the contest apace on the third day if they are to force the positive result their title prospects need.

After a morning of sustained rain gave way to brighter skies at lunchtime, groundstaff had to suffer an afternoon of dragging plastic sheets on and off and mopping up hopefully only for a run of showers to frustrate their efforts time and again.

Once play did begin, at five o'clock, Somerset's bowlers did at least make short work of what remained of Hampshire's first innings, with the last five wickets falling for 32 runs in the space of 37 balls as the pace of Alfonso Thomas and Charl Willoughby combined to share the spoils.

Somerset's quartet of senior seam bowlers are all 33 years or older, which is one of the few weaknesses in the current line-up being steered through a successful season on all fronts by skipper Marcus Trescothick.

The punishing schedule set down by this season's confused and overburdened fixture list has pushed them to the limit at times but this was a good response by Thomas (33) and Willoughby (35). They took the new ball as soon as it became available, three overs after Hampshire had resumed on 217 for 5, but Sean Ervine and Dan Christian had the better of things to begin with, the former collecting consecutive off-side boundaries when Thomas strayed off line. Christian survived a confident appeal for as leg-side caught behind off Thomas but then drove Willoughby handsomely through the covers for four to bring up the 250.

Things began to go wrong, however, when Christian, pushing forward confidently, was bowled off an inside edge by the left-armer Willoughby, who struck again four deliveries later, beating Michael Bates' defensive prod.

Thomas, who had bowled well without success to that point, was rewarded at last when Ervine, who had hit six fours, miscued a hook to be caught by Jos Buttler, and gained his second wicket from the next ball as James Tomlinson was leg before, beaten for pace.

Dominic Cork, who had jokingly turned his bat to face handle downwards after making several air shots against Willoughby, did connect with a couple but then holed out to James Hildreth at long off as the innings closed, Willoughby finishing with 4 for 80.

Another shower arrived at this point, suggesting that Somerset's innings might not start. But the rain relented quickly, leaving Somerset to negotiate seven overs - and not without an important casualty as Trescothick fell to a slightly freakish return catch, a thick inside edge sending the ball ballooning into the air off a pad, allowing Tomlinson time to wheel off to the left in his follow through and make an easy take.

Despite their players complaining off tiredness lately, Somerset have put their weight against any moves to reduce next year's domestic Twenty20 competition from this season's expanded version.

Trescothick, who leads his side on finals day on Saturday, said that the schedule of 16 group matches suited his team perfectly, while chief executive Richard Gould says that a reduction from eight to five home games could cost the county £250,000 in revenue and might lead to redundancies.

While some grounds have seen numbers decline at the gates this year, Taunton's crowds have held up well, the eight games attracting almost 50,000 spectators in total.