Somerset v Kent, Day 3

The Bath festival County Championship match between Somerset and Kent looks set for an exciting finish on the fourth day.

Somerset were left to chase 190 for their second championship success of the summer after they bowled Kent out for 223 in their second innings.

But Kent hit back well in the last hour to take the wickets of Marcus Trescothick, Piran Holloway and nightwatchman Steffan Jones.

Somerset closed on 50-3 and their hopes of a second championship success of the summer could depend largely on skipper Jamie Cox, unbeaten on 27, and former captain Peter Bowler, who has four to his name.

Kent's main victory hopes are likely to rest with the left-arm spin of Min Patel. With the festival wicket offering some assistance to the slow bowlers, Patel bowled five tight overs for ten runs and snapped up the wicket of Holloway, stumped by wickekeeper Paul Nixon.

Martin McCague had claimed Trescothick's wicket with the first ball of the innings. The in-form left-hander attempted a legside glance and Nixon snapped up the catch.

Jones, who came in with seven overs remaining, departed in unusual fashion. He pushed forward defensively at a Patel delivery, but lifted his foot from the crease as he did so and Mark Ealham's sharp return to Nixon from silly mid off brought the run out.

Earlier, Kent had been indebted to Matthew Walker and Ealham for holding their innings together.

They shared a fifth wicket stand of 99 to frustrate Somerset after three wickets from Andrew Caddick had reduced the visitors to 60-4.

Ealham took 16 deliveries to get off the mark, but he became increasingly fluent after lunch and had struck seven boundaries before he was caught down the legside by wickekeeper Rob Turner off Caddick.

Walker has a habit of making substantial scores against Somerset and he had moved confidently to 61, with nine fours, when he gloved a catch to Trescothick at backward short leg off Ian Blackwell's left-arm spin.

Nixon dug in for a gritty 28 not out, and skipper Matthew Fleming made 23, but Kent will have been disappointed that their last four wickets tumbled for eight runs in 25 balls.

Blackwell began the collapse by having Fleming caught loaw at slip by Keith Parsons.

Min Patel was then run out by Jones, who produced a sharp piece of fielding off his own bowling, after Nixon had called for an unrealistic single.

Jones then wrapped up the innings by uprooting McCague's middle stump and having David Masters lbw.

He finished with 3-74, while Caddick again took top honours for Somerset with 4-40. That left Caddick with a match analysis of 10-97 and the England pace star has now claimed 25 wickets for Somerset this season in only five innings.