Somerset v Kent day one

Kent stuck to their task on a sunny opening day to their LV Championship match in Taunton as five Somerset batsmen made 50s without any of them going on to score a hundred but all their good work was undone in the last 15 minutes as they lost three wickets in 27 balls.

Although a man short in the field all day, Kent survived some rough patches in a day when bat totally dominated ball to eventually dismiss the hosts for 427 inside 89 overs.

But, in fading light and light showers, Kent lost opener Joe Denly trapped leg before for nought by Charl Willoughby’s fourth delivery of the innings and then nightwatchman Martin Saggers (5) to a Steffan Jones yorker.

Then, to the last ball of the day, skipper Rob Key fenced at one from Willoughby and was caught behind by Craig Kieswetter at the second attempt to send Kent in at the close on 13-3 after 4.2 overs.

The mini-collapse certainly took the gloss off a day in which Kent had battled through adversity and the loss of Yasir Arafat through a stomach upset.

A dark green pitch, smothered in grass and hardly distinguishable from the rest of the square swayed Key's mind into fielding firstafter winning the toss but the surface played well and left-handers Langer and Trescothick tucked in.

Key turned to the spin of James Tredwell after only 10 overs but Trescothick hit the off-spinner out of the attack with two straight sixes.

Trescothick reached his half-century first from 68 balls and with seven fours as Somerset posted 100 after only 21 overs.

But in the next over, the former England batsman edged Saggers to slip where Justin Kemp took a sharp two-handed chance.

Four balls later, Langer, soon after posting his 56-ball 50, fenced at a lifting ball from Robbie Joseph and gloved a leg-side catch to keeper Jones to make it 113-2.

Saggers struck again after 105 minutes' play when James Hildreth edged through to Jones.

Kent ended the first session with 12th man Alex Williams on the field of play, the young Kent Academy inductee was on the field for Arafat who returned to the team hotel with stomach cramps.

In the mid-session, Zander de Bruyn (81) and ex-Kent all-rounder Peter Trego (65) added 120 in 22 overs for the fourth wicket but both men were guilty of giving their wickets away.

Rob Key turned to Matt Walker in a bid to break the partnership and the ploy worked when Trego picked out James Tredwell at mid-on.

Then, just 19 short of his third successive hundred, de Bruyn, in trying to drop his hands on a lifting delivery from Saggers, gloved a third catch for the day through to Geraint Jones.

The trend for tossing wickets away continued after the tea when Somerset lost their last five wickets for 113.

Ian Blackwell (55) heaved across the line to lift a catch to Denly at mid-wicket, Kieswetter (35) picked out Key at short mid-wicket off Tredwell and, with the fifth delivery with the second new ball, Steffan Jones edged McLaren through to namesake Geraint.

Robbie Joseph, who was responsible for 12 no balls, caught Ben Phillips (22) off his own bowling and McLaren had Alfonso Thomas (2) caught at slip to wrap up the innings.

*** Click here to view a live match scorecard on the cricinfo website ***