Two bowlers who both endured a winter of discontent helped Somerset towards what could be a fourth successive County Championship win.

Justin Langer's side made 510 against Hampshire at Taunton and then enforced the follow-on after bowling them out for 264. In their second innings the visitors closed day three on 122-3, still trailing by 124.

Fast bowler David Stiff spent the close-season without a county after being released by Leicestershire but he took a maiden first-class five-wicket haul.

And Arul Suppiah – the Malaysia-born player who had to go back to his homeland because he was refused permanent leave to remain in the UK – collected four wickets with his left-arm spin.

Stiff – who finished with 5-91 from his 15 overs – now has 26 wickets for the season, just one behind Charl Willoughby and three ahead of Alfonso Thomas.

The Yorkshireman may concede an average of four runs per over but his pace and bounce make him an awkward customer.

And Suppiah – Somerset's last spinner standing – has a brace of second innings wickets to go with two the first time around in a game where he also scored 52 with the bat.

Willoughby got Somerset CCC going with a parsimonious morning spell that removed James Adams, caught by Marcus Trescothick at second slip driving expansively for 33.

Thomas had Michael Lumb well caught by Suppiah at point for 11 and the Hampshire collapse accelerated when Stiff entered the attack. Former England man John Crawley was making his return after a month out with a finger injury and he was kept down to two from 29 balls before he tried to force Stiff through the off-side and offered Trescothick another sharp chance.

Two balls later Liam Dawson drove Stiff into the gully where Zander de Bruyn parried the chance before taking it at the second attempt.

Suppiah was introduced five overs later and Sean Ervine haplessly chipped his second ball to mid-wicket for 10.

And Stiff brought a dream morning session to an end at 186-6 when he found the edge of Dimi Mascarenhas' bat and Trescothick completed a hat-trick of second slip catches.

Nic Pothas had dropped down the order because of a groin injury and his mood did not improve after the break when he clobbered Stiff into the hands of James Hildreth at short cover for 15.

Amid the chaos, Carberry had driven confidently to his hundred in 110 balls with one six pulled off Willoughby.

But he tried one clip too many when he aimed Stiff through the leg-side and skied a catch to a backpeddling Willoughby at mid-on for 123.

Suppiah's second scalp came when Chris Tremlett hoiked him to mid-wicket for seven before Stiff tired as Hampshire's last wicket pair added 48.

James Tomlinson (14 not out) and particularly Imran Tahir, who thumped 30 of his 33 in boundaries, held up proceedings until the latter top-edged a pull at the returning Thomas to Craig Kieswetter.

Forty-year-old Andrew Caddick made the breakthrough in the second innings and took his first wicket of the season when his yorker smashed into Adams' boot and the left-hander was sent on his way leg before wicket for 28.

Suppiah had Lumb leg before playing across the line for three and Carberry, who had made a lively 52 with 9 fours and a six, chipped back a caught and bowled soon after.

The hosts' 510 included 155 from Hildreth and a county best 70 from Thomas, who was last man out.

He has two first-class hundreds from his time in South Africa and Trescothick has promised to give him one of his bats if he gets one for Somerset.