Nathan Jones

Marcus Trescothick admitted Somerset "got a bit lucky" after their Championship match with Hampshire at the Rose Bowl ended in an unsatisfactory draw.

Hampshire had been set 140 to win in what looked set to be an enthralling 17 overs at the end of their four-day game.

But with the hosts 9-0 in the second over, the umpires deemed the poor light had made play unsafe for the batsmen and that was that even though Hampshire wanted to try to chase down the runs.

At a time when flat pitches are dominating county cricket, a dramatic finish was just what the game needed but the spectators were denied the chance of that by a regulation brought in at the start of this season.

Somerset, who had followed on after being bowled out for 393 on Saturday, were dismissed for 294 on the final day to give their relegation-haunted opponents the chance of a rare win.

The hosts needed to score Twenty20-style at 8.2 runs per over to win but that was by no means impossible with ten wickets in hand.

Trescothick said: "We always knew it was going to be a hard game on a spinning wicket but we did well to come out of it as we did after losing  the toss and them getting 548.

"We got a bit of reward although we got a bit lucky with the bad light towards the end. I am glad the light came but their target would still have been a challenge."

Earlier, Somerset had relied on Trescothick and Craig Kieswetter to score the bulk of

their runs for the second day running. Trescothick added 73 to his first innings 118 while the wicketkeeper made 70 after striking 94 on Saturday.

Trescothick has now scored 1,594 first-class runs this season. That he is the leading runscorer in England is well known. Less obvious is the fact that he averages 79.3 per dismissal away from the Taunton featherbed compared with 71.3 at the County Ground.

After resuming on 50-0, Arul Suppiah was the first to go when he played down the wrong line to Dominic Cork and lost his off stump for 21.

Langer made 32 before his attempt to pull Imran Tahir ended in the hands of mid-on and James Hildreth (4) survived one confident lbw appeal from Cork but not a second the next ball.

The intervention of debutant left-arm spinner Danny Briggs proved significant as he got one to turn and bounce to Zander de Bruyn (13) and his attempted cut ended in the keeper's gloves.

Trescothick went in Briggs' next over as he played for the spin at a non-turning ball and was taken at first slip by Cork to make Somerset's effective score minus three for five.

Trego's lusty blows took him to 27 until he turned Tahir into the hands of short leg and Omari Banks was leg before wicket to a Sean Ervine inswinger.

Alfonso Thomas grafted for 11 until a ball from Briggs kept low and David Griffiths, like Briggs another local youngster, cleaned up the innings.

First he had Kieswetter caught at mid-on from an injudicious pull and then Max Waller (18) tried to flip over the keeper and spooned a catch to the advancing keeper.

For a full report see the next edition of the Western Daily Press or Bristol Evening Post.