Shaun Pollock starred with bat and ball to give Somerset plenty to ponder ahead of the C&G Trophy final at Lord's on Saturday.

The Sabres tuned up for the showpiece, in which they face Yorkshire, with a sobering eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Warwickshire.

It also leaves them rooted to the bottom of Division One in the NUL and they will be playing in the lower tier of that tournament next year.

South African star Pollock took four wickets as Somerset were bowled out for 188, and was then unbeaten on 43 when the Bears sealed victory in 35 overs.

Dominic Ostler was a key figure in the run-chase, clubbing 11 boundaries in a 66-ball 77 not out that oozed class.

Let down

After winning the toss and batting first, Somerset were let down badly as just two of their batsmen registered double-figure scores.

Captain Jamie Cox (64 off 85 balls) and Ian Blackwell (51 off 67 balls) succeeded where their team-mates failed.

The pair came together after a flow of early wickets saw Somerset stumble to 65 for four, but a 44-run stand was brought to an end when Mohamed Sheikh trapped Cox lbw.

Wickets continued to fall, and any hopes the hosts had of posting a competitive total turned to dust when Blackwell was bowled by Pollock.

Bears opening batsman Mark Wagh fell to Keith Dutch for 18, but Nick Knight set them on the path to victory with a 37-ball 45 that included six fours and a six.

Steffan Jones stopped Knight in his tracks when bowling him, but that was as good as it got for the Sabres with Ostler and Pollock steering the visitors home.

Somerset: P C L Holloway, M J Wood, J Cox (Capt), M Burns, K A Parsons, I D Blackwell, R J Turner (Wkt), K P Dutch, M P L Bulbeck, P D Trego, P S Jones.

Warwickshire: N V Knight, M A Wagh, D P Ostler, I R Bell, M J Powell (Capt), D R Brown, N M K Smith, M A Sheikh, S M Pollock, T Frost (Wkt), G G Wagg.

Umpires: B Dudleston and A A Jones