Somerset retained a strong position after two days of their home Championship match against Kent.

The visitors were bowled out for 208 in their first innings despite a 50-run partnership for the last wicket between Ryan McLaren and Robbie Joseph (23).

Charl Willoughby, Steffan Jones and Alfonso Thomas shared nine wickets.

Leading by 219, Justin Langer opted to give his bowlers a rest and though his side lost five wickets in reaching 129, they still led by 348 at Taunton.

Kent had begun the day on 13-3 and had scraped their total up to 41 when Martin van Jaarsveld, on 12, followed a ball bowled across him by left-armer Willoughby and edged to wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter.

Thomas pinned James Tredwell and Matthew Walker lbw, both for 23, to make it 90-6 before Geraint Jones edged a Ben Phillips outswinger to Kieswetter and departed for 25.

Phillips then took a stunning one-handed gully catch to dismiss Yasir Arafat off Jones and it was 158-9 when Justin Kemp (25) offered a sharp chance to first slip, well taken by Langer, to give Jones his third wicket.

McLaren and Joseph put the earlier Kent batsman to shame with a morale-boosting stand, and Langer punched the air when catching McLaren to end the innings.

Somerset's second innings got off to a bad start when Marcus Trescothick, answering a call from Langer for a single to cover, was run out by Joe Denly.

Soon it was 22-2 as Zander de Bruyn edged Joseph to van Jaarsveld at second slip, and James Hildreth (29) hit a loose cut to gully off McLaren.

Peter Trego nicked Martin Saggers to wicketkeeper Jones and Ian Blackwell tamely chipped a return catch to James Tredwell.

But though wickets were falling, Somerset's lead was growing, and Langer stood firm, reaching his half-century off 84 balls.