COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Taunton:
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY ONE: Somerset 316-5 (Somerset 3pts, Notts 1pt)
31 July - 3 August 2009

Ryan Sidebottom has taken 25 first-class wickets this season

Somerset have the upper hand thanks to half-centuries from four players on day one of the County Championship match with Nottinghamshire at Taunton.

Justin Langer (79), Craig Kieswetter (67), Zander de Bruyn (62no) and Arul Suppiah (51) saw Somerset to 316-5.

After the home side had raced to 167-1, Ryan Sidebottom (3-65) took three wickets in seven balls.

Earlier, Marcus Trescothick's 37 saw him become the first player to score 1,000 first-class runs this season.

After Langer won the toss, Trescothick required less than four overs to make the 21 runs he needed for 1,000. He reached the landmark with a cover-driven boundary off Darren Pattinson.

The former England opener had scored 37 of Somerset's 45 runs, but then pushed forward to a ball from Andre Adams and snicked a low catch to Alistair Brown at first slip.

That proved to be Nottinghamshire's last success for 33 overs as Suppiah and Langer put on 122 for the second wicket.

Sidebottom produced a magnificent delivery to get rid Suppiah. The ball rose sharply off a length and the Somerset opener could only fend into the gloves of wicketkeeper Chris Read.

The former Yorkshire fast bowler took two more wickets in his next over from the Old Pavilion End to leave Somerset on 172-4 and in unexpected trouble.

Langer, having scored 11 fours in his 90-ball innings, was lbw on the back-foot to an inswinging delivery.

Then Wes Durston, playing his first Championship match of the season after James Hildreth withdrew with a chest infection, was caught behind off a defensive edge to his second delivery.

De Bruyn and Kieswetter then revived the innings with a partnership of 108 in 28 overs.

De Bruyn was reprieved on eight when Pattinson spilled a low caught and bowled chance, and the seamer suffered more disappointment when De Bruyn and Kieswetter took 26 off two of his overs.

Mark Ealham finally produced another breakthrough for Nottinghamshire when Kieswetter, having hit 10 fours and a six in his 83-ball innings, edged a drive through to Read.

De Bruyn became the fourth Somerset player to reach fifty in the innings when he hit Sidebottom to the extra cover boundary from the 110th ball he had faced.

But only another four overs were possible before umpires Nigel Cowley and Nigel Llong took the players off due to poor light and light drizzle 14 overs early.

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