COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Taunton:
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY THREE: Worcestershire 571, Somerset 280 and 203-4 (Worces 8pts, Somerset 4pts)
16-19 September 2009

Winless Worcestershire are closing in on a long-awaited first County Championship victory of 2009 against high-riding Somerset at Taunton.

Having forced Somerset to follow on 291 runs behind, the home side reached 203-4 at the close, trailing by 88.

The home side had earlier been bowled out for 280, Matt Mason and Gareth Andrew both taking three wickets.

And their main hopes of saving the game appear to now rest with ex-Worcester all-rounder Zander de Bruyn on 20.

Somerset could so easily have been in a worse spot.

After the country's leading run scorer Marcus Trescothick had edged to Worcestershire's double centurion Daryl Mitchell at second slip for a second ball duck, his opening partner Arul Suppiah could have gone first ball.

And having enjoyed some good fortune early on, but then blossomed with some sweetly timed strokes off his legs,

He was put down at long leg by Somerset old boy Andrew, and cashed in by going on to hit 83 in a 142-run second-wicket stand with his skipper Justin Langer.

Andrew eventually got his man when he had Suppiah brilliantly caught behind down the legside by teenage schoolboy wicketkeeper Ben Cox.

But Langer's hopes of going out with an 87th first-class century ended when he fell for 64 to a sharp catch at backward point by Moeen Ali off Andrew.

The 38-year-old former Australia opener now looks set to bow out of first-class cricket with an average of 50.23, having hit 28,382 runs - having become the highest run-scorer in the history of Australian cricket.

An exaggerated wave of the bat as he left the crease for the final time at Taunton signalled the end of a career which started in December 2001.

As well as the 86 tons, his 18 years in the game have featured 110 first-class half-centuries and seen him become the

Sadly, Langer's county colleagues could not rise to the occasion of his farewell game.

Starting the day 184 for three in their first innings they managed to lose 11 wickets on a blameless pitch.

And Langer's downfall sees Worcestershire in with a great chance of recording their first top flight Championship victory since August 2007.

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