Somerset feel hard done by at Edgbaston

SOMERSET head coach Jason Kerr paid tribute to his bowlers, whose efforts went largely unrewarded on the first day of the final County Championship match of the season at Warwickshire.

After winning the toss and electing to bowl first, Somerset made the ideal start when Josh Davey had Rob Yates dismissed with just three runs on the board.

Three more wickets fell during the course of the day with Warwickshire reaching 283-4 at stumps, but Kerr felt his bowlers deserved much more than what they returned at Edgbaston, the scene of Somerset’s disappointing T20 final defeat to Kent on Saturday.

“I was delighted with the way the bowlers performed,” he said. “They bowled really well in the first session and could easily have got more rewards and then stuck to their task all day.

“Warwickshire probably have the slight edge but there could easily have been another couple of wickets to tilt it the other way.

“It is a good surface and, looking at the way pitches have played Edgbaston this season, is probably going to get better for batting.”

After the early wicket of Yates, Dominic Sibley and captain Will Rhodes put on 121 for the second wicket before Tom Lammonby accounted for Rhodes.

Sibley soon followed before another century-plus stand followed with Sam Hain finishing the day unbeaten on 83.

Rhodes certainly feels there is work to do if Warwickshire are to win the game and give them a chance of pipping Lancashire to the County Championship title.

“It’s all to play for in the morning,” he said. “We need 60-odd in 14 overs which would help us out point-wise with what’s going on at Liverpool and put us in a position where everything would be in our own hands.

“It was tough going with the bat today but the guys did really well to put a decent total on the board. The pitch did a little bit all day which bodes well and hopefully will remain the case over the next couple of days.”