Somerset v Essex: Match report & scores

Match scores (Taunton)

Essex beat Somerset by eight wickets

Somerset 1st inns: 209 all out (Trego 48, Hildreth 36; Zaidi 3-17)
Somerset 2nd inns: 174 all out (Hildreth 35; Wagner 6-48)

Essex 1st inns: 129 all out (Cook 52; van der Merwe 3-26)
Essex 2nd inns: 257-2 (Cook 110, Westley 86*, Browne 35)

Day three report

Alastair Cook (pictured) hit an untroubled century as Essex clinched the first victory of their return to the Specsavers County Championship top flight with an eight-wicket success against Somerset.

The former England captain looked in prime form in Taunton, easing his way to 110 on a one-sided third day that saw his side effortlessly chase down a target of 255 from an overnight 10 for no wicket.

Tom Westley contributed an unbeaten 86, sharing a second-wicket stand of 134 with Cook, whose chanceless hundred occupied 202 balls.

Nick Browne made 38 before falling to a poor shot off Jamie Overton with the total on 82

.It was Somerset's only breakthrough of the morning session on a placid pitch that made a mockery of the low scoring on the first two days.

Essex claimed 19 points, while Somerset had to be content with four from what was a bitterly disappointing start to their campaign by last season's runners-up.

Young skipper Tom Abell continually switched his bowling attack, making liberal use of pace and spin.

But a combination of clear blue skies and a lifeless wicket brought only frustration.

Cook and Browne batted with confidence from the outset and it was a major surprise when Browne slashed hard at a short, wide ball from Overton, edging a catch to wicketkeeper Steve Davies.

By lunch Cook and Westley had taken the total to 101 for one from 41 overs and already the outcome looked beyond doubt.

So it proved as Cook, who had reached his half-century from 92 balls, continued to display immaculate shot selection in moving relentlessly towards three figures.

First Westley got to fifty, from 87 balls, with nine fours, batting with equal soundness. Cook's hundred soon followed as he collected a leg-side boundary off Jack Leach.

The stand was broken by Dean Elgar's second delivery of his return to Somerset. The South African Test batsman, whose slow left-arm spin was introduced as an afterthought by Abell, offered up a tempting short ball and saw Cook pull it straight to James Hildreth at mid-wicket.

At 216 for two, Essex required only a further 39.

By tea they had progressed to 222 for two, with Westley unbeaten on 62.Somerset took the second new ball at 233 for two, with only 22 needed.

It only hastened the outcome as Lewis Gregory conceded four byes with the first delivery and Westley top-edged a six off Craig Overton.

Westley ended the match with a boundary off Gregory. By then he had faced 146 balls and hit 15 fours and a six.

Day two report

Neil Wagner's six-wicket haul on day two gave Essex a genuine chance of winning a low-scoring Specsavers County Championship game against Somerset at Taunton.

The 31-year-old New Zealand Test bowler returned figures of six for 48 in Somerset's second innings to leave last year's Division Two champions needing 255 to register their first victory of the season.

However, it was certainly not all plain sailing. Resuming on their overnight total of 60 for two after bowling out Somerset for 209 on day one, Essex collapsed to 121 for eight at lunch with only Alastair Cook (52) providing any real resistance.

Craig Overton got the board moving, in Somerset's favour, when he trapped Dan Lawrence lbw without scoring and though Cook reached 50 off 85 balls, he and Ravi Bopara departed within the space of half a dozen deliveries to leave Essex on 81 for five.

Although the wicket did provide a degree of assistance to the bowlers, it was not solely responsible for what was to unfold during the day.

Ryan ten Doeschate chipped Lewis Gregory to James Hildreth at midwicket and Roelof van der Merwe found a way through Adam Wheater's defence to make it 91 for seven. Then, with lunch approaching, Van der Merwe struck once again to send back Simon Harmer.

Having wrapped up the Essex first innings shortly after lunch, as Jamie Overton removed Wagner and Jack Leach had Ashar Zaidi caught behind for 23, Somerset boasted an 80-run first-innings lead but were equally careless when they took to the crease for a second time.

Marcus Trescothick was trapped leg before by Jamie Porter for five, with the score on 11, and captain Tom Abell edged the same bowler to Wheater without scoring.

A 44-run partnership between Dean Elgar and Hildreth bolstered Somerset's lead in mid-afternoon and threatened to take the game way from Essex. However, Wagner had different ideas and bowled with typical gusto to help prise out the host county's middle and late order.

Elgar was trapped lbw by Harmer for 27 and Hildreth, dropped on 26 and 30, was eventually caught in the gully by Harmer off the bowling of Bopara.

Steven Davies was fifth man out, making it 100 for five, when he offered a catch to Jamie Porter off Wagner and after tea Peter Trego, Van der Merwe, Gregory and Jamie Overton all departed as Wagner turned the screw.

The left-armer took five wickets for 17 runs in 34 balls before Somerset's final pair of Leach and Craig Overton joined forces to build what could possibly be a match-defining partnership.

In the end, it was Wagner who took the final wicket, of Overton for 22, but not before the pair had put on a valuable 50 runs with Leach 27 not out to leave Somerset 254 runs ahead.

Tasked with making the game's highest score to win, Essex were 10 without loss at the close.

Day one report

Essex took control on the first day of their Specsavers County Championship game against Somerset in Taunton thanks to a combination of good bowling and careful batting.

Having bowled out their hosts for a modest 209, the visitors progressed to 60 for two at the close with former England Test captain Alastair Cook unbeaten on 39 and looking well set.

Batting first on a used wicket, Somerset looked in decent shape as openers Marcus Trescothick and Dean Elgar passed 50 in the 18th over.

However, after Cook held on to a smart diving catch at slip to dismiss Trescothick for 26 off the bowling of Ravi Bopara, Somerset never really recovered.

Trescothick, celebrating the beginning of his 25th season with the county, had looked in precious little trouble against an Essex attack led by seamers Jamie Porter and Neil Wagner. Sadly, for the lions' share of the 2,350-strong crowd at the Cooper Associates County Ground, his departure at 52 for one paved the way for some disappointing and often careless batting.

Captain Tom Abell, whose first run was applauded by the home supporters, perished shortly after, once again caught by Cook at slip off Bopara.

Then, despite a mini-revival up to lunch as Elgar and James Hildreth added 54 for the third wicket, the wheels came off during an afternoon session in which Somerset lost five wickets.

Elgar was first to go, stumped by Adam Wheater off the bowling of Ashar Zaidi for 34. Then Hildreth played one shot too many and was caught on the deep backward square leg boundary by Bopara off the bowling of Porter.

Steven Davies departed shortly after, bowled by off-spinner Simon Harmer for 12, leaving Peter Trego to temporarily rescue an increasingly difficult situation.

After losing sixth-wicket partner Lewis Gregory with the score on 143, caught at leg slip by Harmer off the bowling of Neil Wagner, Trego joined forces with Roelof van der Merwe with whom he added 33 for the seventh wicket.

Unfortunately, the members' joy was short-lived with Somerset eventually losing their final three wickets for 21 runs.

Trego departed for 48, off 85 balls at 188 for eight, leaving Zaidi to send back Jamie Overton for three and Wagner to snare Craig Overton for 10.

All five Essex bowlers enjoyed some success, with Zaidi perhaps the pick with three for 17 off 12 overs.

Having been forced off, albeit briefly, for bad light, Essex progressed nicely in the final 90 minutes of play, despite the loss of Nick Browne and then, off the final ball of the day, Tom Westley.