Taunton clash in the balance

Nottinghamshire ended the third day of an intriguing match at Taunton needing a further 149 runs to beat Somerset with seven second-innings wickets in hand.

The home side began the day on 114 without loss, 10 runs behind, and were bowled out for 335 - Marcus Trescothick making 81 and Justin Langer 73.

Andre Adams took 3-51 to add to his four first-innings victims and Charlie Shreck 3-71.

That left Nottinghamshire chasing 212 to win. But they lost Bilal Shafayat, Matt Wood and Mark Wagh in moving to 63 for three by the close and it would take a brave man to predict the outcome tomorrow.

Shafayat again kept wicket for the visitors, with Chris Read nursing a dislocated thumb sustained the previous day.

Alfonso Thomas took two late wickets to leave Somerset's game with Notts in the balance

They needed to break the Trescothick-Langer partnership and did so with the Somerset total on 136 when Shreck had Langer picked up at second slip.

The Somerset skipper had faced 108 balls and hit nine fours. Trescothick, unbeaten on 50 overnight, looked to be moving into top gear when he drove at a wide ball from Adams and was well caught above his head by Mark Ealham in the gully.

It was a key moment. The former England opener had struck 12 fours and a six, and with his departure Somerset’s hopes of building a big lead dipped considerably.

Their middle order flopped, with Zander de Bruyn, James Hildreth, Craig Kieswetter and Ian Blackwell contributing only 61 between them on a pitch lacking the excessive seam movement of the first two days.

Graeme Swann flighted his off-spinners cleverly to claim the wickets of de Bruyn and Hildreth, who played a shot to forget, as did Blackwell, caught at fine leg off Darren Pattinson.

Peter Trego (26), Alfonso Thomas (22), Steffan Jones (26) and Andy Caddick (20) did their best to make the tail wag, but Somerset looked 30 runs short of setting a testing target.

Nottinghamshire had reached 24 when Shafayat cut Jones’ first ball of the innings straight to Hildreth at point and departed for 10. The same over saw Wagh dropped by de Bruyn at gully, a sharp one-handed chance to his right.

Former Somerset batsman Wood made 24 before slashing at a wide one from Thomas and being given out caught behind, a decision he clearly did not agree with.

It was then 55 for three when Thomas beat Wagh for pace and bowled him on the back foot for 13. A see-saw contest was back in the balance.