As dark grey clouds burst overhead, the lazy comparison to events inside the Hampshire dressing-room became hard to resist. Somerset could not have chosen a better time to take on a side struggling for first division survival and will be hoping desperately that the weather holds over the next three days.

Two wickets apiece for Peter Trego and then Charl Willoughby, in the space of six balls, handed them the early initiative.

Giles White, the second XI coach, has taken charge of Hampshire here, even though Paul Terry, the first-team manager, is not due to leave until the end of the season. A switch at this delicate stage hints that talk of disharmony within the ranks has substance. Chris Adams, the Sussex captain, has said he is flattered at speculation linking him with the position, but Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach, is also interested.

It took 18 overs before Trego, an imaginative cricketer who makes things happen, split the opening stand and then produced a Twenty20-style slower ball that completely bamboozled Jimmy Adams. Bounce is generally of the tennis ball variety, but Ian Blackwell had already beaten the bat with his left-arm spin.

In the absence of John Crawley and Michael Brown, who have back injuries, Michael Lumb showed the patience required of an established batsman. But Chris Benham cursed himself after dragging Willoughby on to his stumps and Nic Pothas then drove to extra cover to the delight of Andrew Caddick, standing in as Somerset captain for Justin Langer, another suffering back trouble.

Scoreboard

Hampshire: First Innings
M A Carberry lbw b Trego 18
J H K Adams c and b Trego 18
M J Lumb not out 49
C C Benham b Willoughby 15
N Pothas c Thomas b Willoughby 0
L A Dawson not out 5
Extras (lb 6, nb 2) 8

Total (4 wkts, 50.1 overs) 113

*A D Mascarenhas, S M Ervine, D J Balcombe, Imran Tahir and J A Tomlinson to bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-41, 2-60, 3-93, 4-93.

Bowling: Caddick 7-3-16-0; Willoughby 18.1-3-47-2; Thomas 7-4-9-0; Trego 7-3-18-2; Blackwell 11-3-17-0.

Somerset: M E Trescothick, A V Suppiah, Z de Bruyn, J C Hildreth, W J Durston, I D Blackwell, C Kieswetter, P D Trego, A C Thomas, *A R Caddick, C M Willoughby.

Umpires: R K Illingworth and J W Lloyds.

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