Tea Report: Somerset v Kent

Tea on the first day of four (Kent won toss) Somerset 314-5 (65 overs) v Kent

Looks like Kent have been deceived by the colour of the pitch here. Rob Key clearly reckoned there would be something in it for his bowlers but it has generally played pretty well, which is usually the case at the County Ground, and Somerset have responded to being asked to bat by scoring at not far short of five an over.

The only surprise, perhaps, is that no individual batsman has got close to a hundred on his own yet.

This morning, Marcus Trescothick and Justin Langer both posted half-centuries this morning only to be out soon afterwards. Peter Trego has followed suit this afternoon, hitting seven fours and three sixes from the first 69 balls. But he fell for 65, caught low down at mid-on by James Tredwell off Matt Walker.

Tredwell has taken the brunt of the big-hitting, with Trego taking Trescothick's lead in blasting the off-spinner straight back down the ground, clearing the fence three times to Tresco's two. In one instance, indeed, the ball soared over the Old Pavilion into the car park.

Zander de Bruyn joined in the fun, smashing Tredwell for another maximum over long on, and it looked like he might buck the trend. The South African Kolpak batsman was looking for his third Championship century in a row and there did not seem any reason why he shouldn't achieve it.

On 81, however, Martin Saggers found some extra bounce with a ball angled into his body and de Bruyn could not avoid edging a catch to wicketkeeper Geraint Jones.

It is hard work for Kent, who are a bowler short with Yasir Arafat off the field because of stomach cramps.