John Crawley, now 36 and in his benefit year, reached his first century since last July and this, coupled with an innings of 76 by Michael Lumb, enabled Hampshire to gain a 233-run lead over Somerset.

Had the conditions not differed markedly from the first day, this would have been sufficient to forge a victory. The pitch, though, was no longer damp, there was less swing and Marcus Trescothick was still in at the close.

So, too, was Justin Langer, whose determination to avoid a pair was evident from the manner in which he practised his movements and backswing at the crease during the tea interval. This after Neil Edwards had reached a half-century off 69 balls and promptly slapped a full toss from Greg Lamb to deep mid-on.

Trescothick, whose driving was as sweetly timed as it was productive, completed a half-century of his own from 100 balls. This included six fours and a six into the gap between the Botham Stand and an adjacent edifice rapidly taking shape as part of Somerset's ambitious £60 million redevelopment.

As with Trescothick, Crawley's Test career is a thing of the past. That is a shame. At times in this innings he was batting as if in his pomp, driving through the on side particularly effectively. Having been on 78 overnight, he completed his century with the same care he had shown while complementing Kevin Pietersen's aggression. There were 16 fours to his name, elegantly struck, when he edged Ben Phillips to second slip. Hamza Riazuddin, still at school and making his first-class debut, was one of Ian Blackwell's two victims.

Lumb's innings was also thoroughly watchful. The wicketkeeping was another matter: Nic Pothas developed a calf strain and had to bat with a runner at the end of the innings. His replacement behind the stumps, Michael Brown, had to leave the field with a finger injury and until Tom Burrows, the 2nd XI wicketkeeper, had arrived and changed, Crawley took the gloves himself.

All this made for a lengthy post-tea session, delaying the open evening at the 14th-century museum - which will survive the redevelopment - at which Trescothick, having removed his pads, made a speech glorifying Somerset cricket.

Scoreboard

Somerset: First Innings 126 (J A Tomlinson 8 for 46)

Second Innings

M E Trescothick not out 62

N J Edwards c Tomlinson b Lamb 50

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