Robert Key, like other captains before him, was taken in by the seemingly underprepared appearance of a pitch at Taunton situated well away from the centre of the square. Phil Frost is too savvy a groundsman for that and so it proved. Marcus Trescothick and Justin Langer began with a century partnership, Zander de Bruyn, Peter Trego and Ian Blackwell made sizeable scores and then Key and two other batsmen fell cheaply when Kent batted.

Any one of the Somerset batsmen could, even should, have made a century. Each in a different way, though, got himself out. Perhaps that was one reason why Brian Rose, the Somerset director of cricket, was at Uxbridge to watch Nick Compton, the Middlesex batsman. In fairness, though, De Bruyn had made centuries in his two previous matches and that, followed by an innings of 81 including several punchy drives, emphasised why he has moved up the order.

Trescothick, like Trego later in the day, took to the off spin of James Tredwell, driving him for two effortless sixes. By the fourth over, when a deep cover point was positioned, Key would have known he had erred. He was fortunate that Langer and De Bruyn were caught down the leg side off their gloves and that Blackwell, who was in characteristically expansive mood, had an unnecessary smear at Tredwell.

Key was not helped in that Yasir Arafat bowled only four overs before going off with stomach trouble. At one stage, when Trescothick had been caught at first slip not moving his feet and James Hildreth went cheaply trying to square drive a rising ball from Martin Saggers, the Kent captain might not have been altogether displeased with his morning's work. He even had six slips and a gully in place for Hildreth at the start of his innings.

But that was before Trego hit Tredwell for three sixes, one over the hospitality boxes and into the car park, and De Bruyn started to show that Kolpak signings can be a force for good. Somerset were finally dismissed for 427 and there was sufficient time for Kent to lose three wickets, Charl Willoughby having Joe Denly leg-before in the first over of their innings and Key caught by Craig Kieswetter, the wicketkeeper. Saggers, the nightwatchman, was yorked by Steffan Jones.

Scoreboard

Somerset: First Innings
*J L Langer c Jones b Joseph 50
M E Trescothick c Kemp b Saggers 58
Z de Bruyn c Jones b Saggers 81
J C Hildreth c Jones b Saggers 4
P D Trego c Tredwell b Walker 65
I D Blackwell c Denly b Tredwell 55
C Kieswetter c Key b Tredwell 35
B J Phillips c and b Joseph 22
P S Jones c Kemp b McLaren 16
A C Thomas c Kemp b McLaren 2
C M Willoughby not out 0
Extras (lb 2, w 1, nb 36) 39

Total (88.5 overs) 427

Fall of wickets: 1-109, 2-113, 3-124, 4-244, 5-314, 6-381, 7-389, 8-421, 9-421.

Bowling: Arafat 4-0-22-0; Saggers 18-4-84-3; Joseph 17-2-96-2; McLaren 16.5-2-80-2; Tredwell 21-5-94-2; Walker 8-1-34-1; Van Jaarsveld 4-2-15-0.

Kent: First Innings
J L Denly lbw b Willoughby 0
*R W T Key c Kieswetter b Willoughby 8
M J Saggers b Jones 5
J C Tredwell not out 0
Extras 0

Total (3 wkts, 4.2 overs) 13

M van Jaarsveld, M J Walker, J M Kemp, G O Jones, Yasir Arafat, R McLaren and R H Joseph to bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-13, 3-13.

Bowling: Willoughby 2.2-0-6-2; Jones 2-0-7-1.

Umpires: P Willey and S A Garratt.