SHORTLY after tea the sun was out and Leicestershire had been dismissed for 254. It gave Somerset an optimistic air that had been lacking in recent weeks, but it was soon dispelled as Stuart Broad, Leicestershire’s highly rated 19-year-old, produced an outstanding spell with the new ball.

Broad found a shade of away movement that, together with his consistent length, proved almost unplayable. In his third over, Cameron White was removed for a first-ball duck. In his next he had James Hildreth and Keith Parsons caught at second slip in three balls. With Mohammad Asif dismissing Matthew Wood, Somerset were 31 for four.

Paul Nixon had demonstrated that to score on this pitch required patience and occasional aggression. For Somerset, Ian Blackwell and Arul Suppiah set themselves to emulate Nixon’s half-century off 104 balls. Suppiah hit only four fours in his fifty, which came off 137 balls. Blackwell added 98 with him before falling to Darren Maddy for 49.

Nixon’s stand of 76 with Claude Henderson had done a similar recovery job for Leicestershire, carrying them from a perilous 155 for six to 231. Dinesh Mongia added only two to his overnight score.