THE sun shone in Somerset today and the hosts were in generous mood. It didn’t look that way on arrival at the ground as it seemed they had prepared a result pitch following their high-scoring stalemate against Warwickshire at Taunton two weeks ago.

The strip was green and well-grassed, which normally favours the seamers. Surely Somerset couldn’t be backing their attack against Durham’s?

It was a gamble which required them to win the toss, but when they did so and chose to field the bowlers responded with a pile of dross. Then when they improved after lunch four catches went down.

The last two were very expensive as they prevented Somerset from turning the screw after reducing Durham from 98 for no wicket to 119 for three.

Gordon Muchall was dropped on nought and Dale Benkenstein on five, but at tea they had put on 109 to take the score to 228 for three.

Without wishing to take anything away from the efforts of Michael Di Venuto and Mark Stoneman, they would have expected to face better bowling in the Durham Senior League than the wayward rubbish purveyed by Somerset in the morning.

With Sunderland lad Mark Turner among their casualties, the hosts handed a debut to the 6ft 5in Yorkshire and Kent reject David Stiff. He has been given a contract until the end of May, but on this evidence it will not be extended.

From virtually the only straight balls he bowled Stoneman twice drove him straight down, while Di Venuto made a 55-ball half-century before he departed for 53. Left-armer Charl Willoughby finally pitched one of his away swingers in the right place and Di Venuto edged straight to first slip, where the ball rebounded out of Justin Langer’s hands for Marcus Trescothick to complete the catch at second slip.

Will Smith survived a sharp chance to a diving Arul Suppiah at cover to remain unbeaten on seven at lunch. He added only one before being dropped at second slip, only to fall lbw to Alfonso Thomas two balls later.

Stiff produced a beauty out of the blue to have Stoneman caught behind for 38, but against the improved bowling Muchall and Benkenstein rode their luck and dug in before they began to flourish. Both completed their half-centuries straight after tea.