Bowlers prosper as batsmen fail to adapt

Nottinghamshire 55 for 3 trail Somerset 138 (de Bruyn 64, Fletcher 4-38) by 83 runs
Scorecard

Unusually for a modern Championship match - though not necessarily so for Trent Bridge - the bowlers dominated the first day - thirteen wickets fell as Somerset were dismissed for 138 and Nottinghamshire closed on 55 for 3.

Ever since the high-rise stands were erected at the ground, bowlers have been able to swing the ball in most conditions, and a bit of seam movement as well meant that few batsmen were able to exhibit their talents. Pitch inspector David Hughes exonerated the surface, and the low scoring so far adds weight to the view that many of today's most prolific batsmen tend to be 'flat-track bullies' who lack the technique to cope when conditions favour the bowlers.

Somerset won the toss on an overcast day and decided to bat, a decision they were soon to regret. Perhaps they were encouraged by the absence, through minor injuries, of Nottinghamshire's 2009 spearhead, Charlie Shreck and Darren Pattinson. But Ryan Sidebottom, who scarcely played for the team last season, and Luke Fletcher took the new ball and Somerset were in trouble almost from the start.

Sidebottom immediately moved the ball away from the left-handed Marcus Trescothick, his first five deliveries all passing through to the keeper, and this was to be the characteristic of his bowling today: he was not easy to score from, but too often he failed to force the batsman to play. Fletcher, on the other hand, was on the spot right from the start.

Aril Suppiah was the first to go, poking just outside the off stump and falling to a catch at the wicket. Trescothick put Sidebottom through the covers for a handsome four and was beginning to open up when he drove at Fletcher and was superbly caught by Andre Adams at third slip for 13, reducing Somerset to 13 for 2.

Runs were at a premium, and Justin Langer took almost 30 minutes to get off the mark, and after an hour at the crease had only 3. He lost James Hildreth, beaten and bowled by Fletcher for 2, and 20 runs did not appear on the board until the 15th over. Fletcher was rested after a fine opening spell of 8-4-13-3. Langer finally fell to Adams, who made a ball fly from the shoulder of the Australian's bat to backward point, having scored 11 off 58 balls.

The one batsman to succeed in this situation was Zander de Bruyn, although even he struggled at the start. Soon after lunch Somerset were 61 for 6, but then Omari Banks proved a worthy partner for the South African. Early in their partnership came the loudest cheer of the day, at the announcement over the loudspeaker that Kevin Pietersen had been dismissed first ball in the Test; he is obviously remembered well at Trent Bridge, if not necessarily warmly.

The pair more than doubled the score, with the conditions easing slightly, and de Bruyn reached a very creditable fifty with a well-placed on-drive for four off Mark Ealham, who was the least effective of the four seamers.

Banks chose his shots well, but suffered a nasty body blow at the hands of Sidebottom, and dragged the next ball on to his stumps, departing for 28. De Bruyn went on to 64 before, on the stroke of tea, he played an indeterminate stroke and was caught at the wicket. Sidebottom had taken three wickets, but he was unable to produce the straight ball necessary to dismiss Charl Willoughby, one of the most hapless of No. 11s, despite having a full over to do so.

The innings closed when Adams took his second fine slip catch of the day to dismiss David Stiff for 9. Sidebottom and Adams took three wickets each, but the best of them all was Fletcher, who seized the initiative for his team right from the start and thoroughly deserved his four wickets.

Somerset do not really have the bowlers at present to take full advantage of helpful conditions. Willoughby was the best of the three seamers tried, but even he tended to bowl too short and off line at times; neither Ben Phillips nor Stiff came to terms with the conditions at all.

Still, they did manage to take three wickets before bad light brought an early close, with Alex Hales trapped lbw by Willoughby, unwisely padding up without offering a shot to his first ball. Mark Wagh was dropped on 1 by Trescothick, who has been fallible in the slips of late, but was out for 10, while Samit Patel was not happy to be given out lbw for 11. Bilal Shafayat battled his way through to finish unbeaten with 19, and Notts can claim a slight advantage at the close - as long as their batsmen can score enough runs against bowling much less capable than their own.