Horton shines on tough day for Lancs.

Paul Horton scored 140 in Lancashire’s first innings on the opening day of their visit to Somerset to ensure that the visitors shared the spoils at Taunton in turgid batting conditions.

Lancashire closed on 221-6 after they had won the toss and elected to bat first, but Horton found little support for his cause, as Jos Buttler and Steven Croft both made 18 to share the next highest contribution.

Alex Davies fell for eight with the score at 30-1 in a very slow-moving morning session, but Lancashire entered lunch on 47-1, as they persevered on a green wicket with uneven bounce.

However, Usman Khwaja (9) revoked much of Lancashire’s hard work when he played a mistimed shot to Chris Jones off Alfonso Thomas with Lancashire 50-2.  Horton continued to dig in and was now joined by Ashwell Prince, who had made a career-best 257 not out in Lancashire’s last match, but he was only able to add five before he too was removed by Thomas (2-27).

With runs proving difficult to come by, these wickets had hampered Lancashire’s slow progress, but Croft played a useful anchor role to steady the innings. He too had enjoyed a career-best score against Northamptonshire in Lancashire’s innings victory, but the spin of George Dockrell (1-48) proved too much for him when Craig Kieswetter took a smart catch to remove the all-rounder for 18.

This wicket brought Buttler to the crease and his former county greeted him with a warm reception, but their joy was short lived as the England wicketkeeper smashed two straight sixes either side of tea to support Horton, who had reached his fourth Championship fifty of the season in 115 balls with successive boundaries.

Buttler’s two maximums were however momentary successes, as he struggled to dispatch the ball beyond the infield in his 58-ball stay at the crease and he was eventually bowled by Lewis Gregory, after he and Horton had added 53 for the fifth-wicket.

With Lancashire now 165-5, the hosts had fought their way back into contention with the ball, but Tom Smith (13*) was able to continue the much-needed assistance Horton required of his teammates and his patience was rewarded when he reached his first Championship century of the season in 209 deliveries.

Up until the point where he had registered his hundred, Horton had played with a clam and measured approach, but he knew that he had to be responsible for propelling Lancashire’s target towards something more commanding.

The Lancashire opener applied much more dynamic strokeplay in the closing stages of his innings, which contained 21 fours, before he was judged lbw off Gregory (2-39), ending a 54-run stand with Smith.

With a handful of overs left, this was an untimely wicket for Lancashire to lose, but for Somerset it was the scalp which put the match in the balance, just as Horton had started to look menacing at the crease, as Wayne White (1*) and Smith dealt with the remaining deliveries.