Petersen shines against old teammates at Taunton

Alviro Petersen scored 83 against his former county to guide Lancashire to a positive opening day against Somerset in their Specsavers County Championship encounter at Taunton.

Petersen and Lancashire captain Steven Croft (71*) added 125 runs for the fourth wicket, as the Red Rose county seized the advantage to reach stumps on a healthy total of 295/4. The South-African batsman, who scored 1,167 runs in 17 first-class appearances for Somerset, used his knowledge of the ground to good use, as he guided Lancashire to a strong day after they had decided to bat first.

Two wickets for left-arm spinner Jack Leach (2-67) either side of lunch accounted for both of Lancashire's opening batsman, as Somerset attempted to restore parity to the match after the visitors established a sturdy platform.

Karl Brown (47) and Haseeb Hameed put on 56 runs for the opening stand, as they took advantage of the lack of penetration on offer from the Somerset seam bowlers. Neither batsmen enjoyed sparkling form in Lancashire's victory over Nottinghamshire, but both players showed determination not to lose their wicket on a grey and overcast day in the west country.

Hameed progressed to 29 before he mistimed an off-side drive to Tom Abell in the covers, who took a good low catch to give Leach and Somerset a much-needed breakthrough. Somerset struggled to get on top of the opposition, with Lancashire enjoying the opportunity to bat first on a typically flat and true Taunton wicket.

The Red Rose made it to lunch without losing any further wickets, but Leach returned after the interval to deny Brown his first fifty of the season with a plumb lbw. Leach sent down a quicker and straighter delivery to deceive Brown, who made a vast improvement on his two single-figure scores from his first outing of the season against Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford.

Luke Procter (26) and Petersen came together with the score at 87/2, hoping to build another strong partnership after the pair helped Lancashire to an eight-wicket win in their first match of the four-day campaign. They added a further 38 runs to the total in the afternoon session, with Leach persisting in his efforts to dismantle the Lancashire top order single-handedly.

Marcus Trescothick gifted Procter a lifeline when he failed to hold on to a catch at second slip, with Procter on 16 at the time, as Jamie Overton looked on with despair at this missed opportunity. However, Somerset didn't have to wait too much longer to see the back of Procter, who was trapped lbw shuffling across his stumps to Tim Groenewald (1-35) with the score at 125/3.

Somerset had the game in the balance with this wicket, but their attritional approach started to wear thin, with the ball getting older and Petersen proving to be far too good for the Somerset bowlers. The South-African batsman, who had two seasons at Taunton as an overseas player, established Lancashire's best partnership of the season to date, ably assisted by captain Croft, as they added 125 runs for the fourth wicket to frustrate the home side.

Lancashire took advantage of the older ball, with Somerset's bowling attack deteriorating in energy and confidence with every boundary acquired by Petersen and Croft in their important partnership. Initially, it was Petersen who caught the eye, as he advanced down the wicket to send a delivery from Leach into the stands.

Petersen was keen to send a message of command to the left-arm spinner after he had taken two quick wickets for the home side and Lancashire's positive approach in the evening session allowed them to take complete control of the first day, as the Red Rose added 124 runs in the final session. The fifty partnership came shortly after tea, with Croft deciding to open his shoulders and make Somerset pay, vindicating his decision to bat first at the start of the day.

The Lancashire skipper crunched two sixes in his innings of 71 not out, the first of which secured the first batting point for the visitors, before Croft smothered Leach for another maximum over long-on. Petersen moved to his first half-century of the season in 95 balls, adding to his impressive display against Nottinghamshire in the previous game, to suggest that he is ready to step up to the mark in four-day cricket this season in the absence of compatriot, Ashwell Prince.

Somerset's confidence continued to decline as Petersen and Croft secured a hundred-partnership with relative ease, dispatching erratic and ill-disciplined bowling to the fence on a regular basis. Croft replicated the efforts of his batting partner by reaching fifty, although his two huge sixes allowed him to reach this milestone marginally faster in 89 deliveries.

Petersen had his sights set on the first Lancashire century of the season against his former county, but he failed to reach three figures with Craig Overton (1-65) trapping him lbw for 83, as Lancashire progressed to 250/4 courtesy of a 125-run partnership between Petersen and Croft.

Lancashire continued to make steady progress in ever-deteriorating light, as Croft and Alex Davies (32*) added another 45 runs for the fifth wicket, before bad light threatened to curtail the first day. The players left the field for a short while owing to the poor light, before returning for five more overs, as the visitors reached stumps on 295/4.