Somerset v Surrey: Rain-affected match ends in draw at Taunton

The weather was much brighter at Taunton on Thursday after Wednesday's washout

Somerset and Surrey's rain-affected County Championship match ended in an inevitable draw at Taunton.

With Wednesday washed out, Somerset needed 19 wickets on day four to stand any chance of forcing victory.

The hosts only took nine as Surrey, who resumed their first innings 367 behind on 69-1, finished on 345 all out.

Young spinner Dom Bess impressed for Somerset, claiming 5-101, while Surrey opener Mark Stoneman made 67 on the day he was named in England's Test squad.

The 30-year-old replaced Keaton Jennings for the first of three Tests against West Indies, starting 17 August.

Once the visitors passed the follow-on target of 287, it was a case of the batsmen seeing how many batting bonus points they could get.

The game ended at just before 17:00 BST when Stuart Meaker was stumped attempting to take Surrey beyond 350, to give 20-year-old Bess his fifth wicket.

Somerset missed out on winning their maiden County Championship title to Middlesex on the final day last season, but this campaign has been a real struggle for Tom Abell's side.

They have only won one of their nine matches, and are 23 points from safety with five fixtures remaining.

Somerset's next game, starting on 5 September, could go a long way to deciding their fate as they play fellow strugglers Warwickshire at Edgbaston.