County Championship: Somerset lower order punish Leicestershire

Josh Davey's unbeaten 75 surpassed his previous-best first-class score of 72

Somerset's lower-order batsmen put them in control on day two of their match against Leicestershire at Taunton.

The hosts, resuming on 242-7, took advantage of lacklustre Foxes bowling, with Roelof van der Merwe going for 76.

Marchant de Lange thrashed 75 off 63 balls and Josh Davey added an unbeaten 75 as Somerset declared on 461-9.

Lewis Hill, Rishi Patel and Marcus Harris all fell before the visitors reached 95-3 and rain brought an early end to the day's proceedings.

Van der Merwe and Davey began the day under cloudy skies on 18 and four respectively, and they added 30 runs to the overnight total before Leicestershire took the second new ball.

Ed Barnes eventually had Van der Merwe caught at long-on, ending a 102-run partnership for the eighth wicket.

But the scoring continued at pace as a big-hitting De Lange reached a 38-ball half-century before lunch, and he had cleared the ropes six times by the time he was also caught at long-on.

The ninth-wicket stand had been worth 120 runs, and Davey then notched his best first-class score - in an innings which included 11 fours - before Somerset declared and set their seamers to work.

Skipper Craig Overton dropped Hill on 14 at third slip off Jack Brooks, yet responded by pinning the opener lbw with the first ball of the following over.

After Brooks and Davey had claimed a wicket apiece - with Overton holding a more difficult chance to send Patel back to the pavilion - Foxes captain Colin Ackermann dug in, receiving solid support from Josh Inglis in an unbroken stand of 35.