County Championship: Somerset bailed out by lower order against Warwickshire

Chris Rushworth was the pick of the Warwickshire bowlers with 4-33

Somerset were bailed out by their lower order after choosing to bat against Warwickshire on the opening day at Edgbaston.

After rain wiped out the first session, the visitors plummeted to 37-6 against a disciplined seam attack led by the evergreen Chris Rushworth (4-33).

But captain Tom Abell (22) and Lewis Gregory (39) added 56 for the seventh wicket and, after they perished with the total still short of 100, Neil Wagner (55*) and Josh Davey (28*) added an unbroken 84.

The comfort with which the ninth-wicket pair scored their runs must have embarrassed their top-order colleagues.

Chris Rushworth and Olly Hannon-Dalby started this match with 100 County Championship wickets between them this season and took just seven overs to lift that tally to 103.

Tom Lammonby offered no shot to a straight ball from Rushworth, who also had Lewis Goldsworthy taken at first slip by Rob Yates, and Sean Dickson fell lbw to Hannon-Dalby.

Both change bowlers then struck in their first over as Andy Umeed edged Ed Barnard to Will Rhodes at second slip and James Rew was caught in two minds on a pull shot and top-edged a return catch to Craig Miles.

When Barnard changed ends, he took just one ball to cause further damage. This time it was Tom Banton's turn to press the self-destruct button when he left a ball that knocked out off-stump.

At 37-6, Somerset were in danger of recording a new Championship low against Warwickshire.

But falling short of the 50 all out at Edgbaston in 1951 and Taunton in 2011 was avoided after Abell found support from Gregory, whose forceful 39 included eight fours, before he lifted Rushworth to extra cover.

The former Durham seamer quickly added his 655th first-class wicket when Abell edged to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.

That left Somerset on 96-8 but Wagner and Davey batted with freedom to post a half-century stand in 69 balls, and Wagner reached a fluent 47-ball fifty with a four hammered through the covers off Rhodes.

The partnership remained intact and ready to push on in the morning to challenge Somerset's record ninth-wicket stand against Warwickshire - 180 by Steven Davies and Jamie Overton at Edgbaston in 2020.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.