Somerset target win despite Carse ton for Durham

Brydon Carse's century against Somerset was his second in first-class cricket

Vitality County Championship Division One, Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton (day three)

Somerset 492: Abell 124, Rew 103, Banton 73; Parkinson 4-136 & 263-5 dec: Abell 56, Banton 46

Durham 336: Carse 104*, Raine 62, Lees 59; Leach 5-124 & 15-3

Durham (4 pts) need 405 runs to beat Somerset (8 pts) with seven wickets left

Match scorecard

Brydon Carse's century on his return from suspension was not enough to prevent Durham slipping towards a likely final-day County Championship Division One defeat by Somerset at Taunton.

The visitors resumed on day three on 272-6, adding 64 before being bowled out for 336.

Carse, In his first game back after serving a three-month ban for historic breaches of betting rules, made a valiant 104 and Ben Raine 62, while England spinner Jack Leach finished with 5-124.

Somerset declined to enforce the follow-on with a first-innings lead of 156 before declaring on 263-5 second time around after an hour's play was lost to bad light.

Durham then stumbled to 15-3 by stumps and face a backs-to-the-wall final day.

After resuming with Carse on 59 and Raine, the pair added 15, extending their seventh-wicket stand to 117.

But Raine edged Leach to Craig Overton at slip before Kasey Aldridge removed George Drissell and Daniel Hogg to leave Durham 305-9.

Carse went to his hundred with sixes off successive deliveries from Aldridge but before he could face another ball, last man Callum Parkinson was caught at silly point.

Andy Umeed made a rapid 28 as Somerset looked to set up the game before lofting a catch to long-off, while Tom Lammonby hit 36 before being bowled by Drissell and Tom Abell then added 36 with the patient Lewis Goldsworthy before he fell for 38.

Tom Banton raced to 46 off 28 balls before miscuing a catch to mid-off and Abell reached a confident 69-ball half-century before edging behind for 56.

James Rew and Archie Vaughan added a further 35 to take the lead past 400 before they went off for bad light - and Somerset declared.

Durham made a disastrous start against spin from both ends, Alex Lees calling for a quick single to cover off the first ball of the second over, bowled by Vaughan, and Ben McKinney was unable to beat Abell’s throw to wicketkeeper Rew.

Lees edged Leach to Overton at leg slip and departed for six before Vaughan bowled Scott Borthwick to leaving Durham with a massive uphill battle.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network