After Kyle Abbott destroys the top order, James Rew leads the Somerset recovery 116 runs are shared in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand by Kasey Aldridge.

On the rain-interrupted first day of the LV= County Championship encounter with Hampshire at Taunton, young guns James Rew and Kasey Aldridge batted Somerset out of a significant hole made by Hampshire seamer Kyle Abbott.

After winning the toss on what appeared to be a fine batting pitch, the hosts collapsed to 80 for 5 as the seasoned Abbott, who has a successful record against the Cidermen, collected 4 for 10 from seven overs and a run-out. Rew and Aldridge, who were out at the sixth wicket and had a combined age of just 41, then shown great maturity to put together an unbroken 116-run stand in 26 overs before the weather got the last word and Somerset was dismissed for 196.

Abbott had a final score of 4 for 20 for the day. Despite the fact that 39 overs total—including 19 at the end of the day—were dropped, the play nonetheless had advantages for both teams.

In preparation for Saturday’s Vitality Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston, Somerset rested Craig Overton, Lewis Gregory, Matt Henry, Ben Green, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore. As one of two specialized spinners—the other being Shoaib Bashir—Dom Bess returned to their team at the beginning of a brief loan from Yorkshire.

Dickson hit a superb straight drive with five runs added, but Abbott deflected the ball onto the stumps at the bowler’s end with George Bartlett out of position to cover. Bartlett, who was furious, left for a duck to bring the score to 41 for 3, and Abbott, playing an across a full delivery, trapped Dickson lbw for 21.

In his first Championship game of the year, Andy Umeed needed 19 balls to get going before recording a four to third man.

The 19-year-old Rew appeared more stable than some of the players higher in the order, which was not the first time, and the duo gradually started to repair the early harm. When Hampshire added spin at 50 for 4, Liam Dawson came from the River End, and his first pitch to Rew spun sharply from outside of the off-stump position.

At 12.55 p.m., it began to rain, and Somerset was 74 for 4 when the umpires called for an early lunch. Rew and Umeed had scored 33 runs for the fifth wicket. After the break, the game was briefly resumed before further continuous rain forced the thick coverings to be pulled over everyone. Before the 3.30pm resumption, 20 overs were lost.

After Umeed was forced to leave after needlessly dragging an Abbott short ball straight to Felix Organ at midwicket and scoring 16 runs, Somerset added 91 runs before lunch, which was served at 4.50 p.m.

On a faultless surface, Rew and 22-year-old Aldridge then batted well, with the former looking especially strong off his legs as he advanced to a 105-ball fifty that included seven fours. Rew once more showed off his enormous potential in red-ball cricket, and Aldridge contributed significantly to a partnership that was worth 85 by tea. Rew already has four Championship hundreds to his credit this season.

Aldridge scored his sixth boundary in the last session, a top-edged pull, and after facing 73 balls, reached an appealing half-century with four overthrows.

When the rain returned at 5.45 p.m., Rew had faced 142 balls and had continued to amass steadily with minimal alarms. Shortly after, the covers were lifted once more, but James Middlebrook and Ben Peverell, the umpires, decided to call off play for the day due to the continued drizzle and shadows cast by the floodlights.