1.28pm It is difficult to work out who has had the worse month, Kent or Lancashire, writes Paul Weaver at Canterbury. Kent have lost two one-day cup finals and slipped from being championship contenders to one place above what footie folk would call the relegation zone after being beaten on a poor pitch at Durham.
Lancashire must feel grateful that they have escaped with draws from their last three home matches from Old Trafford, where they have been outplayed by Hampshire, Sussex and Yorkshire, which means that their slender title ambitions survive in what has been a damp and strange championship season.
Both captains have also been in the wars. Rob Key was tipped for an England comeback a few weeks ago, even as captain. Instead he has presided over the collapse of his team's fortunes and at the weekend he described their batting as "brainless" after a disappointing performance in the Friends Provident final against Essex at Lord's.
Lancashire captain Stuart Law, meanwhile, has apologised to the club after criticising his employers over the decision to dispense with Dominic Cork. Much to play for, then.
Kent won the toss and chose to bat and were doing well enough at 41 without loss. But they have just gone to lunch on 61 for three. Key was run out when Joe Denly's drive was deflected onto the stumps by the bowler, Sajid Mahmood, Denly was caught in the gully, cutting, and the in-form Martin van Jaarsveld was lbw to one that nipped back from Cork. There's a new look to this Lancashire side, who have brought back Mal Loye and Mark Chilton for Lou Vincent and the recently retired Iain Sutcliffe.
2pm After a season-and-a-half and 39 matches trying, Michael Lumb finally got a century for Hampshire this morning, writes Mike Averis at the Rose Bowl. The Yorkshire batsman, who joined Hampshire at the start of 2007, took almost five hours getting the job done, but after adding 52 to his overnight score he went to lunch undefeated on 101.
Last season the 28-year-old Lumb got to 50 eight times and had passed the half-century mark four times this season, top-scoring with 82 against Sussex back in April, without being able to convert. In fact the last time he had reached three figures in the championship was when, as a Yorkshire middle-order batsman, he made 105 against Hampshire in July 2006.
This time, because of back injuries to both John Crawley and Greg Lamb, he was pushed up the order, batting at No3 and came to the wicket when Hampshire had lost opener Michael Carberry with the score on 41. Overnight, with Hampshire at 113 for four, Lumb was on 49 and went on to reach his half-century, off 105 balls, during the third over of the day.
Ninety-three deliveries later he had passed three figures, but it wasn't easy going. There were some elegant drives and cuts through the offside and one forced boundary off the back foot before nerves set in once he had passed his previous best score of the season.
Andy Caddick, captaining instead of the injured Justin Langer, joined in the mind games, rotating his bowlers before he took the new ball with Lumb on 95. The former England bowler's second delivery was eased back past the bowler and up to the pavilion for a 15th boundary of the innings. The third was horribly mistimed, but flew safely between bowler and mid-off for two and celebrations on the stroke of lunch.
Hampshire, one off bottom place in the first division, had put on 83 in the session for the loss of 18-year-old Liam Dawson for 17 to an arm ball from Ian Blackwell, the pick of Somerset's bowlers both yesterday and so far today. Sean Ervine is 16 not out.
3.40pm Five sessions into the match and Somerset finally pulled alongside Nottinghamshire at the top of the first division, writes Mike Averis at the Rose Bowl, with Hampshire going for quick runs and losing five wickets in the session.
Michael Lumb, 101 at lunch, added six before a fired-up Andy Caddick found the thinnest of edges as Sean Ervine began to tuck into anything short, moving the run rate along to a near-frenetic six an over.
He and Dimitri Mascarenhas had added 46 in seven overs before two fine slip catches from Marcus Trescothick brought a pause in the excitement. First Ervine, on 69 including 12 boundaries, was snapped up, taken low down by Trescothick diving away to his left at second slip.
Even better, the former England opener went high and to his right to take an edge from David Balcombe, again two handed, off Caddick. The stand-in Somerset captain bowled for most of the session, his 11 overs after lunch worth two wickets, but costing 50 runs as Mascarenhas pushed on to 41 off 58 balls.
The Hampshire innings - and the three points Somerset needed - ended smack on tea with the score at 316 when Mascarenhas was caught on the crease, lbw to Ian Blackwell and James Tomlinson lost his off stump third ball.
