Jack Haynes hit his third County Championship century of the season to lead Division One leaders Nottinghamshire into a strong position on the third day of the match with Somerset at Taunton.
Starting the day on 214-3 in reply to their opponents’ first innings score of 379, the visitors ran up 509 all out, Haynes leading the way with a career-best 157, while Ben Slater fell early for 124, Ishan Kishan made 77 and Lyndon James 66.
Jack Leach ended a tough day for Somerset’s bowlers on an unhelpful pitch with hugely creditable figures of 6-121 from 53.2 overs, displaying exemplary accuracy as Notts steadily built a lead of 130.
The hosts had to face one over before stumps and closed on 4-1, nightwatchman Matt Henry bowled by Liam Patterson-White’s final delivery.
Unbeaten on 34 overnight, Haynes’ hundred occupied 176 balls and featured 11 fours and a six.
It was just the innings his side required to first stave off any prospect of a significant first innings deficit and then build what could prove a match-winning advantage.
Leach opened Somerset’s attack at the start of play, bowling in tandem with off-spinner Archie Vaughan, and struck an early blow when Slater, having added only eight to his overnight score, aimed a back-foot forcing shot and edged a catch to wicketkeeper James Rew.
It proved Somerset’s only success before lunch, despite taking the second new ball at 238-4.
Haynes went to a 92-ball 50 and found a more aggressive partner in Kishan, who quickly dispatched a delivery from Matt Henry over fine leg for six to bring 250 up.
On 60, Haynes survived a confident shout for a catch behind off Leach, but it was a rare moment of alarm for Notts as they closed in on Somerset’s total.
By lunch, the scoreboard read 322-4, Kishan having just moved to a half-century off 83 balls, with four fours and two sixes.
The pattern continued in the afternoon session, Haynes pulling a boundary off Vaughan to bring up the century partnership. Somerset then had two difficult chances to make a much-needed breakthrough as Kishan offered low diving chances to wicketkeeper Rew down the leg side off Kasey Aldridge and Craig Overton at slip off Vaughan.
Notts looked set to collect a third batting point when moving to 347-4 with five balls remaining of the 110th over, but Aldridge prevented Kishan from scoring from any of them.
It was a minor setback as Haynes went to his eighth first-class hundred, and third of the season, with a boundary off a leg-side full toss from Aldridge.
The fifth-wicket stand was worth 138 when Kishan edged a delivery from Leach onto his front pad and presented a straightforward catch to Tom Abell at short-leg.
James had a scare with only a single to his same when edging Leach through the legs of wicketkeeper Rew standing up to the stumps. That was as good as it got for Somerset as tea was taken with Notts 431-5 and leading by 52 runs.
The final session saw James go to 50 off 87 balls before Haynes brought up his maiden 150, having faced 287 deliveries.
Haynes finally fell lbw trying to sweep Leach with the lead just short of 100 and Patterson-White was then stumped pushing forward to Vaughan before the tireless Leach made it a five-for, turning a ball from on leg stump to force Brett Hutton to edge to slip.
Farhan Ahmed departed to Vaughan for a duck and James edged a drive off Leach to slip, but by then it was Nottinghamshire’s highest ever total at Taunton.
ECB Reporters’ Network supported by Rothesay
