Willoughby at the double

Charl Willoughby took two wickets in five balls to give Somerset the edge on a rain-hit first day in the LV County Championship Division One match at the Rose Bowl.

The South African pace bowler dismissed Chris Benham with the first ball of the 45th over and then induced Nic Pothas to drive to Alfonso Thomas in the covers.

Hampshire ended the day 113 for four, with rain driving the players from the field for the last time after one ball of the 51st over.

At that stage Michael Lumb was unbeaten with 49 and teenager Liam Dawson had scored five.

Hampshire captain Dimitri Mascarenhas chose to bat first on a slow wicket when play got under way two and a half hours late and with 24 overs wiped from the day's allocation.

Somerset were without their captain Justin Langer, who was ruled out by a back injury, and were led instead by former England bowler Andrew Caddick.

Charl Willoughby's double breakthrough checked Hampshire's momentum

The visitors drafted in batsman Arul Suppiah in place of Langer, while Hampshire gave opportunities to Jimmy Adams - making his first championship appearance since May - and England Under-19 all-rounder Dawson.

Paul Terry, who is standing down as Hampshire first team manager at the end of the season, was absent for the third successive game, leaving assistant Giles White to take charge of the side.

Adams and Michael Carberry put on 47 for the first wicket in 18 overs before Carberry, who had made 18, was leg before to Peter Trego.

Trego struck again with the score on 60 in the 26th over when a slower delivery deceived Adams and lured him into offering a return catch, which the bowler held one-handed diving forward.

Lumb and Benham took the score to 93 before Willoughby made his important contribution.

Benham had scored 15 when he got an inside edge and the normally reliable Pothas followed at the same score to leave Hampshire reeling.

But Lumb, in circumspect form, edged towards his half-century as he and Dawson took Hampshire through to stumps.

Before the start of play Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove awarded pace bowler James Tomlinson his county cap as reward for taking 51 championship wickets this season.

"Receiving my county cap today is a dream come true and something I have worked incredibly hard for," said Tomlinson.

"I have enjoyed delivering a consistent performance on the field and I will continue to concentrate during this extremely crucial time of the season.”