Durham do the damage

Paceman Steve Harmison's five wickets helps to put Durham on top at Taunton

Steve Harmison brought up a half-century of wickets this summer to front Durham's charge for LV County Championship supremacy at Taunton.

Paceman Harmison, released by England for the domestic season run-in, took his haul of first-class victims to 53 with a return of five for 84 against Division One title rivals Somerset.

The 29-year-old's efforts helped Durham dismiss their hosts for 224 on a relatively benign surface.

Second-placed Somerset then struck once in response but their northern opponents, seven points and two places adrift, held the whip hand having wiped off 45 runs of their deficit when bad light intervened for a second time in the final hour.

Harmison triumphed in his new-ball battle against former England team-mate Marcus Trescothick and wrapped things up in a haste in the evening session after the relative stability of 177 for four was unpicked.

In between only Zander de Bruyn with a determined 76 threatened to increase Somerset's batting point bounty above one.

There was just enough life in the pitch to encourage the extra pace of Harmison early on and left-hander Trescothick was given a working over.

Having just survived the previous ball when a top-edged hook flew for six, he was well-held by Callum Thorp, moving to his left at third slip.

Trescothick's other boundary in a score of 18 was also behind the wicket as a Harmison delivery of extra bounce, in just the third over, spiralled off the shoulder of the bat and over the head of wicketkeeper Phil Mustard.

It was a torrid hour in the middle for Trescothick, in fact, as he edged swing bowler Thorp short of second slip and mis-hit a cut off Harmison which looped over the head of mid-off.

The luck of his opening partner Justin Langer, who earlier won the toss, ran out when he crashed an inside edge into his stumps off Thorp.

Somerset's captain had survived confident leg before wicket appeals from the first delivery of the match when Harmison struck him on the knee roll.

Marcus Trescothick sways out of the way of a Steve Harmison bouncer as Somerset struggle

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And the surprise was it took Durham three-quarters-of-an-hour to separate the opening pair.

One golden chance had already been squandered when gloveman Mustard floored a straightforward catch offered by Langer, on 27, off Thorp.

But he added just four more runs before an ambitious drive diverted the ball into his stumps.

Harmison's single reward in an initial nine-over burst was the prize scalp of Trescothick but his second spell from the old pavilion end accounted for James Hildreth via an uncertain prod which cannoned the ball into the stumps off an inside edge.

Somerset were heavy contributors to their own downfall in fact and the soft dismissal of de Bruyn, whose half-century came from only 75 deliveries, unhinged their defiance.

South African de Bruyn, one of four Test players in the home top six, perished moments before tea when he attempted to steal a third leg-bye to fine leg, after Peter Trego was flicked on the pad by a delivery from spinner Paul Wiseman, and Ben Harmison's throw comfortably beat his lunge to the batsman's end.

It quickly followed the demise of Ian Blackwell, who paid for a defensive push at a delivery sent down from around the wicket by Harmison junior.

Among Somerset's wide range of dismissals, Wes Durston charged spinner Paul Wiseman with fatal consequences and leg-spinner Michael Munday chipped lamely to midwicket.

Harmison's quintet was completed when he yorked Peter Trego, the same fate which earlier befell Alfonso Thomas.

Without former England spearhead Andrew Caddick, who was omitted on selection grounds, Somerset set about early wickets of their own.

Only one was delivered, however, as Charl Willoughby produced a beauty which Mark Stoneman nicked to first slip.