Somerset and Northants share points

Rain at Taunton meant only five overs were possible between Somerset and Northants who remain joint top of their group

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Somerset and Northants share top spot in the Midlands/Wales/West Group after their Twenty20 Cup clash at Taunton was abandoned with only five overs bowled.

Both teams took one point to be level on 11 after eight games, one ahead of Warwickshire and Worcestershire, who face each other in their penultimate match tomorrow.

A heavy downpour ended proceedings after the players had already been off the field once because of a lighter shower when 2.2 overs had been bowled.

Thunder and lightning accompanied the second interruption and, although the rain soon stopped, the outfield was deemed too wet for any further play by umpires Jeremy Lloyds and Richard Illingworth at 7.45pm.

The Steelbacks will feel the more hard done by, having made a rapid start to their innings after winning the toss. They raced to 49 without loss in the five overs possible, Ian Harvey unbeaten on 27 and Rob White 21.

Harvey often enjoyed himself at Taunton in his Gloucestershire days and was again a thorn in Somerset’s side.

Mark Turner, recalled to the Sabres line-up in place of Ben Phillips, having performed well in the corresponding match at Northampton, was the bowler to suffer most.

His only over, the fourth of the game, went for 19, with the sequence four, six, dot, four, one, four. Harvey collected 15 of those and looked in dangerous form.

Charl Willoughby had opened with an over costing just two, but from then on Harvey and White plundered the bowling to put their side in an apparently strong position.

The abandonment was a big disappointment for a crowd of around 5,500, many of whom were still in the ground when the umpires made their decision.