Watch highlights of day one
Craig Kieswetter celebrated his return to LV= County Championship cricket by digging Somerset out of a hole on the opening day of the Division One match against Middlesex at Taunton.
Coming in at 119 for four on a green pitch, the 26-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman hit a typically entertaining 69 off 80 balls, with 10 fours and a six, sharing a fifth-wicket stand of 84 with James Hildreth, who ended up 70 not out, as the hosts recovered to 266 for five.
It was Kieswetter's first appearance since sustaining a broken nose and shattered eye socket when a David Willey bouncer squeezed between the grille and peak of his helmet against Northamptonshire in mid-July.
He showed no lack of confidence against the short ball, pulling Toby Roland-Jones over deep-square for six early in his innings and dealing effectively with several other lifting deliveries.
Middlesex, needing 13 points from their last two games to be sure of avoiding relegation from Division One, could rue not having made further inroads, having won the toss in excellent bowling conditions.
Roland-Jones went past the outside edge consistently from the River End after Marcus Trescothick had surrendered his wicket to a loose cut shot off Gurjit Sandhu in the sixth over.
It was 22 for two when Nick Compton, on nine, played what looked an immaculate forward defensive shot to Tim Murtagh, only to see his off stump knocked out of the ground.
Roland-Jones, who had replaced Sandhu, sent down seven luckless set of sixes for 11 runs, Murtagh bowled five maidens in his opening nine-over spell, while Neil Dexter was even harder to get away and had Tom Abell dropped on four by Eoin Morgan at third slip.
Johann Myburgh needed a fair measure of fortune to reach lunch, which was taken at 63 for two, unbeaten on 30. But he had added only four to his score after the interval when caught by diving wicketkeeper John Simpson off Roland-Jones.
Abell, who was shelled in the slips again on 28, also played and missed on numerous occasions. But the young batsman marked only his third championship game with nine fours on his way to a valuable 50 off 123 balls.
Luck evened out when he was dismissed with the total on 119. Hildreth drilled a drive back at Dexter, who managed to deflect the ball onto the stumps at the bowler's end with Abell out of his ground.
With the sun having broken through and the ball lost its shine, Kieswetter and Hildreth were able to play their shots and brought up the 200 with few alarms.
Kieswetter was the more aggressive and looked well set when attempting to sweep off-spinner Ollie Rayner as the second new ball approached and being bowled around his legs.
That was 203 for five and Somerset added seven before the fresh cherry was taken. Hildreth went on to what was only his fifth half-century of a disappointing championship season off 130 balls, with six fours, batting with increasing assurance.
Peter Trego might have been run out by Dexter in the closing overs when he had made 20, but the throw missed the stumps and his stand with Hildreth was worth 63 at the close.