Watch highlights of day two
James Hildreth completed his first LV= County Championship century of the season as Somerset took a stranglehold on the second day of the Division One match with Middlesex at Taunton.
Unbeaten on 70 overnight, the 30-year-old former England Lions batsman was finally dismissed for 182, having faced 362 balls and hit 22 fours, as his side ran up 523 for nine declared.
Peter Trego made 91 and Craig Overton 63 on a pitch which had lost some green but still offered assistance to the bowlers.
Their efforts were put in perspective when Middlesex, battling to avoid relegation, slumped to 11 for four in reply, Trego and Alfonso Thomas claiming two wickets each.
They closed on 64 for seven, still requiring 310 to avoid being asked to follow-on. Eoin Morgan was 36 not out, while left-arm spinner Jack Leach took 2-3 from his six overs.
Somerset could only have dreamed of a 500-plus total when put in on the opening morning. But the Middlesex bowlers, who had bowled well without any luck on day one, were not as effective after the hosts resumed on 266 for five.
Trego reached a 59-ball half-century with three fours in an over from Tim Murtagh, while Hildreth reached 97 without giving a chance.
He was then dropped at mid-on by Dawid Malan off Ollie Rayner and went on to reach his ton off 253 deliveries, with 12 fours. The celebration indicated as much relief as jubilation after a largely disappointing championship campaign.
Trego looked set to follow his partner to three figures in much quicker time. But he was nine short when carelessly pulling Malan’s first ball of the day to midwicket where Morgan took the catch.
The powerful all-rounder had struck 13 fours in his 138-ball innings, sharing an entertaining stand of 170 in 50 overs with Hildreth.
It was 389 for six at lunch and the afternoon session brought more toil for the Middlesex attack as Overton moved smoothly to a half-century off 79 balls, with six fours and a six.
The total had passed 500 by the time the talented youngster fell lbw pushing forward to Joe Denly. By then the elegant Hildreth was playing effortlessly and it took an injudicious shot to end his seven-and-a-half hour innings as he attempted to reverse sweep Rayner and top-edged to wicketkeeper John Simpson.
When Tim Groenewald holed out to long-on off Denly, Somerset declared and tea was taken. After the interval Thomas and Trego soon got the ball swinging and seaming as it had done at the start of the game.
Chris Rogers was held at first slip by Hildreth off Trego and Sam Robson edged Thomas to Craig Kieswetter to make it nine for two.
With only two more runs added, Malan was pinned leg before on the back foot by Trego and Denly was caught behind driving at Thomas, who could then celebrate 50 championship wickets this summer.
After Morgan had engineered a partial recovery to 56 for four, Leach struck twice in his first over as Neil Dexter was caught behind cutting for 14 and Simpson unaccountably swept a catch straight to Overton at short fine-leg.
Overton broke down with what looked an ankle problem, aborting the fourth ball of his sixth over. But even that worked in Somerset’s favour as off-spinner Johann Myburgh bowled Rayner, aiming an extravagant drive, for a duck as he completed the over.
Hildreth said: "I was so nervous in the nineties because I have scored a century in all my previous seasons with Somerset and I knew that record might end if I failed to take this opportunity.
"I was dropped on 97 and I was so relieved. For some reason I changed my entire game as the hundred approached. I also wanted it more because it took me from 29 to 30 first-class centuries in my career.
"The ball was turning a lot at the end of the day so hopefully we can enforce the follow-on tomorrow and put Middlesex under more pressure."