Specsavers County Championship
Day 4
Essex 517-5 dec & 208-7 dec draw with Somerset 407 & 151-5

TOM Abell and Lewis Gregory ensured Somerset claimed a draw against champions Essex in Chelmsford, after some concern when they lost five wickets in their second innings.

The hosts resumed the day on 17-2, and eased past 100 courtesy of Nick Browne and Ravi Bopara.

Somerset, meanwhile, suffered more bad luck with injuries, as Josh Davey was forced out of the action with an apparent dislocated finger.

The breakthrough came from Dom Bess, the spinner taking two wickets in four balls to see off Bopara (58) and then Ryan ten Doeschate (4) to leave Essex 111-4.

Browne and Adam Wheater continued to build a lead, though, reaching 149 before another quick-fire double breakthrough from the visitors.

First, Bess collected his third wicket of the day, bowling Wheater (20), and then Peter Trego claimed the scalp of Alastair Cook (3), Jamie Overton with the catch on the boundary, as the home side sank to 152-6.

Trego also removed Browne (75), caught by George Bartlett, but Essex then added 28 runs in four overs before declaring on 208-7.

That left Somerset a target of 319 runs to win - or 50 overs to survive for the draw.

Steve Davies and Eddie Byrom set about the target with gusto, racing to 40-0 inside seven overs.

But Byrom was run out for 38, and Davies bowled by Harmer for 30, leaving the away team on 75-2 at tea, with 36.5 overs remaining.

The wickets kept falling as England and Belgium toiled away in Kaliningrad, as Harmer continued to chip away at the Somerset batting order.

James Hildreth (19) was bowled attempting a sweep, and after Bartlett was caught by Cook off Neil Wagner for 25, Harmer had Trego (2) caught, again by Cook, to leave the visitors on 113-5 with 30 overs left in the match.

If that had Somerset fans sweating, Tom Abell and Lewis Gregory certainly weren't.

They saw out the remaining overs with little drama, Abell reaching 21no and Gregory 15no as Somerset finished on 151-5.

The draw leaves Somerset third in the Division 1 table, as they prepare for their first T20 Blast match of the season, at home to Gloucestershire next Friday.