TOM Abell scored a fine unbeaten century as Somerset continued their winning start to pre-season with a three-wicket victory over Essex in their latest 50-over match in Abu Dhabi.

Abell began the day by winning the toss and choosing to field, which proved a wise decision as Somerset dismissed their opponents for 249.

The captain took 2-32 as the wickets were shared around, with Josh Davey (2-33), Dom Bess (2-34), Lewis Gregory (1-12), Paul van Meekeren (1-37), Jack Leach (1-37) and Ben Green (1-15) all claiming scalps.

Essex's top scorer was Sir Alastair Cook, who made 58 before being caught by Gregory from the bowling of Bess.

Bess then played a key role with the bat, supporting Abell in a century stand for the sixth wicket after Somerset had slipped to 105-5.

Bess fell for 40 but Abell stayed unmoved, hitting the winning runs to finish with 109 not out from 120 balls.

Abell said: “That’s two from two now and winning is always nice.

"It’s good to build up that momentum as we found out in the one-day competitions last year.

"I definitely think that we’re going in the right direction and I saw some really good things out there today from the lads. It’s been a really good day.

“We were really good with the ball and backed that up in the field.

"I think there’s a bit of room for improvement with the bat, but it was nice to get over the line today.

“It’s always nice to get a few runs especially because I’ve been a bit short recently.

"I think chasing that total allowed me to take a bit of time at the start and enabled me to build a partnership with Tregs [Peter Trego, who made 31] and then with Bessie.”