Taunton wicket improved for bowlers

Flatter than a pancake ironed by an anal retentive with the world's most accurate spirit level.

Taunton's always been kind to batsmen. 'Enough's enough', said Somerset last autumn and promptly spent £10,000 on a new square. 'Juice it up for the bowlers,' they added - 'let's see some wickets.'

The County Championship scores so far this season read as follows:

Middlesex: 600-4
Somerset: 850-7
Middlesex: 209-2
Derbyshire: 801-8

There have been twelve individual scores of over a hundred - one was a double hundred (Simon Katich) and one a treble (Justin Langer).

We're confident that it'll become unplayable when the clouds roll in.