SOMERSET had four players notch half-centuries as they recovered from 5-2 to end day one on 374-8 against Yorkshire at Headingley.

Azhar Ali (89), James Hildreth (81), Steve Davies (80) and Lewis Gregory (60) all piled on the runs to put their side into a strong position in the County Championship fixture.

Hildreth's score, his 72nd First Class half-century in his 400th innings, took him beyond 16,000 career runs.

Things had looked so different early on, when Yorkshire chose to bowl and Jack Brooks - who will join Somerset next season - and David Willey removed Eddie Byrom and Marcus Trescothick with just five runs on the board.

But Hildreth and Ali rebuilt with a classy partnership, before falling to Willey, and Brooks then removed his future captain, Tom Abell (12).

After Ali was bowled by Josh Shaw, Davies and Gregory shared 114 inside 18 overs to advance from 229-5, Gregory playing like he had forgotten that he was no longer playing T20 cricket - his half-century coming from just 32 balls.

Both Gregory and Davies fell to Brooks (4-103 from 25 overs), bowling with the new ball.

Shaw then had Craig Overton - back in the team at the expense of Dom Bess - caught behind shortly before close, but there's no doubt that Somerset will be the happier of the two teams going into the second day, with four batting points already in the bank.