SOMERSET endured the sort of sporting agony that only cricket can supply, as rain prevented them securing their third straight victory in the Bob Willis Trophy, against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

After totally dominating the match, Tom Abell’s side entered the last day needing only to polish off the home side’s second innings.

Requiring 292 runs to avoid an innings defeat, Warwickshire resumed on the final day on 104-6, and finished it on 140-8 to secure a highly unlikely draw.

Somerset bossed the match from the start, bowling their hosts out for 121 as Craig Overton and Abell picked up three wickets apiece.

They then began racking up the runs over the next couple of days, eventually declaring on 413-9 with both Steve Davies (123*) and Jamie Overton (120) scoring centuries.

Monday afternoon saw them reduce Warwickshire to 104-6, still 188 runs, as Josh Davey claimed three victims, but only 15.4 overs were possible on a frustrating Tuesday.

Perhaps most infuriatingly for Somerset, the entire post-tea session - in which there was scope for 37 overs - was washed out before the call-off finally arrived at 5.13pm, with the ground declared unplayable.

For Somerset, the angst stretched beyond simply being denied the victory they deserved.

With only two Bob Willis Trophy final places up for grabs, one of the three group-winners will miss out, so the victory points that disappeared down the Birmingham drains could cost them a place in the Lord’s showpiece.

Somerset head coach Jason Kerr commented afterwards: “I have just said to the players, it is about processes and the cricket you play.

“We have completely dominated this game and played some excellent cricket, and they can take a lot of pride in that.

“We all know you can’t control the weather. It has been difficult to predict over the last couple of days with showers blowing in.

“When you are in a group format it is tempting to look at tables and other results but we can only control what we do, and I was very pleased with everything we did in this match.”

Next up for Somerset is a home match with Gloucestershire, starting on Saturday, and they will hope not to be frustrated by the weather once again.