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Match evenly poised after day two
Rory Burns was one of three Surrey half-centurions as the defending champions took a first innings lead against visitors Somerset on day two at the Kia Oval.
The Brown Caps skipper struck 10 boundaries in a fluent 76, sharing a first-wicket stand of 129 with fellow former England opener Dominic Sibley (53), who passed 50 for the fifth time in six innings this season.
England wicketkeeper  Jamie Smith was the third to reach his half-ton with 58 as the hosts reached 321 for seven at stumps.
Somerset’s bowlers recovered from a frustrating morning session, with skipper Lewis Gregory leading the way with three for 46, including a double strike with the second new ball, as four wickets fell in the final session.
Having bowled out Somerset for 283 on the cusp of stumps on day one, Burns and Sibley began Surrey’s reply.
Burns reached 50 from 77 balls whilst Sibley’s progress was sedate but solid, the pair reaching lunch one short of the century stand.
After the break, Burns appeared destined for a century before Josh Davey produced the ball of the day to remove him.
Bowling around the wicket, Davey extracted bounce and while Burns did everything right, trying to drop his hands, the ball followed him and smacked off the top glove  for Kasey Aldridge to pouch the catch at slip.
Ollie Pope didn’t detain us for long, bowled by skipper Gregory trying to cut a ball too close to him, but Smith came out bristling with aggression and began with a flurry of boundaries.
Sibley reached 50 in 151 balls, but even he ran out of patience, charging England spinner Jack Leach and being beaten in the flight. His ugly wahoo failed to make contact and he’d have been stumped had the ball not cannoned into the stumps.
The deceleration was catching with Smith slowly grinding to a halt despite his continued best efforts to hit the cover off the ball. He too would make it to his half-century before his innings ended tamely a mis-timed pull off Aldridge only travelling as far as Gregory at mid-on.
By this stage Ben Foakes was in flow, the diminutive wicketkeeper employing his wristy shots to good effect, sending successive deliveries from Leach to the fence at point. However, with 50 in sight he was undone by a beauty from back of a length by Gregory with the second new ball which nipped between bat and pad to pluck out the off-stump.
There was further reward for Gregory when Ryan Patel fell cheaply to a superbly judged tumbling catch at long-leg by Leach and Jordan Clark edged behind before the close to limit the home side’s advantage.
At the close of play, Somerset Assistant and Bowling Coach, Steve Kirby said: “We stuck to our task really, really well and we’ve picked up the wickets that have kept us in the game. All credit to them, they batted really well, particularly Sibley, who has left the ball well again.
“I thought Lewis was incredible today. The margin of error has got a lot smaller on that pitch. I think you’ve got to pull your length back a little bit.
“Anybody is going to miss a player of Craig Overton’s calibre. We hope this niggle in his back isn’t too serious. I think he could have been quite naughty on that pitch. It’s been a good pace pitch and there is slightly more pace in their attack than ours, so they’re going to get a bit more out of it.
“The balance of the game lies with them. They’ve taken the lead, but if we can hold them to an 80 or 90 lead then we’re right back into the game.”
