CLOSE: Somerset are 159-1 (Trescothick 62*, Langer 34*) from 41 overs, needing a further 74 runs to make Hampshire bat again

Hampshire suffered two more injury blows before their hopes of a first Championship win of the season were dented by Marcus Trescothick and Justin Langer.

Two bowlers, Shane Bond and David Balcombe, were unavailable for Hampshire this week because of injury.

But THREE wicketkeepers had to be used while first-choice Nic Pothas received treatment for a calf strain during a bizarre evening session at Taunton.

Michael Brown replaced Pothas behind the stumps for his first wicketkeeping stint in five years when Somerset began their second-innings 233 runs behind Hampshire's 359.

But he had to be replaced by John Crawley when he dislocated a finger in catching a James Tomlinson delivery with Somerset 51-0.

Meanwhile, reserve wicketkeeper Tom Burrows was making the trek from Southampton as Somerset had kindly given Hampshire permission to use a specialist gloveman when Pothas strained his right calf while batting during the morning session.

Crawley only had to keep wicket for two overs before Burrows arrived and Hampshire physio Andrew Nealon is confident Brown will bat in the second innings.

But Pothas will need a runner if he is required.

Pothas is very doubtful for Hampshire's crucial Friends Provident Trophy match against the Worcestershire Royals at New Road on Sunday so another one-day captain will also have to be found.

Hampshire's hopes of a first win of the season began to unravel when Pothas arrived at the crease with Jimmy Adams as his runner after lunch.

After resuming on 194-3, the morning session had gone according to plan. Nightwatchman David Griffiths had done his job and John Crawley (104) stroked some vintage on-side fours on the way to his first Championship hundred since last July before nicking Ben Phillips to second slip.

But Pothas was trapped lbw by an inswinging yorker from Charl Willoughby, the first ball of the afternoon session, as Hampshire lost their last five wickets for 78 runs.

Sean Ervine (16) shouldered arms to Ben Phillips, only for the medium-fast bowler to clip the top of his off stump.

Greg Lamb (2) was trapped lbw as he tried to sweep Ian Blackwell. And then debutant Hamza Riazuddin (4) was caught in two minds and chipped a full toss from the slow left-armer straight to substitute fielder Steffan Jones at mid-on.

Michael Lumb (76 from 142 balls) batted very responsibly with the tail and reached fifty for the tenth time for Hampshire in the Championship - he is yet to score a hundred - before slicing an off drive to point.

Somerset's top-order left handers - Neil Edwards, Trescothick and Langer - then went about reducing Hampshire's 233-run first-innings lead to just 74 by the close.

Having hit Greg Lamb back over his head into the Sir Ian Botham Stand for the first six of the match, Edwards' 70-ball 50 ended when he was caught at mid-on in attempting to hit a Tomlinson full toss out of the ground.

Tomlinson is a bowling on a very different wicket to the one on which he took his career-best 8-46. It has dried out and flattened in the heat and Trescothick (62*) and Langer (34*) capitalised by adding 76.

Trescothick deposited a Lamb delivery over long-off and into the River Tone during an otherwise conservative knock by the former England man's standards.

Lamb is finding encouraging turn but despite yesterday's heroics from Tomlinson, Somerset are well placed at 159-1 to set Hampshire a difficult target to win.

Hampshire bowling:Tomlinson 11-1-43-0, Griffiths 6-3-15-0, Ervine 8-0-50-0, Riazuddin 8-3-19-0, Lamb 8-2-30-1

Somerset bowling:Willoughby 25-5-69-3, Phillips 27-8-62-3, Trego 14.5-4-61-2, de Bruyn 13 2 56 0, Munday 6-1-29-0, Blackwell 23-2-63-2, Hildreth 3-0-13-0