When Hampshire last played at Bath in 1991, Jimmy Cook scored 107 for Somerset as the two sides played out a draw in the historic city.

Eleven years on and Will Kendall's 88 at the top of Hampshire's order is a potentially match-winning innings.

First class matches at Bath are notoriously high-scoring affairs but Hampshire, 149-3 overnight, lost their last seven wickets for 103 yesterday, with Kendall adding 18 to his 70, his best Championship score for more than a year.

Hampshire's vice captain went to a sensational catch from Michael Burns at mid-wicket. He parried a Kendall pull before turning and then diving to snaffle the rebound.

Kendall's 88 included 14 fours but a soggy outfield minimised the boundaries.

Alan Mullally capitalised on what bounce there was in the wicket - and he took three of the five Somerset wickets to fall to leave Hampshire on top at the end of day two.

After taking nine wickets in the match against Warwickshire last week, Mullally trapped Jamie Cox and Peter Bowler leg before yesterday as well as finding the outside edge of Keith Parsons' bat.

Neil Johnson was indebted to a sensational catch from former Somerset man Giles White for his only wicket of the day.

Fielding in the covers, White, who made his Somerset debut in '91, dived full stretch to take a powerful drive from Burns low to his right with both hands.

Burns had earlier held two catches of his own, adding one at backward point to dismiss Mascarenhas to the one which brought Kendall's innings to an end.

Former Hampshire man Simon Francis, released last year, gained good carry and beat Mascarenhas's outside edge on a few occasions but he failed to add to the two wickets he took on day one. Francis uprooted Robin Smith's off stump on Wednesday afternoon and would have had career-best bowling figures in his sights when he woke up yesterday morning.

But he had little luck against Mascarenhas, the man with whom he enjoyed a memorable last-wicket stand of 90 against Surrey at the Oval two years ago.

Mascarenhas's 28 included two attractive off-side boundaries but Matthew Bulbeck, with three early wickets for 23, threatened to scupper Hampshire's chances in his first spell.

He removed Neil Johnson and Jason Laney for a duck before denying Kendall a ton during an impressive five overs at the beginning of an overcast day.

Chris Tremlett ensured a second bonus point for Hampshire when he cover drove Burns to take their score past 250.

The 20-year-old dropped Bowler at square leg during Somerset's reply and Derek Kenway put Cox down in the slips the over before Mullally struck for the first of Hampshire's five wickets. Now a first innings lead beckons for the Hampshire side with Somerset 79-5 at stumps.

The weather ruled out any play yesterday in the Second XI Championship match at West End between Hampshire and Essex.

SCOREBOARD:

Overnight: Hampshire 149-3.

HAMPSHIRE

First innings (cont.)

WS Kendall c Burns b Bulbeck 88

NC Johnson c Bowler b Bulbeck 35

JS Laney c Turner b Bulbeck 0

+N Pothas c Turner b Burns 22

AD Mascarenhas c Burns b Johnson 28

SD Udal b Burns 12

CT Tremlett not out 9

AD Mullally c Blackwell b Johnson 0

Extras (lb 7, nb 8) 15

Total (all out, 76.3 overs) 252

FoW: 1-6, 2-88, 3-98, 4-153, 5-163, 6-178, 7-213, 8-229, 9-247, 10-252.

Bowling: Johnson 19.3-6-32-3, Bulbeck 19-2-68-3, Francis 16-2-69-2, Parsons 9-2-31-0,

Dutch 4-1-16-0, Burns 9-2-29-2.

SOMERSET

1st innings

*J Cox lbw b Mullally 4

MJ Wood c Kenway b Mascarenhas 25

M Burns c White b Johnson 9

P D Bowler lbw b Mullally 4

K A Parsons c Pothas b Mullally 0

I D Blackwell not out 28

R J Turner not out 2

Extras (lb3 pens 0) 3

Total (5 wkts 39ov) 79

FoW: 1-14 2-38 3-43 4-47 5-51

To Bat: K P Dutch, R L Johnson, M P L Bulbeck, S R G Francis.

Bonus Pts: Somerset 3 Hampshire 2

Bowling: Mullally 14-4-41-3, Tremlett 10-3-19-0, Mascarenhas 9-7-8-1, Johnson 6-4-8-1

Umpires: D J Constant and G Sharp