Nottinghamshire will have to return on the fourth morning to try and complete their LV= County Championship victory over Somerset at Trent Bridge.
Set to score 110 for win, they closed on 66 for three, with Craig Overton having picked up all of the wickets to fall, at a cost of 23.
The home side were frustrated in their bid to complete the win on their third evening as bad light curtailed the final session, after Peter Trego had earlier scored a battling century to steer his side to 402 all out in their second innings, a lead of 109.
Trego made an unbeaten 107, scoring his runs from 122 deliveries, hitting 10 fours and two sixes. His knock followed scores of 77 from Chris Jones, a Championship best, 54 from Craig Kieswetter and 50 from Jamie Overton.
Five Nottinghamshire bowlers shared the wickets, with Andre Adams returning the best figures of three for 103.
Harry Gurney took two for 67, giving him five wickets in the match. The left-armer admitted his side knew they it would be a day of hard graft for the bowlers.
“We came together before start of play and were all aware it would be a really tough day,” he said. “So we’re actually still pretty happy where we are in the fixture, we are still very much favourite and hopefully can come back in the morning, find the sun shining and knock these runs off.”
The margin of victory is immaterial, should it be achieved, according to Gurney.
“Whether we’d won this by an innings or ten wickets, or five wickets, or three, we got all our bonus points so are still on course to take 24 from the game and keep the pressure on the other sides towards the top of the table.”
Somerset had begun the day on 106 for three, trailing by 187. Chris Jones and James Hildreth battled their way through the first hour, narrowly failing to put together the first stand of 50 in the match for the visitors.
They’d added 48 for the fourth wicket when Hildreth (31) went to pull a shortish delivery from Ajmal Shahzad but, rather tamely, lobbed it into the hands of Andre Adams at short midwicket.
Craig Kieswetter had a life on 4. Notts had just moved Samit Patel out of a second slip position and into extra cover. The batsman nicked Shahzad and it was left to Riki Wessels to fling himself, full-length, to his right to make the attempt. The ball momentarily stuck in the right hand before falling out as he hit the ground.
Harry Gurney replaced Shahzad at the Radcliffe Road end and struck with his first delivery of the spell. Jones (77), who had battled his way to a best-ever Championship score, over the course of four hours, flailed at the ball, bowled from around the wicket and inside-edged it back, knocking his leg stump flat.
A flurry of early afternoon runs showed Somerset’s intentions. Kieswetter moved to his 50 (75 balls 10x4 1x6) during an over which saw him take 14 runs from Shahzad, with a six into the William Clarke Stand being followed by two boundaries.
Peter Trego then hit Adams for a couple of fours but then broke the stand on 60. Kieswetter (54) pulled the New Zealander high onto the leg side. Alex Hales, running 40 yards to get close, then slid in to take a stunning catch.
Worse was to follow for the visitors. Fifteen balls later, Craig Meschede (4) lifted Samit Patel high down the ground, where Hales, back-peddling and turning, took another excellent catch as the ball came over his shoulder.
Craig Overton (6) edged behind for the second time in the match, giving Adams a third wicket.
Trego then under-pinned a terrific ninth wicket stand alongside George Dockrell, with the pair infuriating Notts for the best part of an hour.
The senior batsman reached his 50 (66 balls 7x4 1x6), encouraging and shepherding Dockrell all the way, often refusing runs as he looked to monopolise the strike.
Consecutive deliveries from Peter Siddle saw the 50 stand come up. Trego hooked the Australian for 6 then dropped the ball on the leg side. A shy from Wessels hit the stumps, with Dockrell desperately scampering to make his ground, and ricocheted away for four overthrows.
Dockrell (26) hit Patel for six over extra cover but his next foray down the wicket was his last. Squared up, a leading edge flew high to Adams at mid on, to give the bowler his 200th first class wicket.
With last man Jamie Overton for company Trego hit Patel for another maximum to bring up his century (104 balls 10x4 2x6).
Overton also hit the spinner for six before the light, even with the floodlights on, deteriorated to such an extent that the umpires took the players off for an early tea, with the lead standing at 65.
The resumption saw Jamie Overton reach his own fifty before nicking Siddle to Wessels at slip, leaving 110 to win.
Nottinghamshire’s run chase began in the most dramatic fashion, with Craig Overton sending down a double-wicket maiden, having Steven Mullaney caught at slip before James Taylor played on.
Samit Patel made a punchy 41 but then lifted Craig Overton to mid off, leaving Phil Jaques undefeated on 21.