Ben Slater is backing Nottinghamshire to chase down whatever victory target they are set after a tough second day to the LV= Insurance County Championship match against Somerset at the CA County Ground, Taunton.

Slater’s 70 was the top score for Notts as they lost their last six first innings wickets inside the opening hour of the day.

Somerset reached 268-4 by the close, an advantage over Notts of 245.

“Obviously we wanted to score as many as we could this morning,” said the opener. “But we saw how the wicket played yesterday and they’ve got a quality bowling attack and came at us.

“They bowled well in overcast conditions, we’d have liked a few more but you’ve got to give them credit.”

Matt Henry was the pick of the Somerset attack, taking six wickets, including that of Slater, shortly after he’d struck the left-hander on the helmet.

“I know Henners (Henry) well,” said the 31-year old. “I played with him at Derby and he’s a Test match bowler and today we saw why he’s played at the highest level.

“He hit me pretty flush to be honest. I’ve not been hit in the head for a long time, the day before I signed for Notts I think (2018) was the last time. It certainly livens up you a bit when you’re hit in the head.”

Despite registering his highest score of the campaign Slater was disappointed not to build on his good work from the previous day.

“I wanted to spend a long time in the middle, we all did,” he said. “But there was a bit of rain just before we went out at eleven o’clock and that juiced it up, then the sun came out and the bowlers were obviously fresher and it all played a little bit differently.”

Whilst Notts toiled for much of the day for wickets there were two outstanding pieces of fielding from the visitors, a run out executed from distance by Joe Clarke and an athletic boundary catch from Haseeb Hameed.

On the run out Slater laughed, “We’re not going to hear the end of it, that’s the worst bit about it. To hit the stumps from that far away was a good bit of fielding, much as it pains me to say it.

“I was the other side of the ground for the catch and it’s quite hard to see here side on, but any catch is a good catch!

“We’re still in the game, they are effectively 245-4, we’ll have a new ball in the morning, hope to nip out a few and then try and chase down whatever score we’re set.

“If it continues to flatten out and we have good weather we’d back ourselves to chase anything under 400 but conditions play a massive part in England.”