Over the course of four tight days at Taunton Nottinghamshire came out second best in their Specsavers County Championship matc, but Peter Moores felt one poor period in the match was the difference.

On the second day Notts were dismissed for 134, leaving themselves with a mountain to climb. At one stage Notts had been reduced to 28 for five.

“Either side of lunch, 20 minutes before and twenty minutes after, we lost those five wickets,” he reflected.

“We steadied the ship a little bit but by then the whole momentum had shifted. We’d had the whole of the top order blown away and they cashed in.

“I think they bowled well but we’d be disappointed with a couple of the dismissals.”

Notts fought back strongly in the second innings, making 505 after being asked to follow-on.

“It showed a huge amount of fight within the side,” said Moores. “I think we’ve shown that time and time again over the last 18 months. We’ve often found a way of keeping in games and often winning those games.

“It wasn’t enough this time but I think we were pretty close – maybe another 10 overs of batting and another 30 or 40 runs and overs would then have come into the equation, which would have made it much more difficult.

“Saying that, when you get 500 and play on a used pitch, a lot of credit to everybody.”

At tea on the final day the contest was still up for grabs with the home county needing 85 runs and Notts requiring six wickets but Somerset quickly got on the front foot and got over the line.

“We’d taken two quickish wickets in the last 20 minutes before tea and thought that if we could start the final session without the game really going anywhere then the equation would get a bit tighter but Steve Davies was a good player for them to come in at that time. He’s naturally a good striker of the ball and he’d got runs in the first innings. I don’t think we bowled badly, he just took the game to us and took it well.”

Moores paid credit to two of the youngsters, who had outstanding matches. Matt Carter took eight wickets in the game and Tom Moores registered his maiden first class hundred.

“Matt came back to the place where he made his debut but he’s a different cricketer now,” said the Head Coach.

“On debut he got 10-fer in the game. Now, he’s got eight in this game, with a consistency and a maturity. I was really pleased for him because there is a lot of pressure on a young spinner.”

“For Tom, it’s fantastic really. The context of the game meant it would have been very easy for him to get tucked in to the pressure of the moment. He was brave enough and trusted his game enough to carry on playing in his style and get the rewards for it.

“I’m hugely proud of him. You see both sides, I see him as a son and obviously as a coach. He’s passionate about his game and has worked extremely hard at it and like all youngsters he’s desperate to move on in the game and it’s a good time for him because he’s learning fast.”

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