Somerset v Kent, Day 4

Kent skipper Matthew Fleming paid glowing tribute to Andrew Caddick after his side's two-wicket County Championship defeat by Somerset at Bath.

Fleming said: "I can't fault the way we played. We battled from start to finish and there were some good performances, but Caddick was the difference between the sides."

Not content with match figures of 10-97, the England pace bowler produced an equally valuable contribution with the bat after coming in with Somerset struggling on 152-8, needing a further 38 to win.

Caddick had the confidence to counter-attack, sweeping left-arm spinner Min Patel for a big six over mid-wicket, to give one final twist to a compelling match.

His positive batting enabled Ian Blackwell to settle at the other end and the pair produced sensible shot selection to suffer few alarms in an unbroken stand of 41.

When Blackwell cracked the winning boundary several team-mates ran onto the pitch to share the celebrations. It was a sweet moment for the winter signing from Derbyshire, who is making a good impression at his new county.

Somerset captain Jamie Cox was overcome by the tension of the final overs and admitted he couldn't watch. "I'm not usually like that, but it was some finish," said the Australian.

"Thanks to Caddy and Ian we have come out of the Bath Festival with a huge boost. Some of our earlier dismissals weren't too clever and they pulled things around."

Going into the final day on 50-3, chasing a victory target of 190, Somerset were pinning hopes heavily on Cox, who was unbeaten on 27 overnight.

But, having added 16 to his score, he was bowled around his legs by the tireless Patel, who later removed Rob Turner on his way to figures of 3-43 off 36 overs, including 20 maidens.

Peter Bowler and Turner fell before lunch, which was taken with Somerset 123-6. When Keith Parsons was caught behind trying to force Mark Ealham off the back foot soon after the interval Kent were right on top.

Graham Rose, batting with a runner because of a hamstring problem, fought hard for his 18. But when he fell lbw playing across a straight ball from David Masters at 152 Somerset supporters feared the worst.

It was Caddick's match. He consistently extracted bounce from a pitch that acted as a feather bed to the other seamers and deservedly picked up the Player of the Festival award.

The prize was a bottle of bubbly and the chance to put his feet up for two nights in a local hotel, something the England management will presumably appreciate as they seek to keep their top bowler fresh for the battles ahead with West Indies.

Kent contributed fully to Championship cricket at its most absorbing and had no reason to feel too downhearted over their first defeat in the competition this season.

Fleming said: "It was four days of very competitive cricket. Tonight we'll loosen our ties and relax because the only really bad aspect of the game for us was the result."