The unenviable task that a captain has in judging a declaration at Taunton was emphasised here when Somerset achieved the fourth highest total to win a first-class match in England, making 476 runs to defeat Yorkshire, with four wickets intact.

Centuries by Arul Suppiah and Peter Trego, who struck no fewer than nine sixes, and a customarily brilliant innings of 96 by Marcus Trescothick brought about this triumph. Given the condition of the square, it was not wholly unexpected.

Trego finished with an undefeated 103 off 54 balls, which also included six fours, and Suppiah struck 131 from 175 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes. There was a cameo innings of 49 from 32 balls by David Stiff, the hard-hitting fast bowler.

Poor Yorkshire. They had even batted on in the morning to try to ensure that they would not be beaten. They were defeated by the flat pitch as well as the brilliance of the batsmen.

The highest total to win a championship match in England occurred when Middlesex, courtesy of a Patsy Hendren double hundred, made 502 for six to beat Nottinghamshire in 1925..

In several respects, Trescothick, with his wonderful timing and consistent ability to make his runs swiftly, is the modern day equivalent of that great cricketer. No one relishes bowling to him.

Only five years ago, Durham had scored 453 for nine to beat Somerset at Taunton, and that, in addition to the fact that the pitch had not deteriorated at all, along with the presence of Trescothick, would have influenced the thinking of Anthony McGrath, the Yorkshire captain. This was not exactly similar to leaving a target on a green top at Derby in an overcast spring. Weighed against all this was the prospect of a quite unwanted record: Yorkshire had never before gone 18 matches without a victory in the championship.

So they chose to bat on for a further 4.4 overs in the morning session and added 34 runs. A little more forceful batting the previous evening would have brought that about, but by the time Trescothick and Suppiah had made 123 without loss from 25 overs at lunch, it seemed neither here nor there. Yorkshire needed wickets more than they did keeping the run-rate under the required rate of 5.28 an over.

Suppiah, much to his credit, more or less kept pace with the former England batsman, square driving Steven Patterson to the boundary to bring up a partnership of 100, and pulling Jacques Rudolph's first ball, a full bunger, for six. Trescothick's timing was such that he could flick a good length ball to the third man boundary, which he did twice - an astonishing piece of invention. It all paved the way for Trego's terrific, match-winning hitting.

Yorkshire: First Innings 438 (J A Rudolph 191; D A Stiff 4 for 92)

Second Innings
J A Rudolph c Trescothick b Willoughby 0
J J Sayers b De Bruyn 152
*A McGrath b Willoughby 25
A Lyth c Kieswetter b Stiff 71
A W Gale c Trescothick b Thomas 16
†J M Bairstow not out 66
A Shahzad not out 16
Extras (b 1, lb 3, w 3, nb 10) 17
Total (5 wkts dec, 96.5 overs) 363

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-58, 3-181, 4-221, 5-329.
Bowling: Willoughby 19-6-39-2; Thomas 13-1-63-1; Caddick 15-4-45-0; Suppiah 27.5-4-99-0; Trego 6-0-34-0; Stiff 11-0-52-1; De Bruyn 5-0-27-1.

Somerset: First Innings 326 (M E Trescothick 146, J C Hildreth 51; M J Hoggard 5 for 82)

Second Innings
M E Trescothick b Hoggard 96
A V Suppiah c McGrath b Rafiq 131
J C Hildreth b Hoggard 18
D A Stiff c Bairstow b Hoggard 49
*J L Langer c Bairstow b Patterson 24
†C Kieswetter b Rafiq 17
P D Trego not out 103
Z de Bruyn not out 27
Extras (b 1, lb 7, w 2, nb 4) 14
Total (6 wkts, 85.3 overs) 479

Fall of wickets: 1-187, 2-246, 3-292, 4-307, 5-338, 6-414.
Bowling: Hoggard 24-0-118-3; Shahzad 19-1-119-0; Patterson 21-2-98-1; Lee 6-0-50-0; Rafiq 14.3-0-72-2; Rudolph 1-0-14-0.
Umpires: T E Jesty and D J Millns.