PETER Martin marked Lancashire's final championship match at Taunton by reaching the 50 wickets landmark.

His record is not stunning, compared with the likes of Somerset's Andy Caddick, who has over 90 to his name, but the 30-year-old Red Rose paceman can count it as a real achievement considering the time Lancashire have lost to the weather and the ten weeks domination of Muttiah Muralitharan.

Martin's campaign stuttered along for the first half of the summer, but in the last seven matches he has sent back 34 batsmen with power to add against Somerset who reached 238-6 in reply to Lancashire's 322.

Somerset were cruising at 95-0 on the best pitch in the country, but young seamer Richard Green initiated a collapse by having Jamie Cox caught low at first slip by Mike Atherton.

Martin, suddenly swinging the ball prodigiously, then captured three wickets in successive overs, and Green came back to wreck Marcus Trescothick's chance of a century as Somerset sank to 116-5.

They recovered thanks to an entertaining stand between Rob Turner and Graham Rose, but Lancashire began today needing only one more wicket to clinch runners-up spot for the second year on the trot - as long as they don't lose the game.

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