SKIPPER Ben Brown lamented Hampshire's third County Championship match "being ruined by rain" but admitted he would have taken their start to the season. 

Hampshire maintained their unbeaten beginning to the County Championship campaign with a rain-affected draw against Somerset at the Utilita Bowl.

Persistent bad weather hampered hopes of a result on the final day, with approximately 175 overs – the equivalent of around five sessions – lost over the course of the match.

Somerset duo Sean Dickson and Tom Abell put on a steady 56-run stand to steer their side to safety. Dickson finished unbeaten on 77, while Abell contributed 27, as Somerset comfortably erased Hampshire’s lead.

Despite the frustration of a draw, Brown’s Hampshire side collected 13 points to Somerset’s 11, taking their tally to a healthy 43 points – keeping them well in contention near the top of Division One.

Brown said: "The game was ruined by weather. It always looked a dodgy forecast at the beginning of the week but I think we played the better cricket and we had great commitment to win the game.

"We probably took a few more risks with the bat than we ordinarily would have to win the game so credit to the guys for really embracing the week to try and get the win, but the weather took us down.

"It is not easy to win Championship games at the time of year we play so you have to take the weather into consideration, we did and tried to open up a chance to win. 

"I thought we bowled brilliantly in the second innings without any luck. On a different day we could have got a lot of wickets there. I felt especially sorry for Abbott. He bowled incredibly well without luck.

"A couple of things didn't go our way in the morning but the guys couldn't have committed any better and hopefully later in the season we will get our rewards.

"Cricket always spins around. We would have taken our start to the season. We are really pleased and we are playing well."

Somerset head coach, Jason Kerr added: "Overall we are pleased. We played some really good cricket, especially the character after being six down overnight on the first day.

"To then bowl them out on the third day to give us the opportunity to potentially win the game. We succumbed to the weather but it was good to see guys take their opportunity in a pressurised situation. Unfortunately the weather won.

"You are always disappointed because you want to win every game you play, but I am not disappointed with the cricket we are playing. Hopefully within the next four games of this block we can get a couple of wins."