Somerset Sabres found themselves slipping deeper into the NUL relegation zone after they were well beaten by Worcestershire Royals at the County Ground on Sunday.

Chasing what appeared to be a reasonable target the Royals batsmen made light work of the task, and reached the required total for the loss of two wickets, with nearly five overs to spare.

Earlier in the day after winning the toss, Somerset had posted 269 for 8 after a competent all round batting performance.

Openers Peter Bowler and Matthew Wood put on 45 before Bowler was out for 16. Wood, batting with increasing confidence after his two centuries in his previous two visits to the wicket in the championship match against Surrey, once again demonstrated his talents before he departed for 37.

Ian Blackwell and Mike Burns saw the hundred up, and Blackwell with some lusty blows and brought up his own half century, before he was out for 55 to make Somerset 131 for 3.

Burns stayed at the wicket and with Rob Turner saw the two hundred up in the 36th over until with the score on 226 he was out for 54.Turner remained for the rest of the innings and was unbeaten on 53 when the forty five overs had been bowled.

The Worcestershire reply got off to a bad start when in the second over Bulbeck accounted for Andy Bichel, but it was to be a very long time before the injury depleted Somerset attack had anything else to celebrate.

For the next seventeen overs Graeme Hick and Vickram Solanki were well in control of the situation , with Hick in particular showing that he is still a very talented batsman. One mighty six off Steffan Jones in the tenth over had to be retrieved from the doorway of the cricket shop.

The century partnership was passed, and both players reached their half centuries before in the 18th over, Burns the acting skipper fielding at mid on produced a magical one handed catch off Jones to send Solanki back to pavilion after making 58, and leave Worcestershire 131 for 2.

Hick continued to plunder the Somerset attack and brought up his third NUL hundred against the Sabres in the space of four years when he dispatched Bulbeck to the mid wicket boundary.

Hick's batting masterclass continued with an array of spectacular shots, and by the time that Ben Smith(64 not out) stroked the winning run to fine leg the former England man had taken his score onto an ubeaten141 his NUL National League best.

Somerset will be hoping to have Richard Johnson and Andrew Caddick to spearhead their attack to stem Hick's run of success when the two sides meet in the C and G quarter finals at the County Ground in ten days time.

After the game Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: "Of course we are massively disappointed, after posting a competitive score we didn't really look like defending it. Hick was in unstoppable mood , and didn't appear to have got out of the comfort zone at all during his innings."

He concluded: "What we don't want in the NUL is to allow too larger gap to open up above us, so we need to string some results together. Now we have got to lift ourselves up and bounce back."

© SOMERSET