Unbeaten half-centuries from Joe Clarke and Jack Haynes put Nottinghamshire in a promising position on the second day of the Rothesay County Championship match with Somerset at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.

The fourth-wicket pair had shared a stand of 90 by the time bad light ended play 13 overs early to put their side on 218 for 3 in reply to the home side’s first innings total of 347, a deficit of 129. Clarke had contributed 70 and Haynes 53.

The other Notts hero was Dillon Pennington, who claimed all four remaining Somerset first innings wickets after they had begun another cold, blustery day on 292 for 6. The seamer returned figures of 5 for 65 from 26.5 overs, while Craig Overton finished 60 not out.

Somerset batted on for just over an hour at the start of the morning session. They lost Jack Leach, for 11, with the total on 309, caught at cover off Pennington miscuing a back-foot forcing shot.

Migael Pretorius launched his innings with two streaky boundaries behind the wicket and when Overton hit successive fours off Rob Lord, Somerset looked set to collect a third batting point. But they failed to manage the situation, Pretorius bowled for 11 swinging at a full delivery from Pennington to make it 331 for 8 before Overton reached a 71-ball half-century with his ninth four, pulled to midwicket off Pennington.

It was 339 for 9 when Alfie Ogborne edged onto his stumps looking to leave a ball outside off stump and with the 350-mark just three runs away Jake Ball was caught at third slip to complete Pennington’s five-for. Overton swished his bat in frustration at the other end, having tried to farm the strike before taking a single that left Ball with just two deliveries of the Pennington over to face.

By lunch, Nottinghamshire had posted 36 without loss in reply. As in Somerset’s innings, there was a more-than-usual amount of playing and missing against the seamers, which allowed Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed to extend their opening partnership to 59.

Pretorius broke the stand by bowling Slater for 30, playing down the wrong line to a delivery slanted into the left-hander. With the total advanced to 72 and the floodlights on, the South African struck again as Hameed was brilliantly caught low down at cover by Tom Lammonby, diving two-handed to his left, off a meaty square drive.

Freddie McCann and Clarke also had their fair share of fortune as Somerset’s bowlers suffered similar frustration to their Notts counterparts on day one. By the time rain forced an early tea just before 3.10pm, the pair had added 42, with McCann on 27 and Clarke 23.

A prompt resumption saw their half-century stand brought up off 81 balls. But, with the total on 128, Pretorius struck a third blow, Tom Kohler-Cadmore holding a routine catch at first slip after McCann, on 31, had edged an attempted cut.

As the ball became softer, Clarke and Haynes played with increasing assurance and had taken their stand to 43 by the time bad light halted proceedings for the first time at shortly before 5pm. Clarke was two short of a half-century, while Haynes was unbeaten on 28.

It proved a brief stoppage and Clarke quickly went to fifty, off 99 balls, with eight fours. The menace had gone out of Somerset’s bowling and Overton turned to the left-arm spin of Leach, who reeled off nine overs from the River End to little effect.

Haynes took two fours off a Ball over and then thrashed Overton through the covers for another boundary to bring up his half-century off 76 deliveries. Runs were coming too quickly for Somerset’s liking as the clouds gathered again and the umpires called a halt at shortly after 6pm, Pretorius ending the day with 3 for 33 from 15 overs.