WARWICKSHIRE CCC played out a draw with Somerset a result which leaves the Bears firmly in title contention.
The Bears bowled Somerset out for just 208 in their first innings at Taunton as Beau Webster impressed with the ball.
Warwickshire responded with 330 all out as Sam Hain, Webster and Dan Mousley all recorded half-centuries.
However, Somerset dug in with the bat in their second innings to reach 435 all out as both Thomas Rew and Craig Overton registered centuries.
And the Bears reached 98-2 in reply, in pursuit of 314, as the game ended in a draw.
The result means Warwickshire sit third in the County Championship Division One table, just five points behind leaders Nottinghamshire.
Somerset won the toss and elected to bat only for Warwickshire to take three early wickets.
Ethan Bamber (2-35) struck twice in the third over as he removed Josh Thomas (4) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore (0), the latter departing for a two-ball duck.
And Nathan Gilchrist (2-31) took the wicket of opener Jordan Hermann (17) the following over as Somerset slipped to 21-3.
Lewis Goldsworthy (90) and Rew (35) looked to rebuild the home side’s innings with a 65-run fourth-wicket stand.
However, Webster (4-23) trapped Rew LBW to break up the partnership which sparked a flurry of wickets.
Webster returned to remove Archie Vaughan (5) and then accounted for Overton (2) and Jack Leach (0) in the same over as Somerset slumped to 97-7.
Late runs from Josh Shaw (28) and Migael Pretorius (15) boosted the home side’s total as Goldsworthy remained at the crease until Gilchrist claimed his second scalp to bring an end to the innings.
Manav Suthar (2-50) also claimed a couple of wickets with Somerset all out for 208 in 65 overs.
The Bears made a slow start in reply as openers Alex Davies (3) and Rob Yates (11) fell cheaply to leave the visitors on 14-2.
However, Mousley (54), Hain (68) and Webster (64) all registered half-centuries while Jordan Thompson (31) and Suthar (28) added useful runs to put Warwickshire on top.
The visitors reached 330 all out as Alfie Ogborne (3-40) took three wickets while Leach (2-42), Overton (2-44) and Jake Ball (2-69) all took two wickets apiece.
Leading by 122 runs, the Bears looked well-placed for victory when restricting Somerset to 124-5 in the second innings.
Suthar (5-100) removed three of Somerset’s top order only for Rew (149) and Overton (111) to frustrate the Warwickshire attack with a mammoth 233-run seventh-wicket stand.
Yates (1-31) eventually broke up the partnership with the wicket of Overton while Webster (1-74) accounted for Rew the following over.
However, Somerset reached 435 all out on the final day to set the Bears a target of 314 with the visitors to face a minimum of 61 overs.
Opener Yates (51 not out) finished unbeaten after reaching a half-century as the Bears closed on 98-2 in a drawing effort.
Warwickshire resume their T20 Blast campaign against rivals Worcestershire Rapids on Friday, June 26 with play to begin at 7pm at Edgbaston.
