Worcestershire made a flying start after being put into bat by holders Somerset in today's Cheltenham & Gloucester quarter-final showdown at sun-soaked Taunton.

Stephen Peters and Vikram Solanki launched their innings against pacemen Steffan Jones and Matthew Bulbeck.

Both batsmen got off the mark with singles in the opening over bowled by Jones.

Peters also cracked a boundary in the same over before Solanki dished out similar treatment to Bulbeck.

Both batsmen looked in confident mood with Solanki first to move into double figures. Peters soon followed suit before he was eventually trapped leg before by Jones for 18.

His departure heralded the arrival of in-form Graeme Hick, and after 10 overs Worcestershire were going well on 74-1.

The County, who have already beaten Somerset on three occasions this season in one-day matches, were unchanged from the side which beat Kent by five wickets in a Norwich Union League Division One match at Canterbury on Sunday.

Somerset were without fast bowlers Andrew Caddick and Richard Johnson who both remained on the casualty list.

Caddick has a side strain while Johnson is battling to overcome a hamstring injury.

Skipper Jamie Cox returned after recovering from a broken thumb.

Somerset's injury problems meant a surprise call-up for Paul Jarvis. The 37-year-old paceman, who retired from first-class cricket at the end of the 2000 season, was re-signed at the weekend and played in Sunday's Norwich Union defeat by Yorkshire at Scarborough.

The County were hoping to join Kent and Yorkshire in the semi-final draw along with the winners of today's clash between Sussex and Surrey at Hove.

Somerset: Trescothick, Bowler, Cox, Burns, Parsons, Blackwell, Turner, Dutch, Bulbeck, Jarvis, Jones.

Worcestershire: Peters, Solanki, Hick, Smith, Leatherdale, Batty, Bichel, Rhodes, Kabir Ali, Lampitt, Mason.

Umpires: I.J. Gould, J.H. Evans.