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County Championship Preview: Hampshire v Somerset
THE MATCH
Somerset travel to the Ageas Bowl this weeked to take on Hampshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship First Division.
Day one of this fixture is due to get underway tomorrow (Sunday September 3rd).
SCHEDULED HOURS OF PLAY:
Morning session: 10:30am to 12:30pm
Afternoon session: 1:10pm to 3:10pm
Evening session: 3:30pm to 5:30pm
HOW CAN I KEEP UP TO DATE?
You can keep up to date using our dedicated Match Centre on this website and on our Twitter feed.
In addition to this, a report on the day’s play along with quotes will be posted on this website.
THE OPPOSITION
HAMPSHIRE
Captain: James Vince
Head Coach: Adi Birrell
2023 leading run scorer: Nick Gubbins – 733
2023 leading wicket taker: Mohammad Abbas – 41
Season so far: Hampshire are currently third in the Division One table with 135 points from their 11 matches. They have won five, lost four and drawn two. In their last County Championship fixture they lost to Essex by six wickets.
TEAM NEWS
Somerset are still without Jack Leach (back), Kasey Aldridge (side) and Sonny Baker (back). Craig Overton picked up a back injury during The Hundred and Josh Davey is also unavailable due to the imminent birth of his child. However, Neil Wagner is in contention to make his Somerset debut.
The starting XI will be selected from the following squad: Tom Abell*, Sean Dickson, Tom Banton, Tom Lammonby, Andy Umeed, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, James Rew+, Ben Green, Lewis Gregory, Lewis Goldsworthy, Neil Wagner, Jack Brooks and Shoaib Bashir.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the game, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “This is an interesting time of the season for us because we’ve had so many players away with the Hundred and this week has felt like pre-season. Everyone has come back together and they’re all excited to see each other and to be back in each others company. There’s certainly been a great atmosphere in practice this week and the guys are looking forward to the next three games.
“We’re a Club that sets incredibly high standards. We want to achieve success and we want to win trophies. To see so many young players getting the opportunity to play First XI cricket in front of big crowds in the Metro Bank One Day Cup was great and it was also good to see the senior players doing well. Andy Umeed in particular had a phenomenal competition and the confidence that he’ll take from that will stand both him and the Club in good stead. We want competition for places because we need that in order to drive standards. That’s one of the things that you need if you want to be successful in the long term. Abes and I have certainly got some decisions to make ahead of the game this weekend.
“The short term goal is to finish as high in the table as we can. It would be great to finish with three wins and I’m sure every other team in the division is saying the same thing. It’s really important that we focus on trying to play the really good cricket that we played at Northants after the Blast and like we did for some of the Surrey game. We all want to be getting as much as we can out of the next three games so that we can start laying the foundations for next year.”
CLASSIC MATCH
For our classic First Class match between these two sides we go back to 2011 when Somerset and Hampshire met at the then Rose Bowl.
It was a game that Somerset won by nine wickets and it was a game that witnessed yet another Marcus Trescothick batting masterclass.
After winning the toss, Hampshire skipper Dominic Cork elected to bat first. Jimmy Adams (74) and Liam Dawson (91) shared an opening stand of 136, but Somerset’s bowlers fought back well as four wickets each for Charl Willoughby and Gemaal Hussain ensured that the hosts were dismissed for 285 in their first innings.
Trescothick then took centre stage. His imperious knock of 227 saw Somerset post a first innings total of 513. There were also half centuries from Craig Kieswetter (58) and Jos Buttler (61).
Batting for a second time, Hampshire’s opening pair once again impressed as Adams (73) and Dawson (169) built a solid platform but only three of their teammates reached double figures as the hosts were all out for 341.
Somerset reached their required target for the loss of just one wicket inside 25 overs to claim a comprehensive victory.
WPA PREDICTIONS LEAGUE
So, you think you know your cricket do you? Here’s your chance to prove it!
Powered by WPA Health Insurance, the new game allows you to score points on every Somerset matchday.
Collect points throughout the year for correct predictions and make your way up the leaderboard to prove that you are the font of all cricketing knowledge!
The top Scorers for each competition will receive a prize.
Watch. Predict. Win!
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
If you are planning to attend the match, all the information you need can be found on the official Hampshire CC Website.
NEXT MATCH
Somerset’s next match is in the LV= Insurance County Championship when we host Kent at the Cooper Associates County Ground.
The match will start on Tuesday September 19th.
During this match we will be giving you the chance to experience our Membership benefits with our MEMBER FROM A DAY initiative. More information is available below.
