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County Championship Preview: Hampshire v Somerset
THE MATCH
Somerset travel to Utilita Bowl to take on Hampshire in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship this week.
Day one of this fixture is tomorrow (Friday April 18th).
Somerset are currently 8th in the Division One table with 19 points from two matches whilst Hampshire are 4th with 30 points from the same number of fixtures.
SCHEDULED HOURS OF PLAY:
Morning session: 11am to 1pm
Afternoon session: 1:40pm to 3:40pm
Evening session: 4pm to 6pm
Tickets for this match are still available.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP TO DATE?
You can keep up to date using the dedicated Match Centre on this website which will feature a live stream of the action courtesy of Hampshire CCC.
In-play updates will also appear on our X feed (formerly Twitter).
In addition to this, a report on the day’s play along with quotes will be posted on this website.
THE OPPOSITION
Captain: Ben Brown
Head Coach: Adi Birrell
2024 finish: Second
2024 highest run-scorer: James Vince (986)
2024 highest wicket-taker: Liam Dawson (54)
Key winter moves: The winter has been tumultuous with James Vince moving to Dubai – after attacks on his family house last summer – while Mo Abbas hasn’t been retained as overseas. That is over 1,000 runs and 36 wickets from last season alone to recover. Experienced top-order batter Mark Stoneman has been added to somewhat fill the Vince void, while a battery of fast bowlers will replace Abbas. Sonny Baker, who has arrived from Somerset, is one of them.
Player to watch: Tom Prest will soften the blow of Vince’s migration. He ticks the batting aesthetic, quick-scoring and slip fielding boxes, and most importantly the run scoring. Prest is quite simply a Vince clone with 24 rather than 14 on his back. Three centuries last year at an average of just over 48 suggest he could not only get out of Vince’s shadow in 2025, but eclipse it.
Final thought: Hampshire have finished in the top three in each of the past three seasons, with 2024’s second-place finish their highest since 2005. One further step shouldn’t be that big, and yet without Vince it feels massive. Ben Brown is now captain, with the likes of Nick Gubbins and the increasingly impressive Liam Dawson crucial in filling the leadership and batting vacuum. Indian-based GMR Group took over Hampshire over the winter – making them the first overseas-owned county – although little is expected to change off the field in 2025.
TEAM NEWS
Alfie Ogborne is included in the squad, but Lewis Gregory is a doubt with a minor abdominal injury.
The following squad has been announced for this match:
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the match, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “The game at Sussex was frustrating. There were a couple of sessions that really hurt us and you can’t afford to do that, particularly in Division One. There’s still confidence within the group and we’ve addressed some things over the last few days at training.
“We played some really good cricket in our first game against Worcestershire and it’s important that we don’t lose sight of that.
“We’ve had some honest conversations and we’re looking forward to the challenge of playing at Hampshire. They’re a very good side and we’ve had some great fixtures against them over the years.
“We’ll be concentrating on righting a few wrongs from last week and getting the right result at Utilita Bowl.”
CLASSIC MATCH
We travel back to April 2011 for our classic First Class match between the two sides.
It was a game which saw Somerset secure a comprehensive victory courtesy of a double hundred from one of the modern day greats.
Hampshire Captain, Dominic Cork won the toss and elected to bat and it appeared to be the correct decision as Jimmy Adams (74) and Liam Dawson (91) shared an opening stand of 136. However, the visiting bowlers fought back valiantly to reduce the hosts to 208 for six. Cork then scored a rapid 44 as Hampshire were eventually dismissed for 285.
Charl Willoughby (four for 40) and Gemaal Hussain (four for 83) were the pick of the Somerset attack. Craig Lieswetter was also in impressive form behind the stumps where he took five catches.
In reply, Somerset lost Arul Suppiah for 19 with 47 runs on the board, but Marcus Trescothick took the game by the scruff of the neck to produce a batting master class. He amassed 227 runs in an innings that included 32 fours and three sixes as Somerset posted 513 all out.
Adams (73) and Dawson (169) once again impressed with the bat and added 181 for the first wicket. However, only three other batters reached double figures as Hampshire were all out for 341.
Trescothick fell early in the visitor’s second innings but Suppiah (37*) and Nick Compton (47*) ensured that Somerset reached their target to claim victory by nine wickets.
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 CCC Website.
NEXT MATCH
Somerset are next in action when we take on Surrey in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship at the Kia Oval.
Day one of this match is on Friday April 25th.
Tickets for this match are still available.
