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County Championship Preview: Northamptonshire v Somerset
THE MATCH
Somerset travel to the County Ground, Northampton this week to take on Northamptonshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship First Division.
Day one of this fixture is tomorrow (Wednesday July 19th).
SCHEDULED HOURS OF PLAY:
Morning session: 11am to 1pm
Afternoon session: 1:40pm to 3:40pm
Evening session: 4pm to 6pm
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
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
Captain: Luke Procter
Head Coach: John Sadler
2023 leading run-scorer: Sam Whiteman (517)
2023 leading wicket-taker: Jack White (23)
Season so far: Northamptonshire are currently 10th in the division one table with 47 points from their eight matches.
TEAM NEWS
Somerset are still without Jack Leach (back), Josh Davey (rib), Roelof van der Merwe (hand) and Sonny Baker (back) but Craig Overton, Matt Henry, Lewis Gregory and Tom Kohler-Cadmore return to the squad.
The starting XI will be selected from the following: Tom Abell (c), Tom Lammonby, Sean Dickson, George Bartlett, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, James Rew, Lewis Gregory, Kasey Aldridge, Craig Overton, Matt Henry, Shoaib Bashir, Dom Bess and Jack Brooks.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the game, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “We’re coming off the back of two good performances in the Championship and we need to continue in that vein against Northants.
“After the weekend, we need to make sure that we are in the right space mentally. It was important that we enjoyed the success of the weekend, but the reality of sport is that after the euphoria and the highs, you’re back down to earth very quickly. We’ve got a job to do this week and we will ensure that we’re mentally in the best place possible.
“We still want to achieve something special in the Championship and I have no doubts that the guys can use the weekend to spur themselves on.
“Although Northants are at the wrong end of the table, all the teams in division one are strong and are there on merit. We had a tough game at Taunton earlier in the year and we weren’t able to get over the line. They are a competitive side and we know that we’ll have to be at our best to come out on top.”
CLASSIC MATCH
For our classic match between Somerset and Northants at Northampton, we go back to 2007 and a fixture that saw Marcus Trescothick make his highest First Class score for Somerset.
The home side won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Trescothick and Neil Edwards added 96 for the opening wicket. James Hildreth made 111, whilst Justin Langer (86) and Ian Blackwell (81) also impressed. However, it was the man from Keynsham who was the real star of the show as he amassed 284 from 379 balls as Somerset posted a huge total of 641 for six declared.
150 from David Sales helped to ensure that the hosts reached 400 for seven before declaring. The follow on was enforced and by the close of the match Northants were 32 for two in their second innings.
The match ended in a draw, but it will be remembered as the game that highlighted the very best of Marcus Trescothick’s considerable talent.
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 Northamptonshire CC Website.
NEXT MATCH
Somerset’s next match is in the LV= Insurance County Championship when we host Surrey at the Cooper Associates County Ground.
The match will start on Tuesday July 25th.
