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County Championship Preview: Nottinghamshire v Somerset
THE MATCH
Somerset travel to Trent Bridge to face Nottinghamshire in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship.
Day one of this fixture is tomorrow (Tuesday July 29th).
Tickets for this match are still available:
Somerset are currently third in the table with 137 points from 10 matches whilst Nottinghamshire are second with 153 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
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 Nottinghamshire 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
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Captain: Haseeb Hameed
Head Coach: Peter Moores
2024 finish: Eighth
2024 highest run-scorer: Haseeb Hameed (1,091)
2024 highest wicket-taker: Dillon Pennington (31)
Key winter moves: South African seamer Dane Paterson’s move to Middlesex after 180 wickets in four seasons at Trent Bridge came as a surprise, although international cricket may now limit his availability. Australia’s 24-year-old pacy all-rounder Fergus O’Neill (four matches in April) and Pakistan quick Mohammad Abbas (six rounds, in May and September) arrive as overseas bowlers. Conor McKerr from Surrey further boosts the seam stock. South African wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne can offer significant middle-order runs.
Player to watch: After he burst on the scene with 22 wickets in four matches at the end of last season, Nottinghamshire accept it will be hard to keep record-breaking 17-year-old off-spinner Farhan Ahmed out of their line-up irrespective of the need to manage his physical development. Even with talented leggie Calvin Harrison and quality left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White offering competition, Farhan is in pole position to be the side’s No 1 choice as specialist slow bowler.
Final thought: After looking more like relegation candidates than title prospects since returning to Division One two seasons ago, Nottinghamshire are sensibly not setting their ambitions higher than finishing in the top half of the table in 2025. Although they have a decent hand of bowlers, more is needed from the batters, particularly the middle order, and particularly in the first innings, where they have fallen notably short.
TEAM NEWS
Somerset have named the following squad for this match:
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
On the eve of the fixture, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “Trent Bridge is a great venue and it’s an iconic Test ground. Most importantly this match gives us the opportunity to go into the break with real momentum. The intention is to finish this block with a win.
“There’s a lot of cricket still to play in the Championship, but we put in a fantastic performance against Durham. I thought the lads were exceptional although there was a bit of reckless cricket in there from time to time. That might be a carry over from T20 cricket but fortunately we got on the right end of the result. Hopefully, we can take that momentum into the game at Trent Bridge.”
CLASSIC MATCH
We go back to 2016 for the classic First Class match between the two sides at Trent Bridge.
It was a game that Somerset won by 10 wickets thanks to a double hundred from Marcus Trescothick.
Nottinghamshire Captain, Chris Read won the toss and elected to bat first.
Jacob Libby (90) and Steven Mullaney (165) shared an opening stand of 196. However, Craig Overton (four for 54) led the fightback as the hosts were dismissed for 401.
In reply, Somerset secured a 36-run first innings lead thanks to Trescothick (218) and half centuries from Johann Myburgh (54) and Jim Allenby (63). Imran Tahir was the pick of the home attack, claiming seven for 112.
Batting for a second time, Notts were all out for 135, Allenby and Lewis Gregory both claiming three wickets.
Trescothick and Myburgh then saw their side over the line to secure a comprehensive win for Somerset.
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 Nottinghamshire CCC Website.
NEXT MATCH
Somerset’s next match sees us take on Cornwall in a National Counties fixture at Wadebridge CC on Monday August 4th.
Play will get underway at 11am and tickets are still available at a cost of £10 for adults and £5 for under 18s.
