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County Championship Preview: Somerset v Durham
THE MATCH
Somerset welcome Durham to the Cooper Associates County Ground this week in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship.
Day one of this fixture is tomorrow (Tuesday July 22nd).
Somerset are currently fourth in the table with 117 points from nine matches whilst Durham are sixth with 108 points.
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.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Gates will open at 10am.
Bag searches will be in operation and spectators are reminded that no glass or sharp implements will be permitted within the Cooper Associates County Ground.
For full Ground Regulations please visit the link below:
Ticket buyers can download their online tickets via their SCCC account.
All ticket or Membership collections or queries will be managed at the Jack White Gates (St James Street).
We are aware that there have been some issues with the delivery of Membership packs ahead of the new season. If you have any queries regarding your 2025 Membership card please visit the Jack White Gates (St James Street) where a member of staff will be happy to help you.
The Club Reception Desk is now permanently based in the Reception of the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion and not in the Andrew Caddick Pavilion.
Due to the busy nature of a matchday, our telephone lines will reopen at 10am on Monday July 28th.
Information on everything that you will need for a matchday at SCCC, including how to redeem your guest passes, how to download your e-tickets and how to use the SCCC Ticket App can all be found in our Visiting Guide.
The Brian Rose Gates will be open as follows:
- between 10am and 11:15am
- between 12.50pm and 1:50pm
- at the close of play
Block 5 of the Somerset Stand will be open to the public on all County Championship matchdays.
Scorecards will be available from Reception in the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion. Completed scorecards can be downloaded after the match via the Membership section of this website.
CATERING
Matchday food and drink will be available from Stragglers Coffee House, the Lord Botham Stand, the Great Catch Fish & Chip Bar (day one, day two and day three), plus the concession unit in the lower tier of the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion. There will also be additional catering in the fan village.
Matchday dining is also available in the County Room. We offer breakfast, a lunch and afternoon tea, subject to availability.
More information on County Room dining can be found via the link below:
HOW CAN I KEEP UP TO DATE?
Our award winning live stream is available for fans to watch via this website and our YouTube channel.
You can also keep up to date by using our dedicated matchday blog via this website’s Match Centre and on our X feed.
In association with Vertu, Somerset County Cricket Club will be providing radio ear pieces to enable Members and supporters to enjoy our live ball-by-ball match commentary. These will be available to purchase from Reception in the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion at a cost of £12 and these will last all season.
A report on the day’s play will also be posted on this website.
THE OPPOSITION
Captain: Alex Lees
Head Coach: Ryan Campbell
2024Â finish: Fifth (Division One)
2024 highest run-scorer: David Bedingham (1,331)
2024 highest wicket-taker: Matthew Potts (33)
After winning Division Two in 2023, Durham consolidated their top-flight position last season by finishing mid-table courtesy of four wins and five draws. It will be fascinating to chart the progress of three highly-rated homegrown youngsters as they tackle a summer in which Alex Lees will captain Durham’s Championship team alongside their white-ball sides. Opening batter Ben McKinney scored an England Lions century against Australia A this winter and is targeting a breakthrough campaign, while fast bowlers Daniel Hogg and James Minto can further progress after brief – and exciting – exposure in last summer’s Rothesay County Championship.
TEAM NEWS
Tom Banton returns and a starting XI will be named from the following squad.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the match, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “We’re in a good place and the group are feeling confident. Our last four-day game against Notts was challenging but we played some good cricket. We’ve got two Championship matches before the break for The Hundred and the intention is to get two wins.
“The preparation times that you get when you switch between formats isn’t ideal but the guys have acquitted themselves brilliantly in making that transition so far this season. Hopefully, we can do that again.
“Durham have got a really strong squad and they play good cricket. We had a really good result up at their place and hopefully we can do something similar in front of our Members and supporters this week.”
CLASSIC MATCH
We go back to last season for the classic County Championship match between the two sides.
It was a match that saw centuries for Tom Abell and James Rew plus 12 wickets for Jack Leach as the home side sealed victory by 293 runs.
Lewis Gregory won the toss and elected to bat and Somerset posted 492 in the first innings courtesy of Abell (124) and Rew (103).
Brydon Carse contributed an unbeaten 104 as Durham replied with 336, Leach claiming five for 124.
Batting for a second time, Somerset declared on 263 for five.
Leach excelled again in Durham’s second innings as the visitors were dismissed for 126. The England spinner claiming seven for 50.
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2025 HALF SEASON MEMBERSHIP
Half Season Membership for 2025 is now on sale!
It’s been an exciting start to the season and you can still catch the remainder of the action even if you missed out on purchasing full Membership for 2025.
Half Season Membership gives you 16 days of cricket for just £115. That’s less than £8 per day!
To give you even more value for money, any ticket buyers will have the cost of their ticket for this match taken off the price of Half Season Membership!
What do I get?
- Access to four home Metro Bank One Day Cup group stage matches (Starting 8th August) with Members only seating options.
- Access to three home Rothesay County Championship Division One matches (Starting 22nd July) with Members only seating options.
In addition to the matchday action, you will also receive:
- Access to priority ticket windows
- Access to Members only early bird pricing for 2026
- An invitation to remaining Member events
- 10% discount at selected Somerset owned food and drink concessions at the CACG
- 10% off room hire on non-matchdays
- 10% off box and terrace packages plus County Room matchday dining
- Digital almanac
- Digital scorecards
- Exclusive online content
- Somerset Rewards
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a Member of Somerset County Cricket Club?
Well, now you can find out!
On any day of our this Rothesay County Championship match against Nottinghamshire we are offering our Member For The Day ticket.
For just £24 in advance or £30 on the gate you will receive a special ticket which will provide you with Member benefits for the day.
You will receive:
- Access to our Member Stands and Member Bar
- A 10% discount at SCCC food and drink concessions
To experience a matchday as a Somerset County Cricket Club Member, take advantage of this special offer now!
VITALITY BLAST QUARTER-FINAL TICKETS
Tickets for our Vitality Blast quarter-final against Birmingham Bears will be available to purchase at the Jack White Gates during this week’s Rothesay County Championship match against Durham.
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!
NEXT MATCH
Somerset’s next match sees us take on Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in the Rothesay County Championship.
The match begins on Tuesday July 29th.
Tickets are still available.
