County Championship Preview: Somerset v Essex
THE MATCH
Somerset welcome Essex to the Cooper Associates County Ground this week in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship.
Day one of this fixture is tomorrow (Thursday August 20th).
Tickets are available now:
Somerset are currently second in the Division One table with 111 points from eight matches whilst Essex are sixth with 105 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
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).
The Club Reception Desk is based in the Reception of the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion.
Due to the busy nature of a matchday, our telephone lines will reopen at 10am on Monday August 24th.
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
- for the duration of the tea interval
- at the close of play
Blocks 4 and 5 of the Somerset Stand will be open to the public on day one and two for this fixture. Block five will remain open on days three and four.
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 and from additional third-party concessions.
The bar in the Lord Botham Stand will be open on days one and two of this fixture.
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.
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: Tom Westley
Director of cricket: Chris Silverwood
2025 finish: 6th
2025 highest run-scorer: Paul Walter (914)
2025 highest wicket-taker: Jamie Porter (49)
Key winter moves: Essex had already bagged the pacy Zaman Akhter from Gloucestershire and Durham rookie Mitchell Killeen before the end of last season to make rotation of their seam attack smoother.
What can we expect?: With some of the more senior players reaching the twilight of their careers, who will step up in their places? Charlie Allison enjoyed a breakthrough season with the bat in 2025 and has surely cemented his spot long-term. Another home-grown talent Charlie Bennett emerged late on in the campaign to suggest he could bolster a bowling unit often overstretched last year.
Aiming to catch selectors’ eyes: With positions in England’s upper order looking up for grabs after the Ashes, a call-up for Jordan Cox may not be long coming. The combative right-hander, a man for all formats, fits the attacking England model but is capable of switching to more orthodox, conservative mode if circumstances demand.
TEAM NEWS
Somerset are without Tom Kohler-Cadmore (thumb), Alfie Ogborne (back), Thomas Rew (ankle) and Fin Hill (hamstring).
New signing Henry Nicholls comes straight into contention.
A starting XI will be selected from the following squad:
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the match, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “There’s huge excitement around the group, we’ve practised hard over the course of the last couple of days and we’re looking forward to getting our red ball campaign back under way.
“The top teams in the table are heavily bunched together and it’s been a year where all sides have been beating each other across all formats. We need to get off to a good start for this group of six games and try and stay in the moment ahead of what’s going to be a really exciting few weeks for us.
“Essex are a strong side. We’ve had some incredible games over the last few years, and I’ve got no doubt that this week will be exactly the same. They’re incredibly competitive, they’ve got a lot of experience in their ranks, and we need to make sure that we draw on everything that we’ve done really well this year and apply that.
“We’ve added Henry Nicholls to the squad and he’s a great character. He’s obviously an incredible performer as well, so we’re fortunate that we’ve managed to secure the services of someone of such high calibre.”
CLASSIC MATCH
We head back to 2018 for the classic County Championship match between Somerset and Essex at Taunton.
It was a match that the home side won by 45 runs after Jack Leach had the visitors in a spin!
Somerset Captain, Tom Abell won the toss and elected to bat first.
Marcus Trescothick (95) and Abell (70) helped to ensure that the home side posted a first innings total of 324. Peter Siddle was the pick of the Notts attack, claiming five for 80.
In reply, the visitors slipped to 54 for four before Ryan ten Doeschate (73) got the innings back on track. However, Somerset claimed a big first innings lead after limiting Notts to 191.
Batting for a second time, Somerset were all out for 202, Eddie Byrom top scoring with 42.
Nick Browne (86), Tom Westley (56) and ten Doeschate (50) ensured that Notts stayed in the game, but Leach claimed career-best figures of eight for 85 to finish with match figures of 10 for 112 as Somerset wrapped up the win.
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THE WOLLENS O-ZONE CHALLENGE!
Somerset County Cricket Club have teamed up with Wollens Solicitors to help raise money for Children’s Hospice South West in 2026.
If any player hits the ball through the “O” of the Wollens advertising board at the Cooper Associates County Ground this year, Wollens will donate £1 for every run that is scored in that innings!
Regarding the initiative, Emma Perry, Head of Fundraising at CHSW, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Wollens Solicitors and Somerset County Cricket Club for their fantastic support. The Wollens O-Zone Challenge is such a fun and creative way for players to help raise vital funds while doing what they love out on the pitch. Every run scored has the potential to make a real difference to the families we support, and we’re so thankful to everyone involved for getting behind this initiative.”
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 Rothesay County Championship cricket we are offering our Member For The Day ticket.
For just £26 (£32 on the day) 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
To experience a matchday as a Somerset County Cricket Club Member, take advantage of this special offer now!
Already a Member? Tell your friends about this offer and they could join you in the Members areas for this fixture.
*2026 Associate Membership, Somerset Women Membership, Somerset Nation Membership and Junior Membership does not qualify in this offer.
NEXT MATCH
Somerset’s next match begins on Friday August 27th when we take on Sussex at the County Ground, Hove in the Rothesay County Championship.
Tickets for this match are still available.
