County Championship Preview: Somerset v Surrey
THE MATCH
Somerset welcome Surrey to the Cooper Associates County Ground this week in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship.
Day one of this fixture is tomorrow (Thursday September 24th).
Tickets are available now:
Somerset are currently second in the Division One table with 192 points from 13 matches and still have a chance of winning a maiden County Championship title. Surrey are seventh with 140 points from the same number of fixtures.
SCHEDULED HOURS OF PLAY:
Morning session: 10:30am to 12:30pm
Afternoon session: 1:10pm to 3:10pm
Evening session: 3:30pm to 5:30pm
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Gates will open at 9:30am.
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 September 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 9:30am and 10:45am
- between 12.20pm and 1:20pm
- for the duration of the tea interval
- at the close of play
Block 5 of the Somerset Stand will be open to the public.
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: Rory Burns
Head Coach: Gareth Batty
2025 finish: 2nd
2026 leading run-scorer: Dan Lawrence (843)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Matthew Fisher (37)
TEAM NEWS
Somerset are without Alfie Ogborne (back), Thomas Rew (ankle) and Fin Hill (hamstring) but Tom Kohler-Cadmore returns to the squad.
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: “We’ve got nothing to lose now. It was disappointing last week up at Headingley and now coming into the last fixture we know what we’ve got to do. We need a comprehensive victory and hopefully we get a little bit of help up the road.
“One of the hardest things in sport is dealing with the stuff on the outside, the peripherals, the distractions. For the last month, we’ve talked about only concentrating on the things that we can control. We know that we need to put in a really strong performance. We need that performance to go almost perfectly. The best way to do that is to concentrate on the process, make sure the guys are enjoying their cricket and not getting too distracted by what’s happening elsewhere.
“We’ve got an incredible group in the dressing room. They were disappointed last week, and it was a really quiet dressing room, and a quiet bus journey home. That’s now in the past. That’s gone now and there’s nothing we can do about that. All season, the way the team has responded to adversity has been incredible. We’ve got one more opportunity to do something at home in front of our home crowd where we love playing, so I’ve got no concerns about them being up for it on Thursday.”
CLASSIC MATCH
We head back to 2024 for the classic First Class match between the two sides at Taunton.
It was a game that will live long in the memory of Somerset Members and supporters after the home side secured a dramatic last gasp victory!
MATCH SPONSOR – WPA HEALTH INSURANCE
A truly local organisation, WPA has been based in the South West for 125 years. As a specialist UK not-for-profit health insurer, WPA provides award-winning health insurance solutions to individuals, families and businesses of all sizes, with a strong reputation for personal service and community commitment.
WPA’s involvement with Somerset Cricket extends well beyond the professional game. Somerset CCC and WPA are dedicated to supporting and encouraging members of the wider Somerset Cricket family through the Somerset Dreams initiative.
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.”
