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Vitality County Championship Preview: Lancashire v Somerset
THE MATCH
Somerset take on Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford this week in Division One of the Vitality County Championship.
Day one of this fixture is tomorrow (Tuesday September 17th).
Somerset are currently second in the Division One table with 190 points from 12 matches, whilst Lancashire are ninth with 107 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
Tickets for this match are still available.
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 Lancashire CCC.
In-play updates will also appear on our X feed (formerly Twitter).
Don’t forget that we have introduced the Trade Nation Win Predictor on our Match Centre in 2024.
The predictor, which is powered by CricViz and commonly used across the game as ‘WinViz’, is utilised by broadcasters around the world to help viewers get an accurate impression of which team is winning at any given moment.
In addition to this, a report on the day’s play along with quotes will be posted on this website.
THE OPPOSITION
Captain: Keaton Jennings
Head Coach: Dale Benkenstein
2023 finish: Fifth (Division One)
2023 leading run-scorer: Keaton Jennings (945)
2023 leading wicket-taker: George Balderson (28)
TEAM NEWS
Somerset are without Tom Banton (ankle ligaments) for the trip to Lancashire.
A starting XI will be named from the following squad: Lewis Gregory, Andy Umeed, Tom Lammonby, Tom Abell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Archie Vaughan, Lewis Goldsworthy, James Rew, Kasey Aldridge, Craig Overton, Josh Davey, Jack Leach, Brett Randell and Jake Ball.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the match, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “Obviously, the weekend was disappointing in terms of the result but we need to take pride in the fact that we’re putting ourselves in the position to win trophies. People were hurting on Saturday and I think we need to process that. We need to do that quickly. Our job as coaches is to make sure that we’re prepared for this week and that we concentrate on the processes needed to win a four-day game. We need to now focus on the task in hand and the players will take on that responsibility of making sure that they’re ready to go, come tomorrow.
“We’ve got an incredibly important week ahead of us, so we need to dust ourselves down and prepare really well for the next few days ahead of us at Old Trafford. It’s crunch time at the top and the bottom of the table and all teams will want to finish the season well to carry momentum into next year. We need to make sure that we’re focused and driven at that we deliver our skills.
“We’re without Tom Banton for this game and we’ll take a squad of 14. Lewis Gregory has come through the weekend really well, and Tom Abell will train this afternoon so we are hopeful that he will be involved.”
CLASSIC MATCH
We go back to 1963 for our classic First Class encounter between the two side.
Somerset traveled to Lancashire for a three-day County Championship fixture in May of that year. It was a match that was concluded within two days and saw Somerset come out on top by an innings and 64 runs, thanks mainly to the brilliance of Ken Palmer.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first the home side were dismissed for just 62 from 45.3 overs. Palmer was the destroyer-in-chief, claiming seven for 36 from his 22.3 overs.
In reply, Somerset posted a first innings total of 249 with Merv Kitchen top scoring for the visitors with 67.
Palmer impressed again in the Lancashire second innings, claiming four for 37 to finish with match figures of 11 for 73 as the hosts were dismissed for 123.
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 is on Sunday (September 22nd) when we take on Glamorgan in the final of the Metro Bank One Day Cup at Trent Bridge.
Tickets for this match are available now.
