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Vitality County Championship Preview: Warwickshire v Somerset
THE MATCH
Somerset travel to Edgbaston to take on Warwickshire in the Vitality County Championship First Division.
Day one of this fixture is due to get underway tomorrow (Thursday August 22nd).
Somerset are currently second in the Vitality County Championship Division One table with 134 points from our nine fixtures, whilst Warwickshire are eighth with 96 points form the same number of matches.
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 Warwickshire 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: Alex Davies
Head Coach: Mark Robinson
2023 finish: Fourth (Division One)
2023 highest run-scorer: Sam Hain (706)
2023 highest wicket-taker: Olly Hannon-Dalby (54)
What can we expect?: A seam-attack of the highly-skilled Olly Hannon-Dalby and Chris Rushworth (107 wickets between them last season) assisted by charismatic overseas star Hasan Ali and the fast-improving Ed Barnard with, who knows, perhaps the occasional pinch of Chris Woakes stirred into the mix. Which direction will Warwickshire take after an erratic 2023 red-ball season which brought some brilliant days and some very poor ones? Rhodes’ departure as captain caused some disappointment among the fans who will be hoping that the focus of leadership helps Davies to improve a batting average of 27.15 for the Bears in first-class cricket.
Key winter moves: Alex Davies has replaced Will Rhodes as captain, the latter having stepped down after an impressive tenure which included leading the side to the Championship title in 2021. Pakistan paceman Hasan Ali returns until at least the end of July to rejoin a seam attack which will be without Henry Brookes who has moved to Middlesex.
One to watch: Olly Hannon-Dalby – always hunting wickets with the ball, as shown by his 450 across the formats for Warwickshire, and increasingly effective as a polished, left-handed, lower-order hitter with a cover drive that has drawn comparison with David Gower.
Final thought: Warwickshire should have enough about them to stay out of relegation trouble. To challenge at the other end of the table they will need good fortune with injuries in the bowling department – 51% of their Championship wickets last season were taken by two men aged 34 and 37. They will also need considerably more match-shaping innings from their top order. Only Sam Hain and Rob Yates scored more than one Championship century for Warwickshire in 2023.
TEAM NEWS
Shoaib Bashir is unavailable due to international duty.
Somerset have named the following squad for the match: Lewis Gregory (c), Andy Umeed, Tom Banton, Tom Lammonby, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Abell, James Rew, Lewis Goldsworthy, Craig Overton, Kasey Aldridge, Josh Davey, Jack Leach and Jake Ball.
VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM
Ahead of the match, Somerset Head Coach, Jason Kerr said: “It’s an exciting time for us. It’s great to have the whole group back together and although it seems like quite a long time ago, we’re coming off the back of an emphatic win over Warwickshire last time out in Championship cricket.
“Warwickshire are a good side, but our confidence is really high at the moment. There’s been a lot of individual and team success during the last month and we’re looking forward to going to Edgbaston and putting in a strong performance. There’s been a real energy around the place this week especially during training.
“The guys are excited to be back in each others company and there’s a real sense of optimism going into the game.”
CLASSIC MATCH
For our classic match between the two sides we head back to June 1922.
Somerset traveled to Edgbaston to take on Warwickshire in a three-day County Championship match in June of that year. It was a match that Somerset won by six wickets and it was a game to remember for Jack White.
The home side won the toss and elected to bat.
By the end of the opening day, Warwickshire had been reduced to 135 for eight. They lost their final two wickets for the addition of just one run on the morning of day two as Bill Greswell finished with seven for 42 from his 30 overs.
In reply, Somerset were dismissed for 142 inside 45 overs, Tom Lowry top scoring with 41.
By the close of play on day two, the hosts had advanced to 106 for four.
Day three belonged to Somerset and in particular Jack White.
The bowler claimed nine for 58 to finish with match figures of 12 for 92 as Warwickshire were dismissed for 148.
Somerset slipped to eight for two, but Lowry again top scored in the second innings with 47, sharing an unbeaten stand of 69 with John Daniell as the visitors reached their target for the loss of just four wickets.
WPA PREDICTIONS LEAGUE
The 2024 season is now upon us and that means another summer of elite cricket at the Cooper Associates County Ground, the sound of leather on willow and the return of the WPA Predictions League.
Powered by WPA Health Insurance, the game allows you to test your cricket knowledge against your friends and colleagues by scoring points during every Somerset match.
Your correct predictions will transfer into points, and you will be able to monitor your progress on the leaderboard.
The person with the most points at the end of the season in each competition will win a prize!
All you have to do is predict, watch and win!
Good luck!
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
If you are planning to attend the match, all the information you need can be found on the official Warwickshire CCC Website.
NEXT MATCH
Our next match begins on Thursday August 29th when we take on Durham in the Vitality County Championship at the Cooper Associates County Ground.
