SOMERSET V SURREY at Taunton (VCC)
9-12 SEPTEMBER 2024

With Somerset beating Durham and the match between Surrey and Notts ending in a draw, the gap between first and second in the County Championship has reduced by 11 points to 24, lending added spice to the meeting between the two main challengers, next up, at Taunton, where Somerset’s spinners took a combined 15 wickets in the last round.

Even with bat dominating up and down the country, there’s no denying the advantage the Kookaburra ball gives the twirlers. Notts’ off-spinner Farhan Ahmed also cashed in to become the youngest bowler (at 16 years and 192 days) to take ten wickets in a first-class fixture in England.

However, Surrey’s head coach, Gareth Batty – a spinner himself in his playing days – isn’t a fan of the on-off trialling of the Kookaburra ball (instead of the Dukes) in the championship.

“I have no problem with what the use of the Kookaburra is trying to achieve,” said Batty, after both sides had shaken hands on a draw at Trent Bridge. “I just don’t like [what it means for] the integrity of the league over 14 games with different balls. It is very strange. It’s almost like playing a round of Premier League games next week with no offside rule.”

The foundation for Somerset's victory over Durham was laid by hundreds from Tom Abell and James Rew, but the Cidermen's stand-out batters this season have been Tom Lammonby (806 championship runs at 44.77) and Tom Banton (713 at 44.56).

Despite struggling for consistency with the ball, Craig Overton (27 wickets at 34.66) is currently Somerset's leading wicket-taker, but catching him up fast is slow left-armer Jack Leach (26 at 28.80).

Surrey v Somerset - First-Class Records Sheet

If they play, Josh Blake and Yousef Majid will be making their first-class debuts, while Shakib Al Hasan will take to the field for the first time as a Surrey player. Tom Curran (195) is five wickets away from 200 in f-c cricket. For Somerset, Kasey Aldridge (907 runs), Tom Banton (1,911), Tom Lammonby (2,999) and Jack Leach (1,936) are all closing in on batting landmarks, while Josh Davey (198) needs two more victims to clock up 200 first-class career wickets.

As this round of matches coincides with the end of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka and the start of the white-ball series with Australia, the South Londoners will be without all of their England players. However, Surrey have pulled off a deal to sign Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who bowls left-arm spin, for a one-off appearance to backfill Will Jacks, who recorded career best figures of 7-129 at Trent Bridge. Josh Blake, Tom Curran, Ben Geddes and Yousef Majid are also named in Surrey's 15-man squad for Taunton.

The weather forecast for Taunton looks promising given the rain that's been around recently. The absence of Surrey's England players means both sides look evenly matched. But if spin plays a large part, you would have to say Somerset have the edge, even though Cam Steel's record in this year's Champo (23 wickets at 27.65) stands up to scrutiny. Surrey have won on their last two championship visits to Taunton, however their record there in red-ball cricket is pretty dire. Call me a pessimist, but I can see the hosts edging this one.

A.Umeed, L.Goldsworthy, T.Lammonby, T.Abell, T.Banton, J.Rew (wk), K.Aldridge, L.Gregory (capt), C.Overton, B.Randell and J.Leach.

David Millns and Steve O'Shaughnessy.

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