SOMERSET V SURREY at Taunton (CGT 4th Round), 28 MAY 2003

In their last six one-day meetings with Somerset, Surrey have lost every time.  So, in some respects, the fourth round draw could not have worked out worse for the Oval outfit.  But trends are there to be broken and the home side's recent limited-overs form can hardly be described as unblemished.  Adam Hollioake's men, on the other hand, are still unbeaten in all forms of cricket this season.

One look at who has made runs for Somerset in one-day cricket this year tells you that an early breakthrough is imperative.  Marcus Trescothick has made 257 in four visits to the crease and Jamie Cox 228 in six.  Apart from them only Ian Blackwell has more than a hundred runs against his name this term.

The bowling has been equally patchy, particularly in the absence of Andy Caddick.  To date, Nixon McLean has bowled tidily for his new county, while Simon Francis and Keith Parsons have acted as the partnership-breakers.  But there has been little else to cheer the cidermen, who may consider throwing in 19-year-old spinner Gareth Andrew following his 3-56 in the NCL Division Two win over the Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Taunton a week or so ago.

There are a couple of notable C&G landmarks on the horizon for the players in Surrey's ranks tomorrow.  Alistair Brown needs 135 runs for 1,000 in Trophy matches; while Martin Bicknell requires four more wickets to equal Robin Jackman's record haul for the county of 62 victims.

Traditionally, Surrey have not only struggled against Somerset for some reason, they have also found Taunton a far from happy hunting ground.  They have been defeated there on each of their last five one-day visits.  So, I will probably end up regretting this, but I fancy the visitors to win this one. 

Alex Tudor is recovering from a minor knee operation and Ian Ward is fighting to be fit after injuring his groin in the field at Chelmsford last week.  Martin Bicknell is 50:50 after aggravating the blow he took on the right index finger against Leicestershire attempting a hard chance at fourth slip on Saturday.  Mark Butcher, who is yet to make an appearance in limited-overs cricket this summer, has been named in the Surrey squad and will presumably come in if Ward is not risked.

J Cox, M Trescothick, C Gazzard, M Burns (capt), K Parsons, I Blackwell, K Dutch, R Turner (wk), R Johnson, N McLean and S Francis.

21 Aug 2001	NL	Lost By 4 Wickets	Taunton
10 Jun 2001	NL	Lost By 8 Wickets	The Oval
14 Aug 1999	NWT	Lost By 120 Runs	Taunton
18 Jul 1999	NL	Lost By 2 Wickets	Guildford
23 May 1999	NL	Lost By 6 Wickets	Taunton
25 May 1998	NL	Lost By 7 Wickets	Taunton
8 May 1998	B&H	Won By 9 Runs	The Oval
27 Apr 1997	NL	Won By 3 Wickets	The Oval
30-31 Jul 1996	NWT	Won By 5 Wickets	The Oval
5 May 1996	NL	Lost By 53 Runs	Taunton
11 Jun 1995	NL	No Result	The Oval
9 May 1995	B&H	Won By 7 Wickets	Taunton
19 Jun 1994	NL	Lost By 18 Runs	Bath
26 Apr 1994	B&H	Won By 35 Runs	The Oval
29 Aug 1993	NL	Won By 5 Wickets	The Oval
27 Jul 1993	NWT	Lost By 43 Runs	Taunton
21 Jun 1992	NL	Won By 4 Wickets	Bath
4 May 1991	B&H	Lost By 4 Wickets	Taunton
21 Apr 1991	NL	Lost (Scoring Rate)	The Oval
5 Aug 1990	NL	Won By 6 Wickets	Weston-super-Mare

GO TO:



BACK TO: