Two counties with different reasons for needing a win clash at Edgbaston
With the return of four day County Championship cricket, Warwickshire and Somerset meet at Edgbaston.
The home team have had some success in the Vitality Blast (qualified for the quarter finals top in their Group) and Metro Bank Trophy (beaten semi-finalists) but in the Vitality Championship, they are the only side in the top Division who have not yet won a match. Languishing in eighth place with only Worcestershire and Kent below them, they desperately need a win to avoid relegation.
Somerset on the other hand, are riding high in all three county competitions. They have just qualified for the final of the Metro Bank competition while in the Blast, where they are the current holders, they are through to the quarters and they sit in second place in the Vitality Championship. No other county this season has been so successful in all three competitions. Even so, they are 23 points behind Surrey in the Championship and are just as desperate as their opponents for a win, though for different reasons.
When the teams met at Taunton in June, Warwickshire took a lead of over 100 on first innings and then declared setting Somerset a target of more than 400, only to see them win comfortably by five wickets, with Tom Abell scoring an unbeaten 152.
With many of the players who will appear at Edgbaston having just finished a stint in The Hundred, their preparation for a return to four day cricket has been far from ideal, maybe even (to borrow a word from current American politics) weird. Taking examples from both sides, rising Bears star Dan Mousley has played six games for Birmingham Phoenix this month, has batted four times and had scores of 0, 0, 0 and 2. He has also managed to do a bit of bowling, though he has taken only one wicket in the same six matches. Meanwhile, Somerset’s Tom Lammonby has, during August, also played six times for Oval Invincibles and batted only twice, scoring 18 runs.
Ironically, those players not picked up for The Hundred have probably had much better preparation and moved themselves up the pecking order for selection in the Championship team. Warwickshire’s Hamza Shaikh, aged just 18, has captained and scored a century for England Under 19s and has also scored 91 against Sri Lanka for England Lions in his first class debut just a week ago. Then there is 19 year old Kai Smith, yet to play in a first class match, who came in to bat in a Metro Bank game last week when Warwickshire were struggling at 77-5, chasing 289 to win. 30 overs later, there he was hitting the winnings runs to finish on 130 not out.
For Somerset, Andy Umeed, released by the Bears in 2018 and not given a contract with Somerset until 2022, has continued his successful second coming with consistent run scoring in the Metro Bank Trophy to add to some solid efforts in the Championship. Another is Lewis Goldsworthy who has scored over 400 runs in the One Day Cup at an average of almost 60 and tkane 11 wickets at under 20 apiece.
Overall, this looks like a fascinating contest, at the end of which the likely final outcomes at both ends of the Division One table will look much clearer.
Key Players
For Warwickshire, Ed Barnard has, since joining from neighbours Worcestershire, become a key all-rounder. He is averaging nearly 50 with the bat in the Championship this year, although his ten wickets have been somewhat expensive. In addition, he has stepped up to captain the side in the Metro Bank Cup where he has topped the team’s batting and bowling averages, his 19 wickets in that competition coming at under 16 apiece.
Somerset’s all-rounder Lewis Gregory is captaining the side and can usually be relied upon to contribute valuable runs and wickets. He has been slightly short of Championship runs so far this year, but his 20 wickets have cost him less than 30 apiece and place him second in the team averages.
The respective fortunes of Barnard and Gregory in this match may well be crucial to the result.
Team News
Warwickshire will be without Chris Woakes who is on England duty and Sam Hain misses out with a hamstring strain. Chris Rushworth returns and they have recalled New Zealander Michael Rae, who played earlier in the season.
Warwickshire squad: Alex Davies (c), Ed Barnard, Chris Benjamin, Jacob Bethell, MIchael Booth, Danny Briggs, Michael Burgess (wk), Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Dan Mousley, Michale Rae, Will Rhodes, Chris Rushworth, Hamza Shaikh, Rob Yates
Somerset have gifted Shoaib Bashir to the England squad, but he takes second place to Jack Leach as spinner in the Somerset side so probably would not have played at Edgbaston. It is a further sign of the club’s confidence in their bowling squad that three players have been sent out on loan – Ben Green to Leicestershire (for his third spell this season), Alfie Ogborne to Kent and Ned Leonard to Glamorgan.
Somerset squad: Lewis Gregory (c), Tom Abell, Kasey Aldridge, Jake Ball, Tom Banton, Josh Davey, Lewis Goldsworthy, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Tom Lammonby, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, James Rew (wk), Andy Umeed,
Weather and Conditions
Sunshine and showers are forecast but the exact amount and timing of any rain is not all that clear. Both teams will be hoping that they can spend enough time on the pitch to achieve a result.
As usual, despite the demands on the Edgbaston square, groundsman Gary Barwell should produce a decent pitch.
Date: 22nd August 2024
Time: 11.00 am
Ground: Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham
Odds (Skybet): Both teams 10/11
https://m.skybet.com/cricket/county-championship/warwickshire-v-somerset/34123177
