MATCH PREVIEW: Lancashire v Somerset
Lancashire will hope things take a turn for the better when Somerset visit Manchester this week. Not performance wise, but Glen Chapple’s side could do with just a bit more Lady Luck.
Lancashire v Somerset
LV= Insurance County Championship, Division One
Thursday May 11 - Sunday May 14, 2023 (11am)
Emirates Old Trafford
Since battling back to draw the opening round clash with Surrey at Emirates Old Trafford last month, the Red Rose have had the better of clashes with Essex, Somerset and Nottinghamshire on the road but have been unable to get over the winning line.
That was most evident at Trent Bridge on Sunday when Notts, set 295 to win in 67 overs, slipped to 55-6 and later 136-9 in the final over but clung on.
They face a Somerset side who sit a place below them in eighth in the table, three points adrift, having drawn three and lost one. They drew with Northamptonshire at Taunton over the weekend.
New Zealand overseas all-rounder Daryl Mitchell is in line to make his Red Rose debut in what will be the county’s second home game after three on the road.
Opposition:
Somerset have made a solid but far from spectacular start to the summer, drawing three games and losing the other. Nottinghamshire beat them by an innings in round two last month, adding to draws against Warwickshire, Lancashire and Northamptonshire.
Captained by Tom Abell and coached by Lancashire-born Jason Kerr, they have employed Australian duo Cam Bancroft and Peter Siddle for the early stages of the summer.
Former Lancashire quick Siddle is available until the end of July, but Bancroft is set to be replaced this week by New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry.
Like Red Rose all-rounder Daryl Mitchell, Henry arrives in Taunton from Pakistan, where he has been on limited overs international duty of late.
James Rew is their leading run-scorer with 316 so far, while Lewis Gregory has taken 19 wickets.
England Test spinner Jack Leach will hope to find favourable conditions when he arrives at Emirates Old Trafford.
Opposing player to watch:
Last month, when the two teams met at Taunton, we highlighted young wicketkeeper batter James Rew as the man to keep an eye on. And he only went on and scored a first-innings 117. Let’s hope the same thing doesn’t happen again.
This time, we will concentrate on a man with more experience, their new signing from our arch-rivals Yorkshire, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, whose move to the West Country was somewhat of a surprise this winter but due in part to the issues ongoing at Headingley.
A former England Lions batter a regular on the global franchise scene, Kohler-Cadmore has more of a reputation for being a destructive white ball opener. And he is a player who hasn’t yet nailed first-class cricket.
He has shown signs of excellence, such as his first-innings century against Northamptonshire at Taunton - his maiden Somerset century. But consistency is the next step for the 28-year-old, who has 11 career red ball hundreds to his name in 87 matches.
Kohler-Cadmore reached his century by whacking the first ball of day three for a straight six when resuming on 95.
Previous meeting:
We only have to look as far back as last month when these two sides met at Taunton and played out a high-scoring draw.
Captain Tom Abell (151) and James Rew (117) shared a fifth-wicket partnership of 244 to recover their side from strife at 80-4 to 324-4 before they went on to total 441 all out, including 5-76 for Jimmy Anderson.
Lancashire then batted beyond their hosts to 554, doing so at a rate of five runs per over thanks largely to Keaton Jennings’ 189 and support from fellow opener Luke Wells (82) and Josh Bohannon (85). Jennings shared 154 with the former and 222 with the latter for the second wicket.
Unfortunately, Jennings had to retire hurt with the hamstring injury which is currently sidelining him, and it stunted their progress as from 413-2 they only went on to make 554.
It gave Somerset a way back into the game, and despite falling from 49-0 to 169-6 midway through day four - a lead of 56 - they survived thanks largely to young seamer Kasey Aldridge’s 58 not out, his maiden first-class fifty. They finished on 256-6.
Lancashire were the ones who drove the game on a flat pitch and attacked looking for victory. It was a positive performance, if a frustrating result.
What they said:
Wicketkeeper-batter George Bell is relishing the prospect of having New Zealand Test all-rounder Daryl Mitchell as a team-mate for the next couple of months.
Mitchell has signed on to play some Championship cricket through the middle of the season and the whole of the Vitality Blast.
“He looks like he’s in good form at the minute. He’s had two hundreds in the ODI series just gone against Pakistan,” said Bell.
“He’s definitely going to bring a bit of something extra to our batting line-up, and I’m looking forward to playing alongside him and see how he goes about things. Hopefully I can learn a few things from him.
“He’s done it at international level all over the world.”
Mitchell spent part of his childhood in Manchester, where Bell has also grown up.
And Bell added: “If you know the area, you’re going to settle in quicker. Our group’s a great one. We’ll welcome him with open arms, and hopefully he enjoys it and scores a load of runs and takes some wickets as well.”
How’s Stat!
Daryl Mitchell is only nine wickets away from taking 100 in first-class cricket.
As an aside, his father John has just agreed to take over as coach of the England women’s Rugby Union team later this year.
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