Somerset CCC Match Preview - 3/7/21

Leicestershire CCC get their remaining two LV= County Championship Group Two fixtures underway with the trip to Somerset CCC to take on the group leaders.

The Running Foxes head into the clash on the back of their Vitality Blast victory away at Durham on Friday (July 2), and on the back of back-to-back victories in the County Championship against Middlesex CCC (27-30 May) and Gloucestershire CCC (3-5 June).

In the latest red-ball fixture for the Foxes, Marcus Harris recorded 148, accompanied by half-centuries from Colin Ackermann (57) and Lewis Hill (56). The impressive batting performance from the Foxes was backed up with the ball as Callum Parkinson recorded his second career 10-fer, and Ackermann recorded career-best bowling figures in first-class cricket as Leicestershire were victorious in three days.

The Season So Far

Prior to this match, Somerset lead the Group Two Table in the LV= Insurance County Championship, with 119 points even with an eight-point deduction. They lead the Running Foxes (93 points) by 26 points, so a win for Leicestershire in the upcoming match would put both Somerset and the other Group Two teams above us under real pressure.

Our hosts have picked up four wins, three draws and one loss so far, while we have won twice, drawn three times and lost three times. However, we take excellent red-ball form into this match, given that we are currently on a four-match unbeaten run which has seen us win our last two matches against Middlesex and Gloucestershire.

Last Time We Met

The Running Foxes faced Somerset early this season in April, at the Uptonsteel County Ground but fell to a nine-wicket defeat in a match which was more competitive than the end result indicated.

Batting first, we posted 233 with Lewis Hill (68) being the only player to pass 50 - Craig Overton impressed for the visitors taking 3-39 from his 17.4 overs. In reply, Somerset slipped to 39-3 and could have been reduced further with Tom Abell surviving a very tight run out decision, but recovered to amass 318 all out, with that man Abell hitting 88 and there being some lower-order resistance from George Bartlett (48) and wicket-keeper Steven Davies (59). For Leicestershire, Ben Mike (3-50) impressed with the ball.

Our second innings was a case of opportunity lost. From 48-4, we fought back to 162-5, with Hill again (47) and Harry Swindells (49) contributing, but we collapsed from that 162-5 to 199 all out. If we had managed to put on another 50-70 runs, it might have put Somerset under greater scoreboard pressure but they chased their 118 run target for the loss of Tom Banton, with Tom Lammonby (70 not out) the star man in their chase.

The Running Foxes

Marcus Harris has been in exceptional form for us this season, hitting 557 runs at an average of 61.88. He’s already hit three tons for the Running Foxes, with a top score of 185 - proving to be a real match-winner with the bat as our overseas player. After a big ton in the Second XI this week, Harris should be in good touch for the upcoming match.

Joining Harris as one of the leading run-scorers in County Cricket this year is Lewis Hill, who in two more matches has amassed more runs than Harris, with 599. This has been the best year of Hill’s career so far, and he has hit one century (121) and five fifties. Following Hill’s excellent innings against the Worcestershire Rapids last week in T20, the Leicester-born man should be in confident mood to add significantly to his run total against Somerset. 

Ben Mike impressed with both bat and ball against Somerset in the previous meeting, and has also done well for us in T20 cricket over the last month, hitting 124 runs at a strike rate of 153.08, and taking seven wickets at just 10.85 balls per wicket. The Running Foxes all-rounder is becoming a real threat to opposition teams and he will be hoping for another impressive display against our hosts over the next four days.

Opposition Players To Watch

Lewis Gregory is a key man with both bat and ball. The England white-ball all-rounder has scored 290 runs in the County Championship this season at an average of 48.33, with one century and two fifties. These strong batting performances are in conjunction with yet another solid season with the ball, with Gregory taking 21 wickets so far at an average of 30.71.

Leading the Somerset bowling averages is Craig Overton, who caused the Running Foxes batters some difficulty in our match earlier in the season. The England paceman, who many are tipping for another international call-up, has taken 36 wickets at just 12.86, including three five-wicket hauls. These wickets see Overton joint-third in the wicket-taking charts this season.

At this stage of the County Championship, Somerset have been a stronger bowling unit than a batting group, so their final player to watch is the Scotland pace bowler, Josh Davey. He’s taken 27 wickets this season at an excellent 17.40 average, and those 27 wickets see him placed joint-12th in the wickets list this season.

Our batters will have to be on their game to see off the threat of these three high-quality pace bowlers, but we have batted well in red-ball cricket this year so should go to Taunton with confidence that we can do so.

Leicestershire Squad

The Running Foxes commence their LV= County Championship campaign, following the hiatus for the Vitality Blast, as they travel to Somerset CCC to take on the Group Two leaders.

Leicestershire from 13:  Colin Ackermann (C), Ed Barnes, Nat Bowley, Will Davis, Gavin Griffiths, Marcus Harris, Lewis Hill, Josh Inglis (wk), Ben Mike, Rishi Patel, Callum Parkinson, Harry Swindells (wk), Nick Welch