SOMERSET V SURREY at Bath (LVCC2), 14-17 JUNE 2006

Seeing as Surrey have not tasted victory at Taunton since 1986, how can one possibly complain that this match will mark the first of many in the championship this summer, for the Brown Caps, to be played at an outground? Well, quite easily really. The Brown Caps have lost at Bath on two occasions in recent memory and you have to go all the way back to 1959 to find their last championship success there. That was a ten-wicket victory that owed much to David Fletcher's unbeaten 100, which Jim Laker followed up by taking 7-59 to skittle the hosts out for 140 in their second innings.

On paper, Surrey are firm favourites, due, in part, to the problems Somerset have experienced this summer. The inspirational Ian Blackwell could well be out for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury; and after making just 56 runs in three championship matches opening batsman John Francis has been dropped, while brother Simon Francis is rumoured to have been shown the door.

Only stand-in skipper Cameron White (635 championship runs at an average of 52.91) and Keith Parsons have proved reliable with the bat this term, although Wesley Durston has notched up four half-centuries and, as he proved against Essex, Peter Trego can also wield the willow with great effect from time to time. But, on the downside, opener Matthew Wood is yet to make a championship half century this year and the youthful James Hildreth cannot come of age too soon.

The bowling attack has been carried by new-ball pair Andy Caddick (29 championship wickets at 29.20 runs apiece) and Charl Willoughby (28 wickets at 21.25). Richard Johnson has bowled without much luck, but given that most of the wickets in the country have been taking spin for a while it is disappointing, to say the least, that the Cidermen's best spinner has been Dan Cullen, who is currently averaging 54.42 with the ball.

Jonathan Batty needs one more dismissal for the 400th of his first-class career, Martin Bicknell is five wickets away from taking 1,000 in the County Championship and Nayan Doshi needs 3 wickets for 100 f-c. Of those in the Somerset ranks Wesley Durston has 967 f-c runs, while Matthew Wood has 9 f-c hundreds. 

Azhar Mahmood is out of contention due to an ankle injury, while bad backs will see James Ormond and, possibly, Mark Butcher on the sideline for this match. The good news, however, is that James Benning is fit again and will fill Azhar's shoes. If Butcher is not passed fit his place will either be taken by Richard Clinton, or, more likely, Neil Saker, who has had a superb start to the season, with the ball, for the seconds.

Even though Bath hasn't been any more a happy hunting ground for Surrey than Taunton, four-hundred is a par first innings score there, so Bath should play to the visitors' main strength, which is their batting. Other than day four the weather forecast is set far, so we can look forward to a result and one has to say that, even without the services of Azhar Mahmood, Surrey look the much stronger of the two sides likely to be on show.

M Wood, A Suppiah, W Durston, J Hildreth, C White (capt), K Parsons, C Gazzard (wk), P Trego, A Caddick, R Johnson and C Willoughby.

Mike Harris and Richard Illingworth.

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