Visit Hampshire Cricket and Utilita Bowl's online store to get your hands on official replica and supporter kit as well as a range of other merchandise.
Match Preview: Hampshire Men v Somerset, Rothesay County Championship
Match Preview: Hampshire Men v Somerset, Rothesay County Championship
Hampshire Men host Somerset at Utilita Bowl, with both sides coming off the back of massive wins against Yorkshire and Essex
Hampshire Men v Somerset
Rothesay County Championship
Friday 17-Monday 20 April (11am start)
Utilita Bowl
Utilita Bowl will play host to Hampshire Men and Somerset in the third round of the Rothesay County Championship.
Both sides come into the match off the back of huge wins, with Hampshire beating Yorkshire by 214 runs up at Headingley, whilst the Wyverns dismantled Essex, who dominated proceedings against Hampshire in the opening round, to beat them by ten wickets.
Jake Lehmann made twin fifties up in Leeds and narrowly missed out on a first century for the Rose and Crown, but Ben Brown’s unbeaten second innings ton and subsequent declaration to set the Tykes a target of 426 proved too much for the hosts.
With the ball, Kyle Abbott was at his very best as he claimed a seventh career ten-wicket match, and his fifth for Hampshire. He claimed four first innings wickets and was on course to break Derek Shackleton’s record for the best figures for a Hampshire bowler against Yorkshire when he claimed six in the second innings, before Liam Dawson swooped in to finish the game.
Sonny Baker bowled with great pace and accuracy as he claimed five wickets in the game, which included three wickets in an over late on day one.
Somerset’s ten-wicket victory at Chelmsford was set up by the bowlers, as new signing Josh Shaw claimed 3-30 with two each for fellow seamers Craig Overton, Jake Ball, and Tom Lammonby.
Following a worrying start at 17/3, Craig Overton produced a captain’s knock with 141, his second First-Class century and career-best innings, to see Somerset to 348 before they chased down their target of 47 having bowled Essex out for 245 second time around.
They will, however, be without Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Lewis Goldsworthy, who were both substituted out due to injury and replaced by Will Smeed and Archie Vaughan, respectively.
Hampshire
Hampshire have named a 14-player squad for their County Championship match against Somerset.
Middleton returns to the side in place of Kelly, on the back of a fine century against Nottinghamshire last week, the opener making 100 off 146 balls for the Hampshire XI.
Full Hampshire squad
Kyle Abbott (87)
Eddie Jack (91)
Toby Albert (15)
Jake Lehmann (33)
Sonny Baker (95)
Ben Mayes (21)
Ben Brown Captain † (10)
Fletcha Middleton (19)
Scott Currie (44)
Tom Prest (24)
Liam Dawson (8)
Joe Weatherley (5)
Nick Gubbins (31)
Codi Yusuf (39)
Somerset
Previewed by Richard Latham, ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay
Captain: Lewis Gregory
Head coach: Jason Kerr
2025 finish: 3rd
2025 highest run-scorer: James Rew (1,053)
2025 highest wicket-taker: Jack Leach (52)
Key winter moves: With Ben Green, Kasey Aldridge, Josh Davey, Sean Dickson and Shoaib Bashir all having left to ply their trade at other counties, Somerset fans may have anticipated a glut of new signings. Instead, the club look set to give some of their younger players a chance and have recruited only seamer Josh Shaw from Gloucestershire to add experience to the bowling attack.
What we’re looking forward to seeing: The impact Somerset’s less experienced players can have on a squad that could be stretched by injuries. Josh Thomas will be a candidate to open the batting, while Alfie Ogborne’s left-arm seam may offer variety to the bowling. England Under-19 captain Thomas Rew is still completing his studies at King’s College but clearly has the talent to increase batting options as the season progresses.
Aiming to catch Test selectors’ eye: James Rew was called into England’s squad as replacement for the injured Jordan Cox last May without getting a game. He had just become the youngest player since Denis Compton in 1939 to score 10 first-class centuries and went on to top 1,000 Rothesay County Championship runs in 2025. Sure to be on the selectors’ radar if he starts well.
Final thought: Jack Leach was Somerset’s most potent bowling weapon last season and it will be interesting to see what type of pitches the experienced left-arm spinner is given to bowl on as the summer progresses.
Head-to-Head
Hampshire Men’s record in County Championship matches v Somerset:
Played
Won
Lost
Drawn
Abandoned
211
71
86
88
3
Last five meetings:
September 15-18 | Taunton | Match Drawn
April 18-21 2025 | Utilita Bowl | Match Drawn
September 26-29 2024 | Taunton | Hampshire won by five wickets
September 3-6 2023 | Utilita Bowl | Hampshire won by 185 runs
July 10-13 2023 | Taunton | Match Drawn
Ticketing
Tickets for Hampshire Men v Somerset in the Rothesay County Championship are available online or on the gate.
Fans can stay updated on the match via the Hampshire Cricket X/Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts, where regular score updates, photos from the game, and match clips will be shared.
