Nottinghamshire will be aiming to revert to winning ways in the Specsavers County Championship when they host Somerset from Sunday 17 July 2016.
The two county sides go into this contest separated by just three points in the Division One table.
Somerset are sixth, on 96 points from nine matches played, while Notts are seventh, on 93 from 10. Both have only won one match this season but the Cider Men had remained unbeaten until Wednesday, when they were gunned down by a narrow Middlesex victory at Taunton.
Head To Head
Nottinghamshire and Somerset have met on 125 occasions in first class cricket, with Somerset’s ‘double’ last season lifting them ahead in the head-to-head stakes.
The west country side have now defeated Nottinghamshire on 32 occasions, with the East Midlanders having won 31 times. The other 62 matches have been drawn.
Notts have hosted the contest 63 times with all but three of the meetings being played at Trent Bridge. In 1961 and 1965 the fixture was staged at Worksop’s Town Ground and in 1968 they met at Elm Avenue, Newark.
In home matches Notts have been victorious 19 times, most recently in 1999, 2009, 2010 and 2014.
Somerset’s last victories at Trent Bridge came in 2007 and 2015, with the matches in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013 all being drawn.
Last Meeting
Somerset ended a barren streak of results at Trent Bridge by winning last season’s meeting by an emphatic 133 runs. It was all done and dusted late on the third evening, after 22 wickets had fallen during the day.
Notts won the toss and dismissed Somerset for 312 on the opening day with Vernon Philander taking four for 56, his best figures for the county.
Amongst his haul of victims was Marcus Trescothick, who fell for nought in the opening over. The visitors had been five wickets down at lunch, with Steven Mullaney picking up a couple on his way to season-best figures of three for 44.
Peter Trego (41) and Jim Allenby (64) re-built the innings with a stand of 85 in 15 overs before Craig Overton took centre-stage, clubbing ten boundaries in a quick-fire 50, which occupied only 28 balls.
Nottinghamshire’s first innings was extended from late on the first evening, through a rain-interrupted second day and then into the early part of the third morning but still only realised 226.
Samit Patel made 56 and James Taylor scored 45, having had a reprieve on 38. Given out to a leg side catch he was recalled when ‘keeper Alex Barrow confirmed he hadn’t taken it cleanly.
Overton followed up his first day heroics with the bat, by taking four for 40 for the Cider Men.
Somerset appeared to have lost their initiative when they were then bowled out for just 161 in their second innings in only 44 overs. No-one scored more than Lewis Gregory’s 26 and Philander took three more wickets; once again bowling Trescothick without scoring.
In a career spanning two decades it was only the second pair of the Somerset captain’s career and first away from Taunton.
Left with a victory target of 248, Notts soon ran into trouble with six of the top seven batsmen falling for single figure scores, with Riki Wessels avoiding the carnage in making 30.
Eight wickets were down when Somerset were in a position to ask for the extra half an hour and the visitors were soon celebrating after removing Luke Wood and Harry Gurney, leaving Philander unbeaten on 35.
History
There have been some classic encounters over the years between Notts and Somerset. Some of the more spectacular achievements have been:
1893
The third morning of Nottinghamshire’s match against Somerset at Trent Bridge in 1893 saw fast bowler Frank Shacklock re-write the county records.
Dismissing Spurway, Gibbs and Newton in Somerset’s second innings, he became the fifth man to take a hat-trick for Notts. The next ball though, he went one better, making it four in four by removing Trask. All four Somerset batsmen had been dismissed the same way– clean bowled.
1972
Left-arm quick bowler Barry Stead, one of the great characters of the game, took 653 first-class wickets, with a best of 8 for 44 which came in 1972, for Notts against Somerset at Trent Bridge, and included a hat-trick of Roy Virgin, Richard Cooper and Brian Close.
1976
Scoring Nottinghamshire’s highest individual score in 24 years, Derek Randall made 204 not out on the opening day of a championship match against Somerset at Trent Bridge in 1976. Sadly for the Retford-born batsman, the outcome of the contest failed to make it a milestone worth celebrating.
Chasing 301 to win on the final day, the visitors romped to a six-wicket win thanks to a stunning maiden century from Ian Botham. The 20-year-old, showing an early glimpse of the form which would typify much of his career, blazed his way to 167 not out, with 20 boundaries and six maximums.
1987
In the 1987 clash at Trent Bridge Richard Hadlee became only the second Notts player, following John Jackson’s achievements 124 years earlier, to score a century and pick up two six-wicket hauls in the same match.
He hit 101 in Notts first innings, either side of collecting six for 41 and six for 42. For good measure his unbeaten 23 saw Notts over the finishing line to record a five-wicket win.
2011
Alex Hales’ scored 184 in the 2011 match at Trent Bridge, an innings that saw him rewarded with his county cap the following day.
Stats
Highest Team Total
Notts 585-5 dec (Trent Bridge) 1947
Somerset 654-8 dec (Trent Bridge) 2004
Highest Individual Score:
Notts 214* J Hardstaff (Trent Bridge) 1937
Somerset 250 J Cox (Trent Bridge) 2004
Best Bowling:
Notts 8-30 W Voce (Weston-super-Mare) 1939
Somerset 9-33 EJ Tyler (Taunton) 1892
Fact
Marcus Trescothick has seldom enjoyed the West Bridgford air. In 29 first class innings for Somerset and England he has never scored a first class century at Trent Bridge. For one of the best of his generation it seems an unlikely statistic and one that is overdue to be broken. Last season he made a pair in the match v Notts, only the second of his career.
Played For Them Both
Vernon Philander spent the early part of last season with Notts and took 16 wickets, with a best of four for 56 in the five first class matches in which he participated. He also contributed 177 runs with a best of 41.
The South African quick bowler had previously spent part of the 2012 season with Somerset. He also appeared in 5 first class matches for the Cider Men, scoring 62 runs, with a top score of 38 and took 23 wickets with a best return of five for 43.
Others to have played for both Nottinghamshire and Somerset in recent years include Matt Wood, Ben Phillips, Neil Edwards, Simon Francis, Kevin O’Brien and Dirk Nannes.
Milestones
Michael Lumb (10,904) needs 96 more runs to reach 11,000 in first class cricket.
Brendan Taylor (7,991) needs nine more runs to reach 8,000 in first class cricket.
Imran Tahir (746) needs four more wickets to reach 750 in first class cricket.
Samit Patel (243) needs seven more wickets to reach 250 for Nottinghamshire in first class cricket.
Did You Know?
Mike Taylor played for Notts between 1964 and 1972 before leaving to joining Hampshire. During a similar period Mike’s twin brother, Derek, was Somerset’s wicket-keeper. The brothers were born in Amersham, Bucks in 1942 and given the respective initials MNS and DJS – in each case the S stands for Somerset!
50 Years
Fifty years ago – Saturday 31st July 1966 – whilst England’s footballers were defeating West Germany at Wembley to win the World Cup Final, the cricketers of Nottinghamshire and Somerset were opposing each other in county championship action at Weston-super-Mare.
Notts won the toss and batted on that Saturday, reaching 243 for nine by stumps, with half centuries from Mike Smedley and Ian Moore. Although lots of portable radios were in the ground, there was a distinct lack of televisions in the Clarence Park pavilion, to follow England’s progress.
Tickets
Adults can enjoy a day of Specsavers County Championship cricket for £16. It’s £8 for u16s, while over 65s and u21s can attend for £11.
Tickets are available online here, or feel free to simply pay on the gate.
Tickets for the washed out NatWest T20 Blast fixtures against the Derbyshire Falcons and Durham Jets are valied for entry on any of the four days; simply show your ticket on the gate to gain entry.
Coverage
Watch the whole match streamed live with integrated BBC commentary - as well as live scorecard, written updates and photography - via your ideal matchday companion, Trent Bridge Live.
Notts Outlaws NatWest T20 Blast Fixtures & Ticket Information
Vs. Leicestershire Foxes – Friday 29 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
Need more information? Call our ticket office on 0844 8118711.