Somerset promoted tail-end batter Josh Davey to open in an effort to counter the potential damage from a grass-covered wicket at Taunton.
On revealing the pitch at the toss for their game against Sussex today (May 16), eyes were drawn to the thick covering of grass on the Taunton wicket, which left the surface almost indistinguishable from the turf around it. Having lost the toss and unsurprisingly been put into bat, Somerset opted against the traditional openers, instead opting to send out captain Lewis Gregory and Josh Davey – who was slated to come in at No.10 in his first Championship game of this season.
While Davey's was the more eye-catching promotion, Gregory's was also unexpected, as he would have been anticipated to bat at No.6 in the XI Somerset put out. Davey batted at No.3 in Somerset's last match against Essex after an injury to Sean Dickson necessitated a stop-gap in the top-order. Nevertheless, Davey has a first-class average of 20.09 after 112 innings.
Somerset have lost the toss and and are batting first at the CACG 🪙#SOMvSUS#WeAreSomerset pic.twitter.com/GH4cPoyuCX
— Somerset Cricket (@SomersetCCC) May 16, 2025
The reasoning behind a hard-to-fathom change on paper can be found both in the pitch and the outcome of the toss. Somerset would have been hoping to win the toss and bowl on a surface which will provide ample help to the seamers, especially early in the game. With the prospect of having to negotiate Sussex's seamers with the new ball – which include Ollie Robinson and Australian Nathan McAndrew – they chose to protect their batters.
Gregory's and Davey's promotions allow Archie Vaughan to drop down to the middle-order. The 19-year-old has struggled so far this season, with a top score of 36 from nine innings. It also means the rest of Somerset's lineup, which includes Tom Abell, Tom Banton and new England recruit James Rew, have more of a chance of coming in when the sting has been bowled out of the new ball.
At the time of writing, the experiment looks to have at least partial success, with Gregory the only wicket to fall in the first 20 overs of the innings. Davey reached the 20 over mark on 16 off 56 balls.
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