Ahead of their Championship fixture against Essex, Somerset were trolled online by rivals Gloucestershire for their choice of playing surface.
An hour and a half ahead of the scheduled start of play on day one (May 2), Somerset posted an image of the wicket for the game, captioned, "An early look at today's surface". The playing strip was covered in grass, and virtually indistinguishable from the outfield on either side.
Read more: Fergus O'Neill: Australia's secret Ashes weapon driving a County Championship title push
The post garnered much attention online, including that of local rivals Gloucestershire, who replied to Somerset's post with a cheeky, "Where's the wicket fellas?" before wishing Essex good luck in the fixture.
As it happened, home skipper Lewis Gregory won the toss and chose to field first. Dean Elgar and Paul Walter were the openers for Essex.
Somerset are in desperate need of a positive result in this fixture. They currently sit ninth in Division One, occupying a relegation place, after draws against Hampshire and Worcestershire, and massive losses to Surrey and Sussex, by eight wickets and 260 runs respectively.
Playing XIs, Somerset v Essex, County Championship 2025 Division One
Somerset made two changes from their previous fixture – opener Sean Dickson was replaced by Andy Umeed, and Craig Overton came in for Kasey Aldridge.
Essex also made two changes, one at the top and one in the bowling department. Dean Elgar came in for Charlie Allison, and Sam Cook returned in place of Shane Snater, after being rested for the previous game on the ECB's request. Cook has now been named in England's Test squad to face Zimbabwe.
Somerset: Archie Vaughan, Andy Umeed, Tom Lammonby, Tom Abell, Tom Banton, James Rew (wk), Lewis Gregory (c), Craig Overton, Josh Davey, Migael Pretorius, Jack Leach.
Essex: Dean Elgar, Paul Walter, Tom Westley (c), Jordan Cox, Matt Critchley, Michael Pepper (wk), Noah Thain, Simon Harmer, Sam Cook, Kasun Rajitha, Jamie Porter.
Follow the Somerset v Essex Championship fixture live right here
Match 34, Somerset vs Essex
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Image credit: X / @SomersetCCC
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
