Having announced last week that former England opening batsman Nick Compton would be leaving the county, Somerset have stepped up their bid for a County Championship title challenge by recovering instantly from the disappointment in signing all-rounder Jim Allenby from Glamorgan.
The 32-year-old worked with new Somerset Director of Cricket Matthew Maynard at the Welsh county, and the pair are to link up again this year. The 2015 season will be Allenby’s first in Division 1 of the Championship, and he will undoubtedly be looking to transfer his excellent form from the 2014 season into more runs and wickets this time around, having averaged 40.83 to date in his first-class batting career and 25.79 with the ball in his hand.
With Abdur Rehman, the Pakistani slow left-armer having joined for the whole of next season as an overseas player, Somerset’s Championship batting will rely on the shoulders of their home-grown players and Kolpak contigent, and there are rumours of further reinforcements coming in. After all, the Taunton side have lost Chris Jones (retired), Alviro Petersen (contract not renewed), Nick Compton (unsettled, to Surrey or Middlesex), and James Burke (to Surrey) in the close season already, and will be without youngster Tom Abell for the first two months of the season, due to his commitments at university.
However, according to reputable journalist Elizabeth Hammon, Surrey wicket-keeper batsman Steve Davis could be on his way to the County Ground, as she recently tweeted:
Hearing that Somerset might be after Steve Davies. Nothing concrete at this stage.
— Elizabeth (@legsidelizzy) November 18, 2014
Furthermore, the move looks possible due to the funds freed up by Compton’s exit, as he was a very high earner for the county. In an interview with The Bristol Post, the county’s chief executive Guy Lavender was open about the possibility of re-investment of funds. “We are always on the lookout for top-quality cricketers with any specialism – and we will continue to be,” said Lavender. “We have the resources to develop and enhance our squad where we think we need to, within reason, and Matt [Maynard] is no doubt taking stock and assessing that.”
Davies, 28, played for England in eight ODIs and a solitary T20 International, but has gave up the wicket-keeping gloves at Surrey for a lot of last season to focus on his batting. In the case of a move, this would mean that there would hopefully be no repeat of the situation at Taunton in the 2013 season, in which Jos Buttler and Craig Kieswetter had to vie for the county’s gloves as well as the country’s, which led to Buttler’s departure to Lancashire.
Allenby is a top-order batsman in all forms of the game, and usually bowled first-change in the Championship for Glamorgan. At Somerset, who have more depth in their bowling attack, he may find himself bowling less, especially in the four-day game, but his batting will undoubtedly be crucial to their success.
There has also been talk of a possible captaincy role for the Western Australia-born all-rounder, with current skipper Marcus Trescothick having dropped himself from the NatWest T20 Blast side for much of last season due to poor form. It seems very possible that the T20 this year will go to Allenby, with there even remaining a chance of him taking the Royal London One-Day Cup role on as well.
In exchange for Allenby, Glamorgan have taken Somerset’s Craig Meschede on loan for the season. Despite seemingly having broken through into the first team in 2013, the resurgence of fellow bowling all-rounders Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory in all formats last year meant that the 22-year-old found his opportunities limited, and he has taken the move in order to secure more first-team opportunities.
Meschede told the club’s website that “it will be tough leaving Somerset, albeit on loan, [but] I am relishing the opportunity of developing my skills as a professional cricketer, and I am really looking forward to the challenges and excitement of joing Glamorgan next season.
Somerset’s side for the upcoming season looks dynamic and exciting, and, permitting the signing of Steve Davies, has many options in all formats of the game. The side below could definitely make a bid for the title, and when you factor in the fact that it would mean leaving out Abell, George Dockrell, Jamie Overton and Alex Barrow, you can see that the squad has a lot of depth, too.
Possible Somerset XI for 2015 County Championship: Trescothick (c), Myburgh, Allenby, Hildreth, Davies, Kieswetter (wk), Trego, Gregory, C. Overton, Thomas, Rehman.
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