County Championship 2010: Signings suggest success is likely at Somerset
Marcus Trescothick’s captaincy can herald a new era of success at Somerset, says Paul Moon “Somerset’s chances of success in the Twenty20 competition have dramatically improved with the news that explosive West Indian Kieron Pollard and Australia all-rounder Cameron White joins Murali Kartik as three of the four overseas players allowed for the domestic competition.” Captain Will Smith and Durham are bullish about their chances of winning a third successive County Championship title despite the impending absence of the county’s England players. Should they do so they will become the first county to win a hat-trick of titles since Yorkshire between 1966-68. Latest Betfair prices show: Durham 2.98 , Hampshire 7.0 , Nottinghamshire 7.4 , Kent 8.6 , Lancashire 11.0 , Somerset 11.0 , Warwickshire 15.5 , Essex 16.0 ,Yorkshire 20.0 . Despite the odds, the team most likely to foil them could be Somerset They have been extremely busy during the close season and have decided on a new radical approach. The biggest news from Taunton is that the old docile strip has been ripped up and a newer bowler- and result-friendly one has been laid. Head groundsman Phil Frost has been made redundant after 22 years and this might not be coincidental. No one can be sure of the nature of the changed wicket and we might have to wait until the sun beats on it to formulate an opinion but rest assured a change has taken place.
