Who: Warwickshire v Somerset
Where: Edgbaston
When: Monday 29th August
Somerset last six: WWWWWL
Warwickshire last six: WWLWWL
Live on Sky Sports 2
Matthew Maynard says Somerset have a score to settle when they face Warwickshire in Monday’s Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final at Edgbaston.
The corresponding Specsavers County Championship match at the venue this season saw the visitors dominate for two days, only to be robbed of victory when the rest of the game was washed out.
“We outplayed Warwickshire with bat and ball in that fixture, yet ended up very disappointed,” said Somerset’s director of cricket. "That gives us a score to settle in my book. We have a lot of respect for Warwickshire, but we know that if we play to our best we can beat them. We need to enjoy the occasion and do what we have been doing throughout the competition so far.
“That means being disciplined with our bowling up front and when a new batsman comes in, then being unpredictable if a partnership develops. Our fielding has been a notch higher than it was in the T20 and when batting we have put decent partnerships together. It’s not rocket science. We just need to get the basics right and if we do we will be very hard to beat.”
Johann Myburgh is expected to replace Mahela Jayawardene in what could prove the only change from the Somerset team who demolished Worcestershire by nine wickets in the quarter-final at Taunton.
The South African has not played a first team game since July after picking up a side injury, but returned to action in Thursday’s Second XI Trophy final against Lancashire at Old Trafford, making 22. If Somerset make another change it could be dictated by the pitch. Warwickshire’s spinners bowled them to victory in the quarter-final against Essex at Edgbaston and Maynard is prepared for all conditions.
“It has been very dry and we will take 14 players up there to give us options in seam bowling, spin and batting,” he said.
Left-arm spinner Jack Leach will be in the squad fresh from taking six for 108 in the Championship match with Hampshire at Taunton. But if Myburgh plays he will add to a spin department already featuring Max Waller and Roelof van der Merwe.
After a bitterly disappointing NatWest Blast campaign, Somerset retain high hopes of lifting their first one-day trophy since 2005. Asked about the contrast between T20 and Royal London Cup form, Maynard said: “A big difference has been that we have taken wickets up front in 50-over cricket more often than not and were unable to do that in our T20 group.
“That meant opponents got above par scores and we were always under pressure. You can afford a bad spell in 50-over and Championship cricket and have time to recover, but T20 is unforgiving in that respect.”