Match times, streaming information, tickets and travel, team news, weather forecast, form, predictions and everything else you need to know ahead of the latest round of the County Championship...
Fixture: Somerset v Gloucestershire
Venue: The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton
Dates: Thursday, April 15, 2021-Sunday, April 18, 2021
Start time: 11am (session times have been altered during the first three days to cater for a pause between 2.50pm and 4.10pm on Saturday for the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral)
What's the lowdown?
Two of the three sides to claim victory during the opening week of the County Championship clash at Taunton.
Somerset produced another backs-against-the-wall win, back at Lord's where Essex had outmuscled them in the Bob Willis Trophy final. They had conceded a first-innings lead of 141 against Middlesex but battled back in typical fashion to chase 285 on the final day to prevail by four wickets.
Gloucestershire meanwhile claimed perhaps the most impressive success of week one, putting away Surrey by eight wickets at Bristol. Needing 228 to win, centurion Graeme van Buuren and Chris Dent put on 193 to get the season off to a winning start.
Who's in form?
Lewis Gregory is just about the most consistent player around at this level and he emphasised his importance to Somerset with a first-innings 5 for 68, before hitting an unbeaten 62 in the chase.
For a side who have struggled for runs first time around for a while, Tom Abell, George Bartlett and even Tom Banton getting scores in the second innings is a welcome boost ahead of round two.
Gloucestershire swept aside a Surrey side with international stars past, present and future and it is hard to ignore the form of the diligent Dent, who went to half-centuries in both innings.
With the ball, former Yorkshire quick Josh Shaw and Matt Taylor claimed four scalps in the first and second innings respectably.
Indeed, it was a red-letter day for academy graduate Taylor who picked up middle-order trio Hashim Amla, Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes.
Last five first-class matches (most recent first)
Somerset: WDWWD
Gloucestershire: WDLDW
Head-to-head first-class record
Total matches: 202
Somerset wins: 58
Gloucestershire wins: 73
Draws: 71
Abandoned: 3
What's the team news?
Somerset: Jason Kerr has made no changes to the squad which pulled off an astonishing comeback at Lord's in round one. Ollie Sale is the only notable absentee with a shoulder injury.
Somerset squad: Tom Abell (C), George Bartlett, Tom Banton, Eddie Byrom, Josh Davey, Steve Davies, Marchant de Lange, Lewis Gregory, James Hildreth, Tom Lammonby, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Roelof van der Merwe
Gloucestershire: West Indies red-ball captain Kraigg Brathwaite is set to make his Gloucestershire debut after being named in their 13-man squad. Brathwaite and 20-year old allrounder Dominic Goodman are the only two changes to the squad which beat Surrey last week, replacing Tom Smith and the injured Josh Shaw.
Australia's Dan Worrall is still unavailable while Ben Charlesworth (shoulder) and Jared Warner (side strain) remain on the sidelines.
Gloucestershire squad: Chris Dent (C), James Bracey, David Payne, Jack Taylor, Graeme van Buuren, Ryan Higgins, George Hankins, Matthew Taylor, Tom Lace, George Scott, Miles Hammond, Kraigg Brathwaite, Dominic Goodman
Latest Somerset news: Click here
Latest Gloucestershire news: Click here
Who's said what?
Somerset are on cloud nine following their stunning victory over Middlesex but head coach, Jason Kerr, is not underestimating the threat Gloucestershire pose.
"The energy within the group on the way back home on Sunday was outstanding, and the nature of that victory over Middlesex has given us a lot of confidence going into this big local derby," he said. "Gloucestershire had a good win too, so they will have confidence coming into the match but we will be ready for the contest.
"Last year’s victory is in the past and there’s been a lot of water under the bridge since then, so it’s important that we look forwards rather than backwards. We have absolute respect for them and for the game and we have trained hard this week to make sure that we’re ready for the game on Thursday."
Meanwhile, Gloucestershire captain, Chris Dent, is confident his side will be more competitive than last season, when they lost by 314 runs, stating: "The game against Somerset last year was tough and while at the time it wasn’t nice to think about, it helped us understand that we had to put a lot of hard work in over the winter if we wanted to compete with teams like theirs.
"We’ve all trained very hard this offseason and have been mentally preparing for the year. We’ve addressed issues that we thought we needed to work on and so far, it’s gone well. Even though we are coming off the back of a great win, it won’t matter on Thursday when it’s naught for naught so we need to go out there and perform again."
What's the weather forecast?
The weather gods are smiling on the south-west derby with sunny conditions and the possibility of the mercury touching the dizzy heights of 12 degrees celcius forecast over the next four days.
Keep up to date with the MetOffice’s rolling forecast for Taunton: Click here
How do I follow the match?
TV/stream: Somerset offer coverage of the game via the Match Centre on their website: Click here
The service is also available via Somerset's YouTube channel: Click here
All County Championship matches are also available via the ECB's central hub: Click here
The matches can also be viewed on mobile via the ECB app.
Radio: BBC Local Radio and the BBC Sport website will carry ball-by-ball radio commentary of the game.
Digital: The Cricketer will carry live scorecards and daily updates from every County Championship match in 2021, as well as the latest breaking news from around the counties and exclusive features. Visit our County Hub for more.
Going to the game?
Tickets: This match is to be played behind closed doors owing to Covid-19 restrictions. Somerset memberships are available here.
Travel: Not applicable owing to Covid-19 restrictions.
Prediction?
Somerset are near-enough imperious, particularly on home turf. Though Gloucestershire are a far more formidable outfit, they were thrashed twice by the Cidermen in red-ball competition (once in pre-season and then in the Bob Willis Trophy) and another handsome win for the hosts beckons.
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