Davey joins Leicestershire on loan after missing out on Lord’s game
SOMERSET’S Josh Davey has joined Leicestershire on a shortterm loan agreement.
The 32-year-old, who grew up playing for Bury St Edmunds CC and has played recreational cricket for Clevedon CC, first joined Somerset in 2014. Since then, he has established himself as an integral member of the first XI squad across all three formats, claiming more than 230 wickets and contributing vital tail-end runs.
The loan deal, which is for County Championship cricket only, will see the Scotland international join the Foxes for their fourday fixture against Worcestershire before returning to the Cooper Associates County Ground ahead of the Vitality Blast. Andy Hurry, Somerset’s director of cricket, said: “With the availability of our current pace attack, of which Josh is a vital element, there will be occasions when a player will miss out on selection. While Josh wasn’t named in the squad for Middlesex, both Josh and ourselves felt that it was important for him to play competitive cricket if an opportunity was available.
“This loan arrangement will enable this to happen and is therefore beneficial to all three parties. We look forward to seeing Josh perform this week before welcoming him back to Taunton in time for the Blast.”
Lewis Gregory returns to the
squad for the County Championship against Middlesex, starting at Lord’s today, and Peter Siddle is also in contention for a recall.
Jason Kerr, Somerset’s head coach, said: “Everyone is looking forward to the game. I thought we played some brilliant cricket at times at Old Trafford, especially when you consider we had to come back from 12 for three.
“I feel that we dominated the game at times, and that’s testament to this group.
“There’s a lot of external noise around at the moment, but to me that’s irrelevant. Opportunities were discussed last week and neither side wanted to take those.
“Unfortunately that meant that the last day resulted in frustration for everyone. However, that can’t take away from how well we played over three-and-a-half days.
“We will now look to take that confidence into the game against Middlesex.
“Lewis Gregory is having a great year and the plan was always to rest him in order to bring him back fresh for this game because he’s got a phenomenal record at Lord’s. When you bring someone back in, someone else has to miss out, and on this occasion it’s JD. I feel we have built and developed throughout each of the games we’ve played so far, and the aim is to go to Lord’s and win. We can then take that momentum into the Vitality Blast.” Somerset (from):