SOMERSET host Lancashire in a three-day friendly at Taunton Vale on Monday in their final pre-season match (11am) before Sunday's County Championship opener at Durham.

So far, Somerset have enjoyed two full three-day matches against Gloucestershire and Glamorgan, but the game with Lancashire, who were promoted back to the top division at the end of last season, will be their biggest test so far.

Looking ahead to Monday’s match, captain Chris Rogers said: “Lancashire gives us another opportunity for us to step up the intensity again and that’s going to be crucial in how we play.

“We are going to play with a high intensity this year and we are going to treat the game against Lancashire on Monday as the first game of the season and it will be an important one for us.”

The Somerset squad for the match includes Roelof van der Merwe, who will be playing his first game for the county since he was last here back in 2010.

Young all-rounder Ben Green, who is currently on the academy, is also included in the squad of 13.

Lancashire are expected to name a strong line-up, including England bowler, Jimmy Anderson.

The full Somerset squad is: Marcus Trescothick, Tom Abell, Chris Rogers (c), James Hildreth, Jim Allenby, Roelof van der Merwe, Pete Trego, Ryan Davies (wk), Lewis Gregory, Tim Groenewald, Ben Green, Josh Davey and Max Waller.

Entry and car parking at Taunton Vale is free and plenty of seating is available at the ground.