SOMERSET step up their preparations for the new season with a three-day friendly against Gloucestershire at Taunton Vale, starting on Monday.

Jim Allenby will captain the side in the absence of Chris Rogers, who has only recently arrived in the country, while there are Somerset debuts for England Under-19 wicketkeeper, Ryan Davies and seam bowler, Tom Barber who has signed a short-term deal after impressing in pre-season.

Director of cricket, Matt Maynard said: “We have named a good squad of players with maybe some surprise names including Tom Barber, who has impressed at Desert Springs and deserves an opportunity.

“There are a couple of players still missing: Chris Rogers, who has only just arrived in the country so we are giving him a bit of time to get over the jet lag and Roelof van der Merwe, who has also only recently arrived in the country.

“We will be looking for a good performance against Gloucestershire who are coming off the back of a good year in one-day cricket.

“During the winter they have strengthened as well and will be looking to get off to a good start.”

“Pre-season is always a great time of the year because the guys have done a lot of hard work over the winter and now we will be seeing the results of that, so we will be looking for a good performance to start the 2016 campaign.”

The game will be played as a 12-a-side contest with play commencing at 12 noon on the first day, but reverting to 11am for days two and three.

Somerset team: Marcus Trescothick, Tom Abell, Adam Hose, James Hildreth, Jim Allenby (c), Johann Myburgh, Pete Trego, Ryan Davies (wk), Craig Overton, Tim Groenewald, Jamie Overton and Tom Barber.