SOMERSET Director of Cricket Matthew Maynard has backed captain Tom Abell to turn his form around and suggested that a technical fault picked up over the winter may have contributed to the 23-year-old’s lean start.

Abell’s duck in the second innings against Lancashire yesterday means the new skipper has scored just two runs in four innings so far this season, but Maynard pointed to several factors that have played a part in this run of low scores.

“He’s desperate to score runs, and it is a project that we’re working on,” Maynard said.

“I believe he has come back from Australia with a technical fault after working with a coach over there, so that is something we are trying to rectify.

“He is hitting the ball a lot cleaner now in training, and he has been unlucky in some of his dismissals.

“He got caught down the leg side in the second innings at Lancashire having also been outside the line and given lbw in the first innings while, against Essex, Alastair Cook claimed a disputed catch and he got a decent ball in the second innings, but from a technical point of view I think he could have played it better.

“At the moment he is getting too square on to the ball, which for a top order player is not ideal, but it is an ongoing process with Tom and we want to get him right for the next lot of four-day cricket which he is very keen to do.

“Cricket can be a really tough game at times. Rather than playing and missing at one down the leg side you get a little nick on it and the marginal lbw decisions go against you, yet when you are in form those seem to go the other way.

“He has not had much going for him but it will turn round because he is diligent and he works very hard at his game.”

Abell’s reign as captain has started with consecutive Championship defeats, though individual performances on the opposition side have played a large part in this.

Alastair Cook’s unbeaten century led Essex to victory in the opener at Taunton, while Liam Livingstone was in inspired form on his way to a career best 168 at Old Trafford.

Reflecting on the Lancashire defeat, Maynard said: “Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and give credit to the opposition – Liam Livingstone and Alex Davies put together a substantial and match-winning partnership.

“We bowled really well but we just couldn’t break that chanceless stand – we had a couple of good shouts but it was one of those days where the small things go against you, and they played very well on that wicket.

“To get a first innings lead was really pleasing, and in the first two games we have done a lot of good things, but we’ve not really established partnerships while we’ve batted.

“We are not far away from where we were last year but we’re just not getting partnerships together so we need to get that right for the next period.

“They had an international class attack, and the majority of our lads were got out; Marcus Trescothick got a good one and Steve Davies got an unplayable one, so there was very little our guys could do about that.

“When we were bowling, those ones that were keeping low were just missing the stumps. Those little bits have not quite gone for us yet but it’s a long season and I’m not too concerned.

“I’m really happy with where our young bowlers are, though it was a shame that Jamie Overton picked up an injury which is likely to keep him out for a week or so. Josh Davey and Tim Groenewald both came in and bowled nicely, while Craig Overton and Lewis Gregory have been on fire so far.”

The Royal London One-Day Cup starts on Friday with the visit of Surrey to the Cooper Associates County Ground – a full preview, including Maynard’s thoughts on Somerset’s chances of success, will be available in Thursday’s County Gazette.