SOMERSET CCC director of cricket Dave Nosworthy is set on ensuring that his Somerset team are as ready as they possibly can be for their opening championship match of the season against Durham next week, writes Richard Walsh.

The Cidermen lost their opening two games, a one dayer against Gloucestershire and a three day match against Middlesex, but then turned in an impressive performance in their final game against Derbyshire which concluded on Wednesday.

Reflecting on the warm up games Nosworthy said: "I don't necessarily read too much into pre-season games because I think that guys need time to express themselves and this is an opportunity for them to spend time on their feet."

"The last match, against Derbyshire is probably the real dress rehearsal. We have tried to up our game and make sure that we are on track for the way that we want to play come our first game against Durham next week, and it's clear to see from the way that we have played that we have definitely gone up a level."

He continued: "I have seen some good early signs but there is still a lot of water to pass under the bridge."

"The pre-season has been a productive period for us and we are still not sure whether we have quite had enough time so there is a chance that we will be playing a practice match amongst ourselves on Thursday to ensure that we get to where we want to."

Before that Durham game the Somerset squad will be travelling away to an undisclosed location for a weekend's team building exercise.

Somerset’s championship match at Derbyshire next week starts on Wednesday (April 10).

They are then on their travels again for their next championship outing at Surrey on April 17.