SOMERSET director of cricket Matthew Maynard hopes a change in format will benefit his side as they look to improve after a slow start to the 2017 season.

Maynard’s side have lost each of their two County Championship fixtures so far, the most recent of which was a 164-run defeat against Lancashire at Old Trafford in a match that finished on Monday.

Thoughts now turn to the Royal London One-Day Cup, with Somerset hosting Surrey tomorrow (Friday) in their opening South Group fixture.

Having reached the semi-finals last season, Maynard is confident the squad is capable of reaching the latter stages again this time around.

“Looking at the strength of our side, we know that if we play well we’ve got a chance,” he said.

“We had a lot of players in form last year so we need to get that going again.

"We have a talented enough squad to go far so we’ve got high hopes.

“The schedule allows us to play this in a block, which should be helpful for us and means we can hope to build some momentum.”

The competition is also likely to provide Maynard with an opportunity to rotate the squad, with Jim Allenby to come in and captain the side.

New addition Steve Davies will join the skipper at the top of the order, with the rest of the batting line-up to be shuffled around and potentially include some unfamiliar faces.

On those who are in with a chance of selection, Maynard said: “The likes of Adam Hose, George Bartlett and Eddie Byrom are all putting their names forward with the runs they have been getting, so we have got three batsmen who are pushing themselves.

“Bowling wise, Paul van Meekeren has not been quite as effective with the white ball, but we’ve got plenty of options and Jamie Overton will be back in about a week.

“Some players are adaptable – Dean Elgar plays both, Tom Abell scored a century last year and a good 40 in the semi-final, and James Hildreth is a very versatile player.

“Success does not necessarily transfer between both formats, however – the red ball swings and seams more than the white ball so you can do well in one and not the other.”

The aforementioned Abell may be one of those given a break from the side as he looks to rediscover his own form after a lean start to his Championship season, with Maynard suggesting a ‘technical fault’ picked up over the winter may have contributed to his troubles (see page 115).

“We have got a lot of players knocking on the door who are scoring runs, and Tom might be one of the unfortunate ones to miss out despite his form last year as Steve Davies and Dean Elgar have come in so they may end up taking his place,” Maynard said.

Tomorrow’s match is the start of a busy period of 50-over matches for Somerset, who face Sussex at Hove on Sunday before hosting Kent on Tuesday.