WITH Somerset’s County Championship campaign now on hold until August 7, we caught up with two members of our County Gazette fan panel – Dan Kingdom and Sam Trego – to find out their views on the campaign to date.

Your overall thoughts on the season so far?

ST: It's a half of what might have been! We were in winning positions in three of our first four Championship games and, had they gone the other way, instead of looking at relegation we could have easily been looking at top spot!

The 50-over comp started well then we lost our last two group matches which meant we were up against a powerful Notts side - we gave it a great go by 430+ was just a bit too much. 

DK: We had a decent One Day Cup, but I was disappointed not to progress to the semi-finals.

The County Championship however has been where we’ve really failed to live up to expectations – the batting has been far too fragile, with players such as Trescothick, Abell, Hildreth, Steve Davies and Trego inexplicably out of form for much of the season.

Despite this I’ve been impressed with all the bowlers, and if the batting line-up plays to its potential, as it started to against Yorkshire, results will improve.

How important was it to pick up the win against Yorkshire?

ST: It was massive, just to give the whole squad a boost - the way we won was also vital. 

DK: Very. With a bit of a lull in County Championship games for a while now it was vital to get some confidence back so the players aren’t too down.

Was it the right decision to drop Tom Abell?

ST: It must have been a tough decision for him, but ultimately he's done the correct thing and put the team first.

He’s gone to the Seconds and scored some runs, which is a good sign - an in-form Tom Abell for the second half of the season can only help us. 

DK: Sadly, yes. His form did look like picking up for a while, but he fell back into a terrible slump.

While others have under-performed, he was probably the worst of the bunch, and the decision was vindicated by the Yorkshire victory.

Which players have impressed you to date?

ST: I said early on that the Overton twins were key to the season, unfortunately Jamie is injured but Craig has been the standout.

I also mentioned Dean Elgar, and without his runs we would've been in a worse position than we are now!

DK: Dean Elgar did an admirable job of holding the batting line-up together, and he’ll be vital once he returns.

With the ball, Gregory and Craig Overton have been the standout performers, while Leach’s new action doesn’t appear to be affecting him too much.

Which players need to improve in the second half of the season?

ST: I’m not going to single out players regards improving, they just need to put in more clinical performances like the one at Yorkshire and the Great Escape is possible. 

DK: The entire batting line-up, minus Elgar of course.

Will Somerset stay up?

ST: My heart says yes… my head says probably not!

DK: It all depends on the batsmen. If Hildreth, Trescothick, Davies et al perform to their potential, and the bowlers keep doing what they’re doing, we should get the 3-4 wins needed to keep us up. It will be tough though.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below or join the debate on our Facebook page.