CRICKET: Somerset look to Abdur Rehman (From Somerset County Gazette)

CRICKET: Somerset look to Abdur Rehman

2:38pm Friday 6th July 2012 in Sport

ABDUR Rehman, the Pakistan left arm spinner, looks to be heading for Somerset as their overseas player for the second part of the championship season.

Director of cricket Brian Rose said: “We have been talking to Abdur Rehman, who is currently playing Test cricket for Pakistan against Sri Lanka, for the last two to three weeks, but we still have to sort out a visa so we just have to keep our fingers crossed about that.

“He is exactly what we want for the six championship matches at the tail end of the season, particularly in home games.”

The 32-year-old has an impressive record and in 16 Test matches has taken 76 wickets at an average of 29. In all first class cricket he has claimed 431 at 26.59.

With George Dockrell off to skipper Ireland in the Under-19 World Cup later this month it is anticipated that Rehman will be available in time to play against Warwickshire at Taunton on July 18.

After being well beaten in their two FLt20 home games over the weekend, going down by nine wickets to Gloucestershire on Friday and losing by 54 runs to Worcestershire on Sunday, Somerset have two remaining group games, both away, in which to try to earn themselves a home tie in the quarter finals.

The first of the games is against Glamorgan at Cardiff this evening, followed by Worcestershire on Sunday afternoon.

Rose said: “We have got two very important games from which we can retrieve the situation quite easily.

“We have got enormous talent in the side but we haven't been convincing in the last two games, so we are under pressure now and we realise that there are three teams at the top and we have got to come up with the trumps, first of all at Cardiff.

“We are not getting the consistency with the troops that we have got. We have got time now to have a really good think and come up with a solution, but people are being very clever.”

THE Cidermen entertain South Africa in a two day match starting at 10am on Monday, a game that will see the return of Graeme Smith to the County Ground.