FOLLOWING Somerset’s fourth successive draw in the cold and rain of springtime April, there are more questions than answers being thrown in the direction for the administrators of the game, with the County Championship already and not for the first time, being called a downgraded competition that is fast falling behind the greed and the importance of one-day cricket, writes Merv Colenutt.

Is it any wonder that England have dropped to the bottom of the test rankings, albeit through a points deduction following slow over rates against Australia? Even so, without those deductions, England would still only be in fifth place and once again you have to question why. The powers-to-be obviously believe county championship cricket really is a thing of the past,  and do they really show any concern about the lack of support at county games in April?

At present, I honestly believe that the only way county cricket can possibly survive is for some of those counties struggling in Division Two for instance to turn to outside offers or even private ownership; I feel sure that in the not too distant future that might be the case.

I feel sure also that county championship members in the main are totally against the Hundred competition being played throughout August, but in the short term, there are grumblings, big time with almost a third of county championship games, four to be exact played throughout April.

Somerset have not exactly covered themselves in glory. My feeling was that Somerset and Essex would be the two counties who were most likely to challenge Surrey for the title in 2024, but of all the people I have spoken to and questioned, I believe my thoughts are far-fetched and already stating this is the last year they will be renewing their memberships.

So what have we learnt from the Worcestershire result? Replacing Matt Henry is going to prove to be an impossible task, despite the fact Jake Ball and Migael Pretorius shared four wickets in the Worcestershire first innings. Good bowlers, yes, but certainly not world class, and with Craig Overton and Josh Davey presumably being rested, this Somerset attack certainly doesn’t look capable at present of bowling sides out twice in a game.

Rotation, unless we are told differently, appears to be the key, although I can't imagine Essex resting Porter, Cook or Harmer for the Somerset game at Taunton on Friday and a major concern also has to be about the number of no balls bowled by Somerset, also a concern surely with the favoured one-day game around the corner, twenty-four in total, that won't be allowed to happen in the T20 Blast.

Essex to be fair have for some considerable time relied on those three main bowlers previously mentioned, so when Kasey Aldridge bowled so beautifully against Surrey and was then rested for the next game, he returned against Worcestershire and failed to shine at all, was expensive and bowled no ball after no ball. Surely when you are in rhythm as a bowler, you want to continue playing?

Another question of course being asked: was why Shoaib Bashir was not even brought into the attack with Worcestershire having scored 175 for 1 with 60 overs bowled? There will always be questions from the members and fans of course, and why not? The Somerset fans are very loyal, but also keen to see Somerset lift that county championship trophy for the very first time, but sadly already, it appears to be a long way off with April just ending.

Consistency will always be a key part of winning any tournaments and at present the Somerset bowling attack looks very samey, and what happens now when Tom Kohler-Cadmore returns? Surely Tom Banton won't be made the scapegoat, he batted superbly in his innings of 92 against Worcestershire and it was the stand out performance in a mediocre game.