SOMERSET have announced a 13-strong squad to take on Kent in their Specsavers County Championship Division 1 opener from tomorrow.

Jack Brooks could well make his competitive debut for Somerset, although the ex-Yorkshire man is only one of six seamers contesting a place in the starting line-up.

Brooks is joined by Josh Davey, Lewis Gregory, Tim Groenewald, Craig Overton and Paul van Meekeren in the squad, while captain Tom Abell is also a seam bowling option.

Jack Leach is named as sole spin bowler, so Dom Bess misses out, while there is no place for George Bartlett – Eddie Byrom preferred.

Byrom is expected to bat at six, with James Hildreth moving up the order to three.

Full Somerset squad:

Tom Abell (c), Azhar Ali, Jack Brooks, Eddie Byrom, Josh Davey, Steve Davies, Lewis Gregory, Tim Groenewald, James Hildreth, Jack Leach, Craig Overton, Marcus Trescothick, Paul van Meekeren

Matt Renshaw is the standout name in the Kent squad, having scored 513 runs in six Championship matches – and 180 more in six One-Day Cup games – for Somerset last season.

The Australian was a popular figure in Taunton, but Somerset have opted to sign Azhar Ali as their overseas player, as the Pakistan international is available for the whole of the summer.

Full Kent squad:

Heino Kuhn (c), Daniel Bell-Drummond, Alex Blake, Mitchell Claydon, Zak Crawley, Sean Dickson, Fred Klaassen, Matt Milnes, Harry Podmore, Matt Renshaw, Adam Riley, Ollie Robinson, Darren Stevens

This is the first County Championship meeting between the two teams since 2010, when their match at Canterbury ended in a draw.

Notable Somerset scores in the match came from Marcus Trescothick (188no), James Hildreth (152) and Arul Suppiah (125).

Since that time, their only meetings have been in white-ball competitions – Kent winning 14 of the last 15 to become a real bogey team for Somerset.

Referring to that record, Somerset all-rounder and T20 captain Lewis Gregory told the County Gazette: "I'm trying not to think about it!

"Since I've been at the club we've only ever played them in white-ball cricket, and it's been a while since we beat them.

"But I think the strength that we have in our squad probably outweighs what they have in red-ball cricket, and that shows where they've been in the last 10 years in the County Championship.

"If we hit our straps and perform like I know we can, we will hopefully be OK."

Play is scheduled to start at 11am tomorrow, with gates open at 10am at the Cooper Associates County Ground.