PLAYERS and staff from Somerset County Cricket Club are heading back to the UK after completing their training camp in Abu Dhabi this week.

Somerset played in the Abu Dhabi T20 competition was followed by several days of red-ball practice and a two-day match against Essex.

The final score in that very unofficial two-day warm-up game saw Essex finish 260 for about 16, as Somerset looked to focus on bowling.

Somerset head coach Jason Kerr gave a quick update before boarding the plane back to England yesterday.

He said: “I don’t think the last two weeks could have gone much better from a preparation point of view.

“I think we applied ourselves really well with the bat and the players got a good amount of time in the middle against quality opposition in different formats. The bowlers set a really good tone as well, and in terms of an exercise leading into the first game, it’s been incredibly valuable.

“Lots of players made valuable contributions during all the matches, and there’s already good competition for places ahead of the start of the season. The key is to be physically and mentally ready and this last two weeks has certainly put us in a good place is that regard.”

The players will now be back in training in Taunton for the rest of the week until their pre-season friendly against Exeter University. 

“We’ll be practicing and training back in Taunton this week and then it’s day one of our warm up game against Exeter University at the Cooper Associates County Ground on Sunday," Kerr added.

"Hopefully, the weather will be kind to us, and we can get what we need to out of the next week or so ahead of that trip to Canterbury.”