Berg back for Northants as they head to relegation-threatened Somerset

The pace bowler hasn't featured for the first team since the trip to Kent at the end of May, and has spent a lot of the summer undertaking his duties as head coach of the Italy national side.

He has still been available for selection for the County for much of the summer but has been overlooked, although he is now back in the frame for the trip to the south west.

Berg played in the first five Championship matches of the summer, taking 12 wickets at 35.25 apiece, and also scored 170 runs at an average of 32, with a top score of 75.

The 41-year-old, whose contract at Northants is due to expire this winter, replaces James Sales in the squad.

Relegation-threatened Somerset will be without England left-arm spinner Jack Leach for a match they need to win to ease those drop fears.

The centrally-conracted Leach is not being allowed to play by the ECB.

Fellow England man Craig Overton has been given permission to play and is in the squad, and former Northants pace man Jack Brooks is expected to play.

Somerset head coach Jason Kerr is anticipating a tough game against fifth-placed Northants.

"Northants have played some really good cricket this year," said Kerr.

"They were under pressure against title-chasing Surrey last week and came away with a high scoring draw.

"We know that we will need to be up for the fight."

There is a 24-point difference between seventh-placed Somerset and Northants.

Northants squad v Somerset: Young (c), Berg, Cobb, Gay, Keogh, Kerrigan, Procter, Sanderson, Taylor, Vascocncelos (wk), J White, Williams, Zaib.

Somerset squad: Abell (c), Aldridge, Banton, Bartlett, Brooks, Davey, Goldsworthy, Gregory, Imam-ul-Haq, Lammonby, Overton, Rew, Khan, van der Merwe.