HAMPSHIRE are without Liam Dawson for the Specsavers County Championship match against Somerset at Taunton, which starts today.

The England all-rounder retired hurt with a hand injury after making ten in the final innings of Hampshire’s 203-run defeat against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on bank holiday Monday.

Hampshire have not revealed the extent of the injury but following an X-ray on Tuesday the slow left-armer has been replaced by off-spinner Brad Taylor, in a 14-man squad.

The good news is that it also includes new dad Gareth Berg, who has missed the last three matches.

Berg helped Hampshire win their first game of the season against Worcestershire, scoring an unbeaten 75 in the first innings before taking 3-72.

But with his fiancée past her due date, he was on paternity leave while Hampshire lost at Surrey three weeks ago and also missed the draw at home to Essex and the Notts defeat.

Now, following the birth of son Raife Alexander, he is expected to come back in for Chris Wood, who has taken six wickets at 44.6, including the scalp of Alastair Cook, Dean Elgar (twice) and Riki Wessells while averaged 14 with the bat in his first championship matches for two years.

Mason Crane also returns to Hampshire’s squad, as well as left-handed batsman Tom Alsop and all-rounder Ryan Stevenson

Hampshire (from): Adams, Weatherley, Vince*, Hashim Amla, Taylor, Rossouw, Abbott, Berg, Stevenson, Edwards, McManus, Alsop, Wheal, Crane.