Rory Burns admits Surrey must banish their disastrous Royal London Cup woes speedily when they return to four-day action next week.

Six defeats in seven matches left his side bottom of the South Group, Somerset despatching them by five wickets at Taunton on Tuesday.

"It was a disappointing end to a very disappointing competition for us," admitted Burns, whose side have been riven by international calls and injuries which at one stage left just 11 of the 25-strong squad available.

"Things haven't gone according to plan at all,”

Now the focus is on getting the team into shape for next week’s return to the Specsavers County Championship, with Burns’s champions heading back to Taunton to take on the side who finished runners-up last September.

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

He added: “We need to draw a line under this competition and prepare for an important period of red-ball cricket.”

Somerset lead Division One after winning both matches, Surrey having drawn their sole outing, with the trip to Taunton quickly followed by clashes against Kent (Beckenham), Warwickshire (Edgbaston) plus Somerset and Yorkshire in a two-pronged Guildford Festival.

Warwickshire’s return at the Kia Oval comes straight after, before heading to Scarborough for a second crack at Yorkshire.

Burns and head coach Michael Di Venuto will be aiming to spur the champions into the kind of form which saw them win nine matches in a row last summer, which all but tied up top spot with three matches remaining.

Collateral damage from the 50-over phase of the season, though, came in the form of serious injuries to batsman Ollie Pope – who is likely to miss a large chunk of action following surgery for a dislocated shoulder – and Rikki Clarke, who suffered an open dislocation to a finger on his right hand. The veteran all-rounder is confident his absence will be rather shorter.

South African left-hander Dean Elgar’s return to form was an encouraging aspect, though, top-scoring with 64 out of 289-9 against Somerset. That never looked likely to be sufficient once James Hildreth (93) took command, the hosts winning by five wickets with 4.2 overs in hand.

Burns praised young speedster Conor McKerr’s 3-56.

That performance in itself was a major improvement on being rolled for 127 by Kent at The Oval last Thursday, Elgar making 62no, the visitors knocking off the runs in 28 overs to record an eight-wicket margin. Two days earlier, Liam Dawson 108 guided Hampshire to 307 all out, ensuring a 53-run margin.