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Home , 1998 NatWest Trophy, 2005 Twenty20 Cup Final, 2019 T10 League, 2020 t20 Blast, Adam Lyth, Ajinkya Rahane

ALMANAC 2019

SCCC SCCC County

Cricket Club 2019-2020 2019-2020

The Cooper Associates County Ground, , Somerset TA1 1JT. Telephone: 01823 425301 Email: [email protected] Website: www.somersetcountycc.co.uk Somerset County Sports Shop: 01823 337597 Centre of Cricketing Excellence: 01823 352266 Somerset Museum: 01823 275893

Honorary Life Members Contents include: President’s & Chairman’s Reports PW Anderson • Sir Squad Profiles AR Caddick • J Davey Specsavers Mrs M Elworthy-Coggan Vitality Blast DJL Gabbitass • J Garner • MF Hill Royal One-Day Cup RC Kerslake • Mrs L Kerslake • MJ Kitchen Somerset Cricket Board JL Langer • VJ Marks • AT Moulding Including Somerset Age Group, RA O’Donnell • Sir Christopher Ondaatje Youth & Local League Cricket KE Palmer MBE • R Parsons • Sir Obituaries PJ Robinson • BC Rose • R Snelling 2020 Fixtures GA Stedall • CJ Twort • R Virgin D Wood

Editor’s acknowledgements What a season 2019 turned out to be with silverware in the Royal London One-Day Cup, runners up in the Specsavers County Championship, three ICC games and the Women’s Ashes Test Match. Within the pages of this book we have tried to include all of the above plus give an overview of all the recreational cricket that goes on within Somerset. I am indebted to everyone who has contributed in any way- the players and officials at the Club, colleagues in the press box and the photographers, plus all of the league secretaries and team managers who have supplied their reports. Everyone has given freely of their time and energy and to you all I am extremely grateful, without your help this Almanac would not have come to fruition. Thanks must also go to Polly Rhodes and Colin Crees the First XI and Second XI team scorers and to Matt Counsell from the Somerset Cricket Board. I owe a special thank you to Peter Lane who in addition to his helpful advice and support throughout, has provided the player profiles and career records, as well as helping with proof reading. Richard Walsh

Printed by MailaDoc Ltd, Somerset £10 Year Chief Executive Somerset Officials 1891-2019 1988-2005 P.W. Anderson 2005-2011 R. Gould Year President 2011-2017 GW. Lavender 1891-1915 Hon. Sir Spencer Ponsonby-Fane, B.T. 2017-18 L.A.Cooper 1916-1922 H.E. Murray Anderdon 2018-19 A.J Cornish. 1923 A.E Newton 1924 The Marquis of Bath, KG 1925 Lt-Col. Sir Dennis F. Boles, B.T. Somerset CCC Captains 1882-2019 1926 Col. H.M. Ridley 1927 Rev. Preb. A.P. Wickham Year 1928 Col. H.M. Ridley 1882-1884 S.C. Newton 1929 L.C.H. Palairet 1885 E. Sainsbury 1930 V.T. Hill 1891-1893 H.T. Hewett 1931-1932 Major A.G. Barrett 1894-1906 S.M.J. Woods 1933 Lt-Col. W.0. Gibbs 1907 L.C.H. Palairet 1934-1935 Lt-Col. Sir Dennis Boles, B.T. 1908-1912 J. Daniell 1936 The Duke of Somerset 1913-1914 E.S.M. Poyntz 1937-1946 R.C.N. Palairet 1919-1926 J. Daniell 1946-1949 J. Daniell 1927-1931 J.C. White 1950-1953 Major G.E. Longrigg 1932-1937 R.A. lngle 1954-1960 The Bishop of Bath & Wells 1938-1946 E.F. Longrigg 1961 J.C. White 1947 R.J.O. Meyer 1962-1965 W.T. Greswell 1948 N.S. Mitchell-Innes 1966-1967 Lord Hylton G.E.S. Woodhouse 1968-1971 E.F. Longrigg J.W. Seamer 1971-1976 R.V. Showering 1949 G.E.S. Woodhouse 1976-1991 C.R.M. Atkinson 1950-1952 S.S. Rogers 1991-1996 J. Luff 1953-1954 B.G. Brocklehurst 1996-2003 M.F. Hill 1955 G.G. Tordoff 2004-2015 R. C. Kerslake 1956-1959 M.F. Tremlett 2016-2019 R. Parsons 1960-1964 H.W. Stephenson 2019- B. C. Rose 1965-1967 C.R.M. Atkinson 1968 R.C. Kerslake Year Chairman 1969-1971 B.A. Langford 1952-1953 Major G.E. Longrigg 1972-1977 D.B. Close 1954-1959 A.H. Southwood 1978-1983 B.C. Rose 1960-1969 E.F. Longrigg 1984-1985 LT. Botham 1969-1971 Lt-Col. G.C.G. Grey 1986-1988 P.M. Roebuck 1972-1973 C.R.M. Atkinson Aug 88-89 V.J. Marks 1974-1976 H.W. Hoskins 1990-1993 C.J. Tavare 1977-1978 L.G. Creed 1994-1996 A.N. Hayhurst 1979 R.C. Kerslake 1997-1998 P.D. Bowler 1979-1982 J.M. Jeffrey 1999-2002 J. Cox 1983-1987 M.F. Hill 2003-2004 M. Burns 1987-1988 A.J. Gardner 2005 G.C. Smith/I.D. Blackwell 1988-2002 R. Parsons 2006 I.D. Blackwell 2003-2007 C.G. Clarke 2007-2009 J.L. Langer 2008-2017 A.J. Nash 2010-2015 M.E.Trescothick 2018- 2019 C.F.B.Clark. 2016 C.J.L. Rogers Until 1952 the President of the club also acted as 2017- T.B. Abell Chairman

Year Secretary 1913-1919 R. Brooks-King 1920-1922 S.M.J. Woods 1923-1931 A.F. Davey 1932-1936 J. Daniell 1937-1949 Brig. E.H. Lancaster 1950 N.J.C. Daniell 1950-1955 Air Vice-Marshall M.L. Taylor 1955-1969 R. Robinson 1970-1975 A.K. James 1975-1979 R.G. Stevens .1979-1982 D.G. Seward 1982-1988 A.S. Brown

2 Somerset Club SCCC SCCC Somerset County Cricket Club 2019 2019-2020 Specsavers County Championship - Division 1 Final Table

Teams P W L D Bat Bowl Ded Pts Essex 14 9 1 4 26 38 228 Somerset 14 9 3 2 25 38 217 14 5 3 6 31 36 176 Kent 14 5 5 4 36 36 172 14 5 4 5 24 36 165 Surrey 14 2 6 6 33 38 133 Warwickshire 14 3 6 5 26 32 131 Nottinghamshire 14 0 10 4 16 32 67

Royal London One-Day Cup - Group B Final Table

Teams P W L T N/R R/R Pts Hampshire 8 7 1 0 0 1.020 14 Middlesex 8 6 2 0 0 0.135 12 Somerset 8 5 3 0 0 0.505 10 8 5 3 0 0 0.270 10 Sussex 8 4 4 0 0 0.013 8 Glamorgan 8 3 4 0 1 -0.298 7 Kent 8 2 5 0 1 -0.966 5 Essex 8 2 6 0 0 0.325 4 Surrey 8 1 7 0 0 -1.007 2

T20 Vitality Blast - South Group Final Table

Teams P W L T N/R R/R Pts Sussex Sharks 14 8 3 1 2 0.803 19 Gloucestershire 14 7 3 1 3 0.242 18 Middlesex 14 7 6 0 1 0.216 15 Essex Eagles 14 5 4 1 4 -0.464 15 Kent Spitfires 14 6 6 0 2 0.000 14 Somerset 14 6 7 0 1 0.448 13 Hampshire 14 5 6 1 2 0.021 13 Surrey 14 5 7 1 1 -0.246 12 Glamorgan 14 1 8 1 4 -1.381 7

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 3 President’s Report 2019 By

have particularly enjoyed The Somerset fans have always loved their local players my first season as President and they recognize all of the hard work that has gone into Iof Somerset County Cricket developing that talent, which doesn’t happen overnight but Club because it has taken takes several years. me back to the days when I was very proud to walk onto the pitch at Lord’s as was captain and President of Somerset and have a photograph taken with he had inherited a growing and the boys holding a trophy, for the first time group of young players. since I was director of cricket. The squad that we have Yes we have been very, very close to the holy grail- the here at the club has got the County Championship for the last three or four years, but I same feeling to me in that can go back to when I was Director of Cricket and Captain the talent process we have and we came second two or three times. It is heartbreaking put in place has borne a lot of fruits in recent years and we when it doesn’t happen, but what it does is make you try have got a nucleus of our own young players who are very harder the following year and the following year, and we must never lose this determination to strive for that elusive talented, some of whom are proving themselves already, trophy. while others still have a way to go. One of the concerns I have got regarding the ECB’s ideas In terms of the coaching staff we have brought back into for the current structure of cricket including , the club the same ethos we had 10 years ago with Andy is that I don’t ever want to see the devaluation of the Hurry and , along with Steve Snell who is doing a County Championship in terms of the skills you need to win remarkable job in the Academy. The proof of this is that we it and the pride you get from that achievement. have taken on three young players from the Academy for We need the County Championship to develop both the next year, which is a great sign for the future of the club. First Class players and one-day players and we must never The general feeling whenever I come to watch Somerset lose sight of that. here at Taunton is that the team has got the same sort of Yes I hope that The 100 is a great success and it brings in excitement that it had in my time, which is a great credit to some money that can go into the development process. the current coaching set up here, the players and of course If it is not a success then the ECB must realize this quite the supporters. quickly and adjust their thoughts.

4 Somerset County Cricket Club SCCC SCCC Chairman’s Report 2019 By Richard Brice (Acting Chairman) 2019-2020

n 2019 Somerset County In the last few years Sally has overseen the Cricket Club won the redevelopment of the ground and the building of the IRoyal London One Day new Somerset Pavilion. She has also masterminded Cup competition on that the staging of one-day international cricket at the memorable Saturday Cooper Associates County Ground. More than that afternoon in May and then Sally has been involved with everything that has gone went onto finish runners up on in and around the club and had become a fount of in the Specsavers County knowledge for all things Somerset. She will be greatly Championship. missed and we wish her well in her retirement to Spain This was the first trophy Simon Lee, our head groundsman left at the end of the that the Club has lifted year to take up a similar position at Hampshire County since 2005 when we won Cricket Club’s headquarters at the Ageas Bowl, which in the Twenty 20 Cup, and the 2020 will be hosting Test Match cricket. third time in four seasons that we have ended second in Somerset also said goodbye to all rounder Pete Trego the championship- so we are certainly making progress who left the club after a long and successful career on the playing front. that saw him spend two spells with us during which he For that continuing success we are indebted to Tom Abell produced many match winning performances with both and his team and off the pitch to our Director of Cricket bat and ball. Andy Hurry and Head Coach Jason Kerr who seem to who made his debut back in 1993 have the right management style to bring the best out retired from playing at the end of the 2019 season after of the players most of who have grown up through the a 27 year career during which he became the county’s Somerset Pathway and Academy. most successful player. He ends as the second During June the Cooper Associates County Ground highest first class scorer for Somerset after Harold hosted three matches in the ICC World Cup, each of Gimblett, as well as the most first class centuries which was blessed with good weather and went off and claiming the most ever catches in a career. successfully, for which we must thank everyone involved. Fortunately for us Marcus will be remaining at Somerset We also hosted the only Women’s Ashes Test Match, as he has joined us as an assistant coach, taking another which proved to be another successful event and step in his long and illustrious career with the club. although won by Australia this was a prestigious match Our commercial team has worked tirelessly throughout for us to he awarded. the year to ensure that off the field Somerset continues to Off the pitch it hasn’t been the easiest of seasons be a success and I would like to thank all concerned for because shortly after Somerset won the Royal London their continued commitment. Cup our Chairman Charles Clark passed away after a Finally I would like to thank everyone who has supported long illness. the club through this year and I genuinely believe that the current playing squad we have at Somerset is one Charles who took the role of Chairman in January of the best ever and it really wont be long before we win 2018 was a Somerset man through and through and that elusive County Championship. cared passionately about the Club. Nothing would have given him more pleasure than to have been at Lord’s to see Somerset beat Hampshire and win silverware. During the course of the final match of the season a portrait of Richard Parsons drawn by local artist Mike Tarr was unveiled in the Long Room. Fittingly this occasion was hosted by former Chief Executive Peter Anderson, who was in post for many of the years that Richard served as Club Chairman before going onto become President of SCCC. At the end of the season we said goodbye to Sally Donoghue the Executive Assistant at SCCC who has been increasingly heavily involved with the club for more than 30 Years. The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 5 Second again Vic Marks on ending in runners up spot

econd again... for the fifth time in the last decade. one almost a mirror image of 1979 when both clubs won Somehow this one did not hurt as much as some of something for the first time. Sthe others. 2010 was, perhaps, the hardest to take There was so much to admire at Taunton: a team stacked when we were half an hour from being champions up in with young, homegrown talent striving until the end, Durham, whereupon lost a flurry of learning all the while and improving rapidly – who predicted against Nottinghamshire at Old Trafford. 2016 when that and George Bartlett would be occupying Middlesex conjured a last gasp victory against Yorkshire at key middle-order positions in red-ball cricket at the start of Lord’s was a bit of a bummer. the season? But 2019? We started the last game against Essex in second This team is advancing and can get much better. It is place, having just been thrashed at the Ageas Bowl, and evolving to the extent that we now look upon Tom Abell, then we saw the forecast. Quite often it rains at the end of , the Overtons and as senior September and the clouds kept rolling in from the west players despite their tender years, which emphasises thwarting any hopes of victory – as did the resolute old the need to look forward rather than back and to keep England captain, . unearthing new players from the West Country. So it was another anti-climax... and oh so exasperating. Tom Abell and his team, despite the distractions of 2020 – It almost felt undeserved after so much toil. Anguished especially in late July and August – will keep driving on. It is questions were posed by the faithful. Will we ever witness hard for them not to dwell on the near-misses but they will the Championship pennant flying at Taunton? And how have the good sense to worry only about the next game – much longer will the Championship be worth winning rather than the first ever Championship. anyway? There is every chance that the Championship will come our In 2020 the current pattern continues as the last way with this side. They are talented and dedicated. And Championship match concludes on the last day of they will be supported to the hilt come what may. September. We will be starting in March and playing in The Somerset cricket fan has learnt how to be patient and October before long. loyal over the years. In 2020 they may not spend too much So there was some despondency. And yet there were time popping over the bridge to support “” but sixteen other counties looking on enviously at Somerset’s they will be there again at Taunton inside their anoraks and season. In 2019 Essex won two trophies and Somerset woolly hats as another season comes to a tantalising climax.

6 Somerset County Cricket Club SCCC SCCC Somerset CCC in 2019 By Andy Hurry, Director of Cricket 2019-2020

t the start of the As a club it’s all about developing our own season there was a players and it has been really exciting to see Alot of optimism and this happening through Second XI cricket and it was really impressive the Academy and watch them progressing now to see the work ethic, into the First XI, and getting a taste for it and the dedication and the understanding the gap between the teams. openness to learning that These young players now have some key focuses for the players demonstrated the winter to move them closer to becoming more in the winter, which then established players. transferred itself into pre- season. Both George Bartlett and Tom Banton are good examples of guys who had a taste a couple of years When I look back over ago and have gone away, worked on their games and last season I can say that now become more established players. These two are we have made progress from 2018 as we had in the really exciting role models for our future generations previous year, so we are certainly moving in the right direction and continuously evolving. coming through. One of the most pleasing aspects of that progress is the I am really encouraged with the development of of players who have really developed and we the links that we have made with our Minor County have several who are coming through in championship partners, Devon, and Dorset and us being cricket. more aligned in our thinking and working more effectively together to make sure that the stream of Tom Abell and Lewis Gregory are progressing really players from the west is there coming through the well in their captaincy roles and they both have system. The future of Somerset is looking very positive. become strong leaders. In 2020 the landscape of cricket is going to look different with the introduction of The Hundred Tom Abell’s personal performances with the bat across competition. First and foremost I think it is fantastic that all three formats of the game has been phenomenal as a club and a region that seven of our players have and the growth he has made has been incredible. been recognized in a national competition. This reflects Across the white ball game the emergence of Eddie the progress that this club has made around playing Byrom has been really exciting and is a reflection on one day cricket and the players skills and their ability to all of the hard work that he has put in. All of the players perform under pressure is really positive. have worked hard and they will see Eddie’s progress as something that they can achieve and use that as This is almost like players getting selected for a national motivation. side, which we measure as a success. Young Tom Lammonby got the opportunity to play T20 Losing seven players creates seven opportunities to cricket because of the injury to Lewis Gregory, and this other players in our squad and its an exciting time for enabled us to find out a lot more about him and he is seniors to step up and show leadership, whether its closer to becoming the established player that we are with the ball or bat or the roles they are taking on board, looking for from that experience and opportunity. or mentoring players coming through. With the ball we have got an unbelievable This is also an exciting opportunity for players who have unit in the championship that is capable of taking 20 been on the periphery to get more opportunities in the wickets. We have real depth and experience as well as one day competition this year. This is a chance for them some very exciting young bowlers coming through. to grow and learn about themselves and for us to learn about them and really get on the front foot and defend In 50 over cricket I am really pleased with how we put our trophy. the opposition batters under pressure. We not only made it difficult for them to score but we consistently We are certainly a step closer to achieving the holy grail took wickets through the different phases of the game. of winning the county championship, but we have got We had a number of centurions in white ball to be more resilient. competitions as well- , Tom Banton and James An area that we will be looking to get better at is turning Hildreth just to name three and it’s really exciting the those 750 runs in the championship into a 1000 and progress that the players have made collectively as a those averages of 30 to 35 into 40 and 45 and that is group. something we will be looking to focus upon. The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 7 Somerset CCC in 2019 Continued

Losing three championship game, ultimately, cost us the title, so it’s about finding a way this winter so that we can scrap a out of a challenging position even more often than we did in 2019. However this isn’t going to be easy, firstly because we have to understand when in those situations exactly how we are going to battle our way out of them, and working our way through wrestling back momentum, so this is a major area for us to work on this winter. The T20 was frustrating for us because we missed out on qualification by two points. We went into the last game knowing that if we had won then we would have qualified and in this competition it’s all about getting into the knock out stages. It was very frustrating not to get though to the final stages of the T20 and there was a lot of disappointment in the dressing room that we didn’t cross that hurdle. It was an epic game and we have taken a lot of lessons away from it which now have to use to fuel our desire to be better than we were last year. One of the most pleasing things for me this year was the way that we competed when we were under significant pressure in the one-day cup. We had to win our last game in the group stages, we had to win our play off and the semi final and it was actually in those three games and in the final that we played our best cricket, and that is progress and we need to build on that. This club is all about progress and continuing an upward trajectory and we are starting to see that in droves with our players and there is a reason for that. The reason is that they work diligently they work in the gym to support their needs to be able to perform for long periods of time out on the park. The players are very well supported by our coaching staff and what is as exciting for me as well as our development on the field is the development of our coaching staff to support the players needs. We are never satisfied with what we are doing so we continue to review the different ways that we can be more efficient and effective and how we support players. The leadership that Jason Kerr has demonstrated and his progression over the two years, which I have had the opportunity to witness first hand has been part of the fundamental reason why we have made the progress we have over the last 24 months. I am really excited about us competing on all three fronts next year and of course the players will have another season’s experience behind them as they go into it. 8 Somerset County Cricket Club

The 2019 Squad Middle row- Gary Metcalf (Second XI Physio), James Alway (Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach) Greg Kennis (Second XI Coach), (Second Kennis and Conditioning Coach) Greg Strength (Assistant Alway James XI Physio), (Second Metcalf Gary row- Middle Jamie Thorpe (Physiotherapist), Joel Tratt (Strength and Conditioning Coach), Andrew Griffith, (Team Analyst) and Paul Tweddle ( Coach). (Fielding Tweddle and Paul Analyst) (Team Griffith, Andrew and Conditioning Coach), (Strength Tratt Joel Thorpe (Physiotherapist), Jamie Steve Snell (Somerset Academy Director), Roleof van der Merwe, Lewis Gregory, , , , Tim Groenewald, Steve Davies, Steve Tim Groenewald, Overton, Jamie Overton, Craig Brooks, Jack Gregory, Lewis Merwe, der van Roleof Director), Academy (Somerset Snell Steve Front row- Azhar Ali, Jack leach, Jason Kerr (Head Coach), Tom Abell (Somerset CCC Captain) , Andy Hurry (Director of Cricket), Marcus Trescothick and . James and Trescothick Marcus Cricket), of (Director Hurry Andy , Captain) CCC (Somerset Abell Tom Coach), (Head Kerr Jason leach, Jack Ali, Azhar row- Front Back row- , Tim Rouse, Eddie Byrom, Ollie Sale, Paul Van Meekeren, Nathan Gilchrist, , Tom Banton, George Bartlett, Tom Lammonby and . Josh and Lammonby Tom Bartlett, George Banton, Tom Ben Green, Gilchrist, Nathan Meekeren, Van Paul Ollie Sale, Byrom, Eddie Tim Rouse, Dom Bess, Back row-

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 9 Player Profiles The Somerset Squad: Pictures, Profiles & Career Records... Thomas Benjamin ABELL George Anthony BARTLETT Born: Taunton, 5th March 1994 Born 14th March 1998 at Frimley, Surrey Right handed bat and right-arm Right-handed batsman and right arm medium bowler off break bowler Cap 2018 Somerset squad number - 14 Somerset squad number - 28 George graduated through the Tom played through the Somerset Academy and made his 2nd XI debut Age Group teams before graduating in 2015. He represented England U19s from the Somerset Academy. in 2016 and 2017. George made his Somerset 2nd XI debut in 2010. Somerset 1st XI First Championship debut in 2017 and in 2019 he made Class debut v Warwickshire in August 2014, scoring over 700 Championship runs in his first full season. 95 and failing by 5 runs to become the first Somerset Somerset Career Record born player to score a on debut since 1935. AVERAGES Appointed Captain in 2017 and Tom became the first Academy player to fulfil the role. Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct First Class 25 45 2 1178 137 27.39 3 3 6 Somerset Career Record List ‘A’ 9 9 3 207 57* 34.50 0 1 4

BATTING AVERAGES Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave First Class 73 132 13 3811 135 32.03 5 23 48 First Class 3.2 0 27 0 0-27 - List ‘A’ 25 21 1 636 106 31.80 1 1 7 T20 33 28 7 659 101* 31.88 0 0 23 Dominic (Dom) Mark BESS BOWLING AVERAGE Born Exeter July 22, 1997 Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave Right-handed batsman and right-arm First Class 259.4 59 934 35 4-39 26.69 off break List ‘A’ 6 0 26 2 2-19 13.00 Somerset squad number - 22 T20 3 0 26 0 0-7 - Dom joined the Somerset Academy Tom BANTON having played through the Devon Age Born 11th November 1998 at Chilton, Groups. Bucks Somerset 2nd XI debut in 2013. Right handed batsman and - Represented Devon in the Minor Counties keeper in 2015/2016. Somerset 1st XI debut in Somerset squad number - 18 2016. Represented MCC v Essex at Bridgetown Tom joined the Somerset Academy in in 2018 when Dom scored his maiden First Class 2015. Somerset 2nd XI debut in 2016. century. Dom made his Test debut against Pakistan at Somerset 1s tXI debut in the Nat- Lord’s in May 2018, scoring 57 in the second . West v Middlesex at Uxbridge in 2017. Test matches to date 2. Somerset List ‘A’ and Championship debuts in 2018. Somerset Career Record Tom represented England U19s in 2018 and enjoyed BATTING AVERAGES an amazing 2019 season. He won Somerset’s White Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Ball Player of the Year, the PCA Young Cricketer of First Class 26 43 8 757 92 21.63 0 4 6 the Year and the coveted Cricket Writers Club Young List ‘A’ 3 2 0 19 14 9.50 0 0 0 Cricketer of the Year Award. T20 1 1 0 1 1 1.00 0 0 0 England IT20 debut v New Zealand in 2019. BOWLING AVERAGE Australian Big Bash 2019/2020. Local for Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 10w 5w the Welsh Fire in the 2020 Hundred Competition. First Class 734.2 182 2156 79 7-117 27.29 1 6 List ‘A’ 8 0 66 0 0-32 - - - Somerset Career Record T20 4 0 31 1 1-31 31.00 0 0

BATTING AVERAGES

Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St First Class 12 21 0 570 79 27.14 0 5 6 - List ‘A’ 18 17 0 524 112 30.82 2 3 14 1 T20 17 16 1 591 100 39.40 1 4 6 3

10 Somerset County Cricket Club PLAYER

Jack Alexander BROOKS Somerset Career Record Born Oxford 4th June 1984 BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Right handed batsman and right arm Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct medium fast bowler First Class 23 37 8 412 47 14.21 0 0 5 Jack joined Somerset on a three year List ‘A’ 22 9 5 76 23* 19.00 0 0 7 T20 9 5 3 57 27* 28.50 0 0 1 contract in 2019 having previously represented Northamptonshire and BOWLING AVERAGES Yorkshire. Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 5w 4w

First Class 567.3 138 1676 66 5-21 25.37 2 PROFILES He played in eight Specsavers County Championship List ‘A’ 160.3 10 823 29 4-36 28.38 1 matches taking 25 wickets but he did not feature in T20 22 0 227 12 3-20 18.92 0 any List ‘A’ or T20 matches. Steven Michael DAVIES Somerset Career Record Born Bromsgrove June 17, 1986 BATTING AVERAGES Left handed batsman and wicket- Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct keeper First Class 9 13 7 79 35* 13.17 0 0 2 Cap 2017 BOWLING AVERAGE Somerset squad number - 11 Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 5w Steve joined Somerset in 2017 First Class 228.1 51 762 28 5-33 27.21 1 on a three year contract. He Edward (Eddie) James BYROM ended up the leading run maker and in the process Born 17th June 1997. recorded his maiden century for his new county Left-handed batsman and leg break against Surrey, his former county. bowler. He played in every championship match in both Somerset squad number - 97 2018 and 2019, scoring a total of 1398 runs as well as Eddie graduated from the Somerset taking 85 catches and making 6 stumpings. Academy in 2016 and he made his Steve represented England in 8 ODIs and 5 IT20s Championship debut the following between 2009 and 2011. season. Somerset Career Record He played First Class cricket in Zimbabwe in 2017/2018 and scored his maiden First Class century. BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Eddie featured versus MCCU at the beginning Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St First Class 43 75 5 2219 142 31.70 3 8 123 13 of the 2019 season scoring his maiden First Class List ‘A’ 14 14 0 186 56 13.29 0 1 16 1 century for Somerset. Later in 2019 Eddie made his T20 26 25 0 427 62 17.08 0 2 10 5 Vitality Blast debut with considerable success. Nathan Nicholas GILCHRIST Somerset Career Record Born- 11th June 2000, Harare, BATTING AVERAGES Zimbabwe Right handed batsman and right arm Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct First Class 18 32 2 883 115* 29.43 1 4 9 fast bowler. T20 9 9 1 185 54* 23.12 0 0 2 Somerset squad number - 21

BOWLING AVERAGE Nathan is a genuinely quick bowler and an extremely clean striker of a Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave ball. First Class 10 1 39 0 0-39 - Nathan has represented Somerset at U17 level and in Joshua Henry DAVEY the 2nd XI. He was also picked to represent the South Born: , 3rd August 1990 West U17s in the ECB Super 4s where he showcased Right handed batsman and right arm his promise with some hostile bowling. medium bowler Nathan graduated from the Academy in 2018 and he Somerset squad number - 38 is awaiting his 1stXI debut. Somerset 2nd XI debut in 2013. Benjamin George Frederick GREEN Somerset First Class and List ‘A’ debuts in 2015. Born: Exeter, 28th September 1997 Somerset County Championship debut in 2016. Right handed batsman and right arm He enjoyed his best Championship season in 2018, fast medium bowler. taking 34 wickets in 11 matches. Somerset squad number - 54 Josh was an ever present in the 2019 Royal London Ben progressed through the Devon One-Day Cup team who won the trophy at Lord’s. Age Group system and made his 2nd Since 2010 Josh has represented Scotland in 29 ODIs XI debut for Somerset in 2014. and 21 IT20 matches. Represented England U19s between 2014/2015 and 2017. Somerset T20 debut in 2016.

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 11 Somerset 1st XI County Championship and List ‘A’ has scored over 16000 First Class runs for Somerset debuts in 2018. and he lies third in the list of highest century makers Somerset Career Record for the county behind Marcus Trescothick and Harold Gimblett. He has also scored over 9000 One Day BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct and T20 runs. First Class 2 4 0 43 26 10.75 0 0 3 Somerset Career Record List ‘A’ 3 3 2 35 26 35 0 0 0 T20 1 1 1 12 12* 0 0 0 0 BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct BOWLING AVERAGES First Class 254 420 29 16401 303* 41.95 44 74 211 Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 5w List ‘A’ 212 201 36 5781 159 35.04 7 27 79 First Class 7 3 17 1 1-8 17 0 T20 192 179 31 3575 107* 24.16 1 16 70 List ‘A’ 11 0 70 1 1-52 70 0 T20 2 0 12 0 0-12 0 0 BOWLING AVERAGES Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave Lewis GREGORY First Class 95 6 489 6 2-39 81.50 Born: Plymouth, 24th May 1992 List ‘A’ 19 0 141 5 2-26 28.20 Right-handed batsman and right-arm T20 24.1 0 247 10 3-24 24.70 medium bowler Thomas Alexander LAMMONBY Cap 2015 Born Exeter 2nd June 2000 Somerset squad number - 24 Left handed batsman and left arm Lewis was awarded a contract by bowler Somerset after graduating through Somerset squad number - 15 the Academy in 2010. Tom played through the Devon Age Represented Devon between 2008 and 2010. In Groups and joined the Somerset 2009 Lewis represented England U19s in their One Academy in 2015 and he made his Day series versus . Somerset 2nd XI debut in that season. Somerset List ‘A’ debut v Pakistan in 2010 taking 4/49. Represented England U19s between 2017 and Somerset First Class and T20 debuts in 2011. Lewis 2019. Tom has also played for Devon since 2016. was appointed captain of the latter team in 2018. He made his Somerset T20 debut in 2019 but is Lewis represented the MCC in both 2012 and 2017. awaiting his First Class and List ‘A’ debuts. He was called up into the England ODI squad during Somerset Career Record 2015 and into the squad for the Test against Ireland at Lord’s in 2019 but didn’t play on either occasion. BATTING AVERAGES Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Lewis made his International debut in the T20 series T20 12 9 3 88 31 14.67 0 0 5 versus New Zealand in November 2019. IT20 caps to BOWLING AVERAGE date 5. Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave Somerset Career Record T20 20 0 218 8 2-32 27.25

BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Matthew (Jack) LEACH Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Born: Taunton, 22nd June 1991 First Class 81 119 12 2362 137 22.07 2 9 46 Right-handed batsman, slow left-arm List ‘A’ 65 47 5 1052 105* 25.05 1 7 22 T20 81 59 18 947 62 23.10 0 3 28 bowler Somerset squad number - 17 BOWLING AVERAGES Cap 2017 Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 10w 5w 4w First Class 1945 423 6356 251 6-32 25.32 2 12 Jack graduated from the Somerset List ‘A’ 405.1 10 2538 80 4-23 31.73 6 Academy in 2010 and he appeared T20 237.1 1 2121 80 4-15 26.51 3 regularly for Somerset 2nd XI. He represented Cardiff James Charles HILDRETH MCCU in 2011 and 2012. In the latter year he also Born: Milton Keynes, 9th September made his First Class and List ‘A’ debuts for the County. 1984 Jack also played for Dorset in 2011 and the MCC in Right-handed batsman, right-arm 2017. A successfull 2017 season saw Jack spend the medium pace bowler following winter with the England Lions. In February Somerset squad number - 25 2018 he recorded the best figures 8/110 by a Lions Cap 2007 player versus West Indies ‘A’. The following month Somerset 2nd XI debut in July 2002. Jack made his Test debut against New Zealand and to date he has played in 10 Tests. Somerset 1st XI debut in September 2003. Somerset Career Record James toured the West Indies with the English BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Lions in 2010/2011 and he represented the MCC in Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct 2015. He was awarded a Testimonial in 2017. James First Class 67 87 22 763 66 11.74 0 0 27 List ‘A’ 15 4 1 21 18 7.00 0 0 9 12 Somerset County Cricket Club PLAYER

BOWLING AVERAGES Oliver Richard Trethowan SALE Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 5w 10w Born 30th September 1996 First Class 2038.4 531 5242 222 8-85 23.61 16 3 at Newcastle under Lyme, List ‘A’ 131 2 634 18 3-52 35.22 0 0 Staffordshire Craig OVERTON Right-handed batsman and Born: Barnstaple 10th April 1994 right arm fast medium bowler Right-handed batsman, right-arm Somerset squad number - 82 medium fast bowler Ollie played through the Devon Somerset squad number - 12 Age Groups before graduating PROFILES Cap 2016 from the Somerset Academy in 2014. Somerset Craig progressed through the Devon 2nd XI debut in 2014. Somerset T20 Blast debut Age Groups before graduating in 2016. Ollie has yet to appear in either First from the Somerset Academy. He Class or List ‘A’ cricket for Somerset. represented Devon in 2010/2011 and the England Somerset Career Record U19s in 2011 and 2012. Somerset First Class and List ‘A’ debuts in 2012. Craig went on the England Lions BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES tour to Australia in 2012/2013. In 2015 Craig was Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct T20 1 1 0 1 1 - 0 0 0 called up for the England ODI series but didn’t play and the following winter he was involved with the BOWLING AVERAGES ECB performance programme. Craig made his Test Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave T20 3 0 40 0 0-40 - debut at Adelaide on the 2017/2018 Ashes Tour. Test Matches to date 4. Somerset Career Record Born: , SA, 31st December 1984 BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Right-handed batsman and slow left- Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct arm bowler First Class 81 116 14 2224 138 21.80 1 9 57 List ‘A’ 46 35 12 560 66* 24.35 0 1 21 Somerset squad number - 52 T20 34 19 8 206 35 18.73 0 0 15 Cap 2018

BOWLING AVERAGES Roelof first joined Somerset for the Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 5w 4w first part of the 2010 T20 season. He First Class 2168.5 483 6911 264 6-24 25.42 7 rejoined Somerset in 2016 and over the last four List’A’ 360.5 20 1948 72 5-18 27.06 1 seasons he has enjoyed success in all formats of T20 112.1 0 1046 32 3-17 32.69 1 the game. He is noted for his dynamic fielding and Jamie OVERTON he has pulled off some stunning catches. Roelof Born: Barnstaple 10th April 1994 represented in 13 ODIs and 13 IT20s Right-handed batsman, right-arm between 2009 and 2010 In 2013 Roelof obtained a medium fast bowler Dutch Passport and he now represents Holland. Somerset squad number - 8 Somerset Career Record Like his twin brother Jamie progressed through the Devon Age BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Group teams and the Somerset Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct First Class 15 22 2 345 102* 17.25 1 1 12 Academy. He represented Devon in List ‘A’ 36 30 8 805 165* 36.59 1 3 29 2011. In 2012 he was a member of the U19 World Cup T20 67 50 21 880 89* 30.34 0 4 34 squad in Australia. He also made both his Somerset One Day and First Class debuts in that year. Jamie BOWLING AVERAGES was called up to the England One Day squad in both Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 4w First Class 390.1 91 1123 48 4-22 23.40 2013 and 2015 but he didn’t make any appeareances. List ‘A’ 240.3 4 1391 42 3-21 33.12 Somerset Career Record T20 230.3 0 1803 58 5-32 31.09 1

BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Maximilian (Max) Thomas Charles Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct WALLER First Class 60 86 21 1200 56 18.46 0 6 24 Born: Salisbury, 3rd March 1988 List ‘A’ 32 23 6 303 40 17.82 0 0 13 Right-hand batsman and right-arm leg T20 41 19 7 141 31 11.75 0 0 15 break bowler BOWLING AVERAGES Somerset squad number - 10 Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 5w 4w First Class 1304.3 219 4692 152 6-95 30.87 3 Max played through the Somerset List ‘A’ 203.5 5 1342 45 4-42 29.82 0 2 Age Groups and made his Somerset T20 133.1 0 1331 45 5-47 29.58 0 3 2nd XI debut in 2007. Somerset T20 and 1st Class debuts in 2009. Max spent the 2009/2010 winter on the ECB Performance Programme. The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 13 2013 Max named 2nd XI Player of the Year. Max now signed a professional contract in the autumn of 2019. plays white ball cricket only and he is the second Sam is part of the England Under 19s squad and has highest wicket taker in T20 cricket for Somerset. yet to make his 1stXI debut. Somerset Career Record BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES VALETE Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct First Class 9 10 1 91 28 10.11 0 0 5 List ‘A’ 58 22 15 109 25* 15.57 0 0 32 Marcus Edward TRESCOTHICK T20 124 31 19 92 17 7.67 0 0 60 Born: , 25th December 1975 Left-handed batsman, Right-arm medium-pacer Marcus made his debut for Somerset in 1993 and he BOWLING AVERAGES soon prospered before embarking on a distinguished Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 4w International career, playing in 76 Tests, 123 ODI’s and First Class 140 25 493 10 3-33 49.30 0 3 IT20 matches between 2000 and 2006. List ‘A’ 310.1 7 1696 45 3-37 37.69 T20 384.2 1 2910 123 4-16 23.66 4 He returned to play full time for Somerset in 2007 and he has ended up becoming the second highest Kasey Luke ALDRIDGE First Class run scorer for the county, scoring the most Born December 24th 2000 centuries and taking the most catches. Right handed batsman and right arm fast bowler In total Marcus played 604 matches in the three formats, scoring nearly 29000 runs with 69 centuries Fast bowler Kasey Aldridge, who is and taking 560 catches. also a more than useful middle order batsman joined the playing staff after Somerset Career Record gradating through the Somerset BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Academy. Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct The tall paceman has made quite an impression for First Class 296 501 23 19654 284 41.12 52 96 445 List ‘A’ 222 207 22 7008 184 37.88 15 34 88 playing for the Second XI and is a member of the T20 86 84 5 2197 108* 27.81 2 15 27 England Under 19 squad. BOWLING AVERAGES Kasey who plays his for WEPL side Bath Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 4w has yet to make his 1st XI debut. First Class 368.3 78 1305 31 4-36 42.10 1 Lewis GOLDSWORTHY List ‘A’ 252.1 - 1255 48 4-50 26.15 1 Born 8th January 2001, Cornwall. Paul Adriaan van MEEKEREN. Right handed batsman and left arm Born Amsterdam 15th January 1993 orthodox bowler Right-handed batsman and right arm medium fast Lewis Goldsworthy joined the bowler, Somerset Academy in the winter Paul joined Somerset in July 2016 and made his of 2016 and on his graduating last Somerset debut in all three formats later that season. summer he signed a contract. He went on to play a total of 16 matches for the County. Lewis hails from Cornwall and has represented Somerset Career Record his home County at every level, including Minor BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Counties. He made his Somerset 2nd XI debut in 2017 Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct and d was named man-of-the-tournament during a First Class 3 5 2 7 6 2.33 0 0 1 T20 day against Devon and Cornwall in 2018. List ‘A’ 6 4 3 22 10 22 0 0 1 T20 7 4 0 4 1 1.00 0 0 3 Lewis, who is part of the England Under 19 squad has yet to make his 1st XI debut. BOWLING AVERAGES Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave Sam YOUNG First Class 91 22 326 8 4-60 40.75 17th January 2001 List ‘A’ 24.1 1 150 4 3-32 37.50 Right handed batsman and right are T20 15.2 0 135 2 67.50 bowler Azhar ALI. Batsman Sam Young, who also Born Lahore, Punjab 19th February 1985. bowls off spin, joined the Somerset Right-handed batsman, Leg-spin bowler. Academy in 2016 after making good Azhar Ali joined Somerset as an overseas replacement progress through the Emerging for Matt Renshaw in 2018, playing in seven Player Programme. Championship matches and scoring 402 runs with Sam has played Minor Counties cricket for Dorset one century. He returned in 2019 from April - July and plays club cricket for Bath CC. He scored his enjoying success in the victorious Royal London One maiden Somerset 2ndXI century against MCC Young Day Cup team scoring 451 runs with one century and Cricketers. taking seven wickets with a best of 5 for 34. He was When he completed his time on the Academy he 14 Somerset County Cricket Club PLAYER less successful in the County Championship where he BOWLING AVERAGES scored 344 runs with three half centuries. Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 5w 10w Somerset Career Record First Class 3685.2 745 12679 349 7-84 36.33 3 1 List ‘A’ 838.4 37 4690 140 5-44 33.50 0 2 BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES T20 196.5 0 1600 49 2-16 32.65 0 0 Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct First Class 17 31 3 801 125 28.61 1 5 5 . List’A’ 11 11 0 451 110 41.00 1 2 8 Born ,Tamil Nadu, India 1st April 1984. BOWLING AVERAGES

Murali joined Somerset for the final three PROFILES Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 4w Specsavers County Championship matches of First Class 2 2 0 0 0-0 2019 but he had little success, scoring just 42 List’A’ 19 1 136 7 5-34 19.43 1 runs with a highest score of 29. . Somerset Career Record Born Lahore, Punjab 15th October 1994. Right-handed batsman. BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Babar joined Somerset for the 2019 T20 Vitality Blast First Class 3 5 0 42 29 8.40 0 0 5 and he was a great success, scoring 578 runs with one century and four fifties. Timothy Duncan GROENEWALD Born: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, 10th January He also played in one Specsavers County 1984 Championship match. Somerset Career Record Right handed batsman and right arm fast-medium bowler Tim joined Somerset in 2014 on loan from Derbyshire BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct and he signed an initial three year contract First Class 1 2 0 40 40 20.00 0 0 0 commencing in 2015 which got extended. He has been T20 13 13 2 578 102* 52.54 1 4 5 a dependable performer claiming 226 wickets in the three formats and scoring useful lower order runs.Tim Jerome Everton TAYLOR. has joined Kent for the 2020 season on a three year Born St Elizabeth, Jamaica 22nd June 1984. contract. Right-handed batsman and Right-arm fast bowler. Somerset Career Record Jerome joined Somerset for the majority of the 2018 Vitality Blast and he returned in 2019. He played 24 BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES matches, claiming 36 wickets with a best return of 5 for Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct 15 versus Hampshire at The Cooper Associates County First Class 49 77 32 674 47 14.98 0 0 14 List ‘A’ 29 24 12 402 57 33.50 0 2 7 Ground in 2018. T20 34 15 4 70 27* 6.36 0 0 8 Somerset Career Record BOWLING AVERAGES BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 5w T20 24 6 5 39 19* 39.00 0 0 1 First Class 1317 299 4015 146 5-51 27.50 5 List ‘A’ 300.5 16 1746 52 3-30 33.57 0 BOWLING AVERAGES T20 102.2 0 880 28 3-27 31.43 0 Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave 4w Timothy David ROUSE T20 84.5 0 781 36 5-15 21.69 2 Born 9th April 1996 at Sheffield, Yorkshire Peter David TREGO Right-handed batsman and right arm off spin bowler Born: Weston-super-Mare, 12th June 1981 Tim played through the Somerset age groups before Right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace graduating from the Academy. bowler He made both his First Class and T20 Blast debuts in Peter made his Somerset debut in 2000 and he 2016 and made his Championship debut in 2017 but went on to make 200 First Class appearances for the h a s n ’ t a p p e a r e d f o r t h e fi r s t t e a m s i n c e . county. He scored nearly 9000 First Class runs with 14 centuries and a highest score of 145. Somerset Career Record Peter also appeared in 175 List ‘A’ matches, scoring over BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES 4500 runs with 10 centuries and 164 T20 matches. Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct He took over 500 wickets in the three formats - a true First Class 4 7 0 125 69 17.86 0 1 3 T20 1 0 9 9 0 - 0 0 1 all rounder.

Somerset Career Record BOWLING AVERAGES BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES Overs M Runs Wkts BBI Ave Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct First Class 1 0 1 0 0/1 - First Class 200 296 35 8775 145 33.62 14 50 81 List ‘A’ 175 155 20 4665 147 34.55 10 25 50 T20 164 153 19 3273 94 24.42 0 16 47

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 15 Marcus calls time on his 27 year playing career with Somerset

he playing career of one of Somerset’s have batted with for the county over the years, he greatest ever cricketers, Marcus Trescothick was among the best. Tcame to an end with the final game of last Pick out a highlight of your Somerset career. season against Essex. Winning a first trophy with the team in 2001 was After 27 seasons and at the age of 43, the former massive. We had lost to Gloucestershire in a Lord’s England opening batsman decided to consign his final two years earlier and I remember being a pads to the attic and concentrate on developing his nervous wreck that day, unable to cope with what work in coaching and as a TV pundit. was going on. Two years later in the C&G Trophy Here Marcus reflects with friend and ghost final against Leicestershire, I was that bit better writer Richard Latham on the the highs - and prepared and, although I didn’t get the runs I one memorable low - of his years of service with wanted, we had created something as a team that Somerset, which began shortly after he left school. summer, finishing second in the Championship, and What do you remember of your County came out on top in a tricky game. was Championship debut against Lancashire at Taunton a brilliant captain and it was ’ day at in 1993, which could hardly have been more Lord’s. From the dressing room balcony, you have dramatic? the best seat at the greatest cricket ground in the world and watching Keith, a good friend, slog a It ended in two days, which was very unusual back couple of sixes into the grandstand towards the then. Andy Caddick claimed nine second innings end of our innings, I turned to Rob Turner, who was wickets and we bowled Lancashire out for 72 to sitting next to me, and said: ‘We’ve got a decent claim the unlikeliest of victories. You dream of score here.’ Sure enough, it proved a winning making a hundred on debut, but I made one and one and I’ll never forget the magic of that day, three! I had to face and Phil DeFreitas celebrating with the supporters at the end of the on a juicy pitch and remember thinking ‘Wow!’ so match. this is what first class cricket is all about. I played the two days and then went off for a game with Who were the major influences on your development Keynsham on the weekend, picking up an injury in as a Somerset player? the process, for which I got a tremendous ticking- I learned a lot from Jamie Cox, feeding off how he off when I returned to Taunton. But I had played for operated as skipper. He was very level-headed, Somerset at the age of 17 and that felt incredible. disciplined and structured in his approach, which When did you first make a real impression with the were qualities I tried to follow. Dermot Reeve had bat? a major impact on me as a coach, trying to get players to think outside the box, particularly in I only played a few games in 1993, but the following one-day cricket, and working with him coincided year I had more opportunities and scored more with my early days as an England player under than 900 runs at an average of around 40. My first another huge influence in . Both hundred came against Surrey at Bath, which was got me thinking about things other coaches had local to me as a Keynsham lad. I remember thinking not mentioned. In my young days, my parents were I had ticked off another milestone in my career and massively influential, as was Peter Robinson as went out to celebrate with some of the lads from Under-19 and second XI coach at Somerset. Keynsham Cricket Club, who had come to watch. Mark Lathwell hit a century in the same Another trophy came your way in 2005 with success game and we were being touted as Somerset’s on T20 Finals Day. opening for the next 15 years. Mark was I always felt a bit guilty about that because I was a wonderful player and similarly aggressive so it away for most of the competition with England. seemed an exciting prospect. But, after playing for When I was called into the team for Finals Day at England, he fell out of love with the first class game I didn’t really deliver, but I was inspired and went back to club cricket at Braunton. That was by the way captain spoke in the a shame for Somerset because, of all the players I dressing room. He made you feel you would follow 16 Somerset County Cricket Club SCCC SCCC 2019-2020

him anywhere. When you were made Somerset captain in 2010 it coincided with the period of finishing second in one competition after another, which must have been frustrating. It was and it seemed to get harder with every near miss. By far the worst for me was the 2010 T20 final against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl, which still haunts me today. They needed one off the last ball to tie the scores and win on having lost fewer wickets. The from Zander de Bruyn hit , who was batting with a runner, and we all went up for lbw. turned down the appeal and they scampered the necessary single. On rushed all the Hampshire staff and a lot of fans in celebration. What we have failed to notice is that Christian, in the heat of the moment has headed for the other end along with the runner. All we needed to do was get the ball to wicketkeeper and Christian would have been , giving us the trophy. As we were walking off the other , Richard Illingworth, informed me of this and I still replay the moment in my sleep. I have also never forgiven Rob Bailey for rejecting the lbw appeal! For so long it seemed that your final season would bring the biggest prize of all, the County Championship. How big a disappointment was finishing second again? It was a fairytale that never quite happened. The lads were gutted and I still believe that, given decent weather, we would have beaten Essex in the final game. The final afternoon when I got onto the pitch as a brought a first in my long career. I had never before seen a team set 60-odd to win and not go for it. I did my best to sledge Alastair Cook into a mistake from close to the bat, but he was in the zone and completely blanked me! The challenge now is keeping the current group of players together and building an even Richard Latham covers Somerset for the ECB reporters stronger club. Of course, Somerset will win the title network, providing copy for local newspapers throughout the South West, and is managing director of Bristol and one day and no one will be happier than yours truly West News Agency Ltd. when it happens. The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 17 Jack Leach By Paul Edwards

One of the very many reasons why I like county disbelief and wondered how they could incorporate cricketers is that most of them remain true to the this last tale into copy that already stretched across place where they learned the game and faithful to many pages. Leach was probably unaware of his the supporters who knew them before they became fame but when the cloth with which you clean your professionals. One damp morning in Taunton last spectacles suddenly has its own Twitter account, you September I saw James Hildreth and Tim Groenewald are, whatever your preferences, a celebrity. strolling down St. James Street in search of a coffee. While that Headingley Test Match will almost certainly Another afternoon I noticed Jamie Overton having a chat on his mobile phone outside Brazz. Nothing too be the most famous game of Jack’s career it still surprising there, you may say, but can you imagine the had to take its place amid the other narratives of his melee that might ensue should top-level footballers summer. He had bowled well at the start of the season or even rugby players try to blend in with their but was struggling for the flinty obduracy that had environment to the same degree? I’d take a small bet often characterised his late-order batting. Then, as is that most passers-by recognised the cricketers I’ve often the way, he went in as opener- mentioned but nobody pestered them. One warms to in the Test against Ireland and made 92. He was only such unspoilt intimacy. two good hits short of a place on the Lord’s honours Yet the palaver which engulfed Jack Leach last board when had him at . There summer would have tried even the most secure were also a dozen wickets in four Ashes Tests and one equilibrium. His single run and his defiance during the more run (54) in that series than he managed in his Headingley Test earned Leach lovely headlines the nine championship games. But when the season was following morning, even in newspapers which were nearly done Leach returned to Taunton and attempted trying to make sense of one of the best innings ever to bowl Somerset to the title. And naturally he tried played. Because while was hitting eight no less hard against Essex than he had when pitted sixes at one end, Leach was blocking the straight balls, against , the best batsman in the world wiping his glasses and nearly running himself out at the and a cricketer who was photographed with Leach at other. Some of us discerned a certain English dottiness the end of series. Smith was wearing similar to it all, our observations strengthened by the fact that specs to his opponent and the two were sharing a beer. Leach looks more like an archivist or a palaeontologist As I write these words the series in New Zealand is than a professional sportsman. The player himself did nothing to kill the glorious story when, in fading light about to start. It could be a busy winter for Leach. that Sunday evening, he replayed that nudge off the Trips to South Africa and Sri Lanka beckon invitingly. hips which brought him a single in that 76-run stand Yet come the spring the Taunton boy will return home with Stokes. While he scampered down the pitch and be glad to do so. Fame with all its bear-traps will once again his England colleagues were sitting on the not spoil him. “I was doing a Q&A with some kids and outfield at Headingley, eating pizza and revisiting their someone asked me what my highest score for England barely believable triumph of a few hours earlier. Stokes was,” he told Nick Friend for online. “I was himself was sipping from a can of beer. In the press trying to think: ‘Was it 14 or 15? It must be something box a dozen knackered journalists watched in amused small.’ Then I remembered I got 92 at Lord’s.”

Graham Morris Alex Davidson

18 Somerset County Cricket Club Paul Edwards writes about Cricket in and on Cricinfo SCCC SCCC “ - we will all miss you” Says Anthony Gibson 2019-2020 Peter Trego has been one of the most popular does. In 2007, he won the Cricket Society’s award Somerset cricketers of this or any other generation. Not for the best all-rounder in English cricket; in 2012, even the mighty figure of Marcus Trescothick produced he was adjudged the Professional Cricketer’s quite such a roar of affection and anticipation when Association’s ‘most valuable player’. In six one day he walked out to bat in a big game at Taunton as did internationals for the England Lions , he averaged Weston’s finest, the shouts of “Tree-go-oh! Tree-go-oh!” 35. Yet, inexplicably, the call never came. echoing around Taunton, an almost palpable crackle of But, disappointed though he must have been, he never excitement in the air. There has always seemed to be a let it get him down. Peter Trego’s spirit is unquenchable. special bond between the Somerset faithful and their Whenever Somerset had had a bad day, he was the tattooed Toreador. man we would turn to for a close of play interview, for You could put that down to Peter Trego’s obvious the honesty and the positivity that he would always qualities as a cricketer: a free-scoring, big-hitting provide. Articulate, intelligent and with a great sense batsman; an aggressive and, as time went by, of humour, he is already a fine broadcaster, and has increasingly artful swing bowler; and a superb everything it takes to make that his second career. fieldsman, who could pull off the most astounding catches, diving full-length to pluck the ball out of the air It was a shame that there was no last hurrah at Taunton like the goal-keeper he once was. (although he may yet walk out there again, albeit in different colours). But the great joy of his final season for His statistics are mightily impressive too. In exactly Somerset was the win at Lord’s when he finally, after all 200 first-class matches for Somerset, he scored 8775 those near misses, got to lift a trophy. It was a team win, runs at 33.62 and took 349 wickets. His finest first-class for a cricketer who has always been a team man. He innings? Well that would have to be the remarkable called it “the icing on the cake of what’s been a great 103 in 54 balls as he carried Somerset home to their time in my life”. unlikely last day target of 474 against Yorkshire in 2009. And his 50 Championship wickets in 2012 was another It’s been great for us as well, Peter. We’ll miss you. tremendous achievement. His record in is arguably even more impressive. He is Somerset’s second highest run-scorer in T20, with 3273 runs at a of 126. Whilst in the format to which he always seemed to me to be best suited, the 40 or 50 over game, his record is second to none: 4666 runs at 34.3, and 144 wickets at 33.33. No-one who saw it will ever forget that 147 against Glamorgan in 2010, one of his sixes famously crashing through the commentary box window to lay out poor Eddie Bevan. Or, as recently as last April, the 141 he plundered in the Royal London Cup against Essex, when he and his “twin”, Azhar Ali, added 217 in 28 overs. But it was not so much for the weight of his runs or the number of his wickets that Peter Trego was so loved by Somerset cricket followers, as for the personality from which they sprang. With his dash and swagger, the flashing square cuts and mighty heaves over cow corner, the bouncers that he would suddenly unleash (with varying degrees of success!) and his always spectacular diving around in the field, he seemed to personify the squash-buckling qualities that we all like to think are most characteristic of Somerset cricket. And yes, rather as with Somerset’s record down the years, there is an element of what might have been about Peter Trego’s career. No-one, surely, deserves the unwanted accolade of ‘best player never to have played international cricket for England’ more than he

Anthony Gibson OBE is the BBC’s senior commentator on Somerset cricket The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 19 ICC Cricket World Cup

Afghanistan v New Zealand 8th June 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Australia v Pakistan 12th June 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, New Zealand won the toss and chose to field. Taunton New Zealand (2 points) beat Afghanistan by 7 Pakistan won the toss and chose to field. wickets. Australia (2 points) beat Pakistan by 41 runs. Player of the match: J. D. S. Neesham Player of the match: D. A. Warner Put in to bat first, Afghanistan began the innings This match was arguably the one most eagerly well, and it was 66 before the first wicket fell, but anticipated by Somerset supporters in 2019, and then the second and third for the same score, in they were not disappointed. A total of 573 runs in fact four wickets fell in the space of twenty balls 94.4 overs, for the loss of all 20 wickets cannot be with only one 4 being scored within that time. said to be dull, even though Pakistan fell short in There was also an added complication in that the end. there were two lengthy stoppages for rain and, As with many of the World Cup matches, the after the second, there were two more quick team winning the toss, in this case Pakistan, wickets, leaving the score at 109-6 at twenty-four inserted the opposition, preferring to chase down overs. Through all the havoc which the New Zea- the first innings’ totals. Australia started the match landers inflicted, Afghanistan managed to keep at full throttle and it was in the twenty-first over going until the forty-second over, due in the main that the first wicket fell at 146. ’s and part to Hashmatullah Shahidi, who had come in ’s innings were constructed at just to bat at the fall of the second wicket, and who under a run a ball, and although Finch fell for stayed there until the end of the innings, scoring 82, man of the match Warner continued steadily 59 out of a total of 172. Only four Afghani batsmen and saw two more wickets fall before he was made double figures, Shahidi’s being the highest the fourth wicket down when the score was 242. score. and His century underpinned the whole innings and finished with 5 and 4 wickets respectively. when the batsmen following were out relatively New Zealand had the worst start when Martin cheaply, Australia had still made 307. Mohammed Gupthill was out first ball of the innings bringing Amir collected five of the Australian wickets to fall to the . The second wick- – four of them in his last three overs. et fell at 41 but it was the third wicket pair of Pakistan, because of their slow start, seemed to Williamson and which set New be playing “catch-up” for most of the innings. No Zealand on the road to victory as they made sooner had they reached a par score then a wick- 89 from 108 deliveries. Williamson then made et would fall, and the process would be repeated. another 28 out of the then 43 runs needed to win, At the nominal “half-way” point of 25 overs the leaving him on 79*, and a win to New Zealand by score was 136 and Pakistan was on course to 7 wickets in the thirty-third over. As a footnote, it win. The opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq was still was Aftab Alam who took all of the New Zealand there as he had played the sheet anchor thus far, wickets. and was on 53. The other opener, , Afghanistan 172 all out (41.1 overs) Hashmatullah had been out for a but there had been a Shahidi 59, J. D. S. Neesham 5-31, L. H. Ferguson cameo from (the soon-to-be Somerset’s) Babar 4-37. Azam who made 30 from just twenty-eight balls, New Zealand 173-3 (32.1 overs) K. S. Williamson including 7 fours (and not much else!!). Moham- 79*. med Hafeez was still there with Imam-ul-Haq, but from the twenty-sixth over things started to fall apart. Five wickets were to fall in the space of

20 Somerset County Cricket Club SCCC SCCC OTHER MATCHES

64 runs including Imam-ul-Haq; his replacement, came in to replace Gayle and, together with Sarfraz Ahmed, was to stay there until he was the , amassed a 116 run partnership last wicket for 40 in the forty-sixth over. which laid the foundation for later fireworks. (32) and (45) also made notable con- 22-year-old made a half tributions but it was not enough and Pakistan was century from 26 deliveries and captain Jason bowled out for 266, giving a victory to Australia Holder came in at the fall of the third wicket and by 41 runs. made 33 from just 15 balls, but it was Hope who Australia 307 all out (49 overs) D. A. Warner 107, A. was the stand out batsman in making 96, falling J. Finch 82, Mohammed Amir 5-30. just short of a tenth List ‘A’ century, out of the Pakistan 266 all out (45.4 overs) Imam-ul-Haq 53. West Indies total of 321. West Indies v Bangladesh In contrast to the West Indies, Bangladesh made 17th June 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, more than double the runs in the first power play Taunton overs. with firstly , and Bangladesh won the toss and chose to field. then latterly with Shakib al Hasan posted 121-2 Bangladesh (2 points) beat West Indies by 7 within the first eighteen overs at almost seven wickets. runs per over, and only one more wicket was Player of the match: Shakib al Hasan to fall in the pursuit. The fourth wicket partner- This was a game of many runs and few wick- ship and, as it turned out, the final stand of 189 ets. With a total of 643 runs scored in the day, it between Shakib al Hasan (80) and Liton Das (94) cannot be said that spectators did not get value at 8.4 runs per over, took the Bangladesh over for money although, with West Indies batting first, the line with eight and a half overs to spare. The many people were sorry that was out, all round performance of an unbeaten 124 from in only the fourth over of the day, without scoring. Shakib al Hasan and his two wickets made him The Somerset supporters had seen Gayle at the player of the match. first hand and knew that he could blast the ball West Indies 321-8 (50 overs) S. D. Hope 96, E. all over the County Ground, however they also Lewis 70, S. O. Hetmyer 50. knew that he was often slow to start and this was Bangladesh 322-3 (41.3 overs) Shakib al Hasan indeed the case here. Wicket-keeper Shai Hope 124*, Liton Das 94*.

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 21 “We will be looking for more silverware in 2020” Says Tom Abell aving had a couple of months to reflect on the didn’t quite take them, and they came back to haunt us season ended I guess that the overriding feeling at the end. His that we were fairly happy with how things went, With two games to go we were at the top of the table, we won some silverware and in the championship we but we didn’t perform at Hampshire at the level we were right up there as well. needed to and the rest is history. However ultimately having won the One Day Cup early In the winter and in pre-season every team is optimistic our sights were set on winning one if not two more about their chances but we are certainly not content competitions and sadly that didn’t quite come to fruition with how we did last year, and we are certainly looking which was very disappointing. to push that bar higher and improve as a team. At the end of the season the emotions were very raw, We are not happy with the results of last season, we but having had time to reflect I guess overall it was a want to take things up another level and we won’t rest successful season, we won a lot of games of cricket and until we have achieved that. we were competing in all competitions. Our squad is pretty settled at the moment and a lot of Winning the first trophy for 14 years was a very special the guys have extended their contracts which is great moment for all of us associated with Somerset and its news, and which I guess is a sign of where the club important that we don’t forget that. Hopefully that will is at the moment. There is a lot of excitement around act as a foundation for us to build upon, and hopefully what Sarge (Andy Hurry) and Jason (Kerr) along with bring some more success to the club. all the back room staff are creating at the club and we During the season we played a lot of good cricket in the will certainly be looking to try and bring some more one-day competition and as a team I thought that we silverware home in 2020. were building nicely into that Lord’s finale, which meant A lot of us have grown up playing for Somerset so we all so much to me having been there back in 2001 when know each other very well. Winning a cup competition we won the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy. was amazing but winning it with your best friends and Coming second in the Championship is quite an close team-mates was something else. achievement in its own right, but at the start of the As a team we have been working towards a goal for a season I don’t think we would have settled for that while now and for it to culminate with winning the One because of the talent that we have got in our squad. Day Cup was incredible, and something that I will never With the players that we have got we really felt that we forget. could go one step further than we ever have done in the past. At no stage in the season was it ever a done deal, and we had times when we had great opportunities to try and give ourselves a bit of distance at the top, but we

22 Somerset County Cricket Club CHAMPIONSHIP Match by Match The Specsavers County Championship Reports

Somerset v Kent 5th-8th April 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Uncontested Toss – Kent chose to field Somerset (19 points) beat Kent (4 points) by 74 runs. The opening Championship match of the season began with the first day being washed out and no play possible until after lunch on the second. The newly erected floodlights were used for the first time in a

Championship match to good effect. Kent bowled OVERVIEW tightly on a drying pitch, with Mitch Claydon claiming 5 wickets. Only Tom Abell managed to accumulate any runs of note before being caught at deep fine leg off a Claydon for 49. Somerset ended on a total of 171. Kent managed to reach 71 before the first wicket fell, and ended the day 84-2. Fourth over next morning the 3rd wicket was taken and by lunch the score had moved onto 172-7. Somerset took about forty minutes to wrap up the Kent innings, during which Kent passed Somerset’s first innings total, but by only 38 runs, on 209. It was a similar story for the next innings, as Somerset struggled to score runs and ended the third day on 171- 7, only 133 runs ahead. However George Bartlett was still there, and was able to continue the next morning. It took under an hour for Kent to claim the last three wickets; indeed the last wicket pair of Bartlett and Jack Brooks held up proceedings by making 62 runs from only 54 deliveries and, when Bartlett was the last man out for 63, Somerset had managed to amass a total of 243, giving Claydon a 9 wicket haul for the match and setting the visitors 206 to win. Somerset started well, Lewis Gregory and Brooks both claiming an early wicket and Kent were reeling on 1-2. It didn’t get much better as the teams went in for lunch at 43-5. After the interval Kent tried to block out the Somerset to wrap up the innings for 131 and win by 74 day but wickets continued to fall. It was an enthralling runs, Gregory finishing with his first 5 wicket haul of the battle as, at one period of play of 10 overs immediately season. after lunch, only 10 runs were scored for the loss Somerset 171 all out (48 overs) M. E. Claydon 5-46 and of one wicket! The 7th and 8th wickets fell in quick 243 all out (71.3 overs) G. A. Bartlett 63 succession, and Kent were facing what would have Kent 209 all out (73.5 overs) and 131 all out (46 overs) L. been the last over before tea. Milnes, who had batted Gregory 5-18 stolidly for 10, was facing his 46th delivery, which he Umpires: R. J. Bailey & R. K. Illingworth nicked to 2nd slip where Hildreth took a sharp catch CLO: W. M. Noon to effect the 9th wicket. Tea was delayed with the 9 Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & L. A. R. Hart wickets down, but it only took a further 9 deliveries for

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 23 Match by Match The Specsavers County Championship Reports

Nottinghamshire v Somerset 11th-13th April 2019; Toss: Uncontested – Somerset chose to field Somerset (24 points) beat Nottinghamshire (5 points) by an innings and 14 runs. Somerset bowled first and soon had Nottinghamshire in trouble as the first wicket fell without a run on the board. However, Nottinghamshire settled down on what proved to be a good playing surface, with several strong partnerships throughout the innings. The total had climbed steadily before they were dismissed just after tea, for 263, with Chris Nash and both getting half centuries. Lewis Gregory, bowled accurately and claimed 6 wickets in the first innings, his 11th 5 wicket haul for Somerset. Somerset started slowly, and by the end of the first day, finished on 74-3, Tom Abell and George Bartlett both at the crease on 22 and 9 respectively. The next morning, in spite of some hostile bowling they continued unbeaten to lunch, both reaching their half centuries. The100 partnership took only 2 hours, and their second 100 partnership was even faster. The partnership of 223 was eventually broken by Luke Wood when Abell played at a full delivery and took a regulation catch behind the stumps. (This partnership is the 10th highest 4th wicket partnership in Somerset’s history.) Bartlett continued to play well and put on a half century with his next partner, Steve Davies. When eventually, Bartlett was out shortly after tea, Gregory bludgeoned the bowling for 50 from only 50 deliveries, enabling the total to climb to 403 all out, and helping to collect full batting and bowling bonus points for the match. collected 5 wickets in the innings. Nottinghamshire began their 2nd innings, before bad wicket. Leach and Brooks were to take 2 more wickets light ended play early and in the nine overs possible, apiece within the following forty minutes, handing Jack Brooks collected 2 wickets, leaving the hosts 25-2 a comprehensive 2nd Championship victory of the overnight. season to Somerset. The third wicket pair continued for an hour taking the Nottinghamshire 263 all out (66.4 overs) C. D. Nash 58, total to 66 when Jack Leach took a wicket in his first L. Wood 52, L Gregory 6-68 and 126 all out (59.1 overs) M. over, after advanced down the track and J. Leach 6-36. Davies effected a neat stumping. Leach took two more Somerset 403 all out (108.1 overs) G. A. Bartlett 133, T. B. wickets before lunch was taken with the score on 88-5. Abell 101, L. Gregory 50, S. C. Broad 5-73. It was only a matter of time before another wicket Umpires: M. A. Gough & S. J. O’Shaughnessy fell after lunch. This time it was the Nottinghamshire CLO: J. Whitaker captain Steve Mullaney, who was out, giving Davies Scorers: R. Marshall & L. M. Rhodes his 2nd stumping in the innings and Leach his 4th

24 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club CHAMPIONSHIP

Somerset v Surrey 14th-17th May 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Toss: Surrey – chose to bat. Match drawn: Somerset (11 points) Surrey (12 points). This was a match where the bowlers toiled and batsmen flourished. At one stage the visitors were 265-2, before Tim Groenewald made the breakthrough after which wickets came regularly and, by the end of day one, Surrey finished on 330-6. OVERVIEW In the morning Surrey only added 11 runs, leaving , on 59 . The Somerset openers negotiated a tricky 20 minutes before lunch, but immediately afterwards Marcus Trescothick was caught by the wicket-keeper . This brought James Hildreth to the crease and he gave a masterclass, firstly with Azhar Ali (a partnership of 94) and latterly Steve Davies (a partnership of 70); together taking the score on to 211. However Hildreth then top-edged the ball straight back to the bowler and was out for 90. Lewis Gregory then took over where Hildreth had left off and by close, the score was 243-5 Gregory not out 18 from 37 deliveries. Following morning Gregory took charge and cut, drove and pulled his way to a lunchtime score of 353, leaving him on 96 at the break. Fifty minutes after lunch saw the Somerset innings closed for two runs shy of full batting points, with Gregory unbeaten on 129. Surrey’s 2nd innings didn’t start well as 2 wickets fell to the opening bowlers for only 19 runs. Burns began very slowly and by tea had reached 14. After tea however, he opened his shoulders and, with the help of firstly Foakes and then , took the score to 148 when he was out for a well-crafted 78 just before the close of play by which time Surrey had moved onto 152-4. Day four began under lowering clouds and, with Surrey 380 all out (122 overs: at 110 overs 351-7) R. J. only six overs gone, the players were taken off Burns 107, D. Elgar 103, R. Clarke 59*, M. D. Stoneman because of rain. Frustratingly it meant that 34 overs 50, and 255-8 (89 overs) R. J. Burns 78, W. G. Jacks 54. were lost, even though an early lunch was taken; Somerset 398 all out (106.3 overs) L. Gregory 129*, J. C Surrey being 169 runs ahead at this point with 5 Hildreth 90, Azhar Ali 60, S. M. Davies 58. wickets in hand. Once they were able to resume Umpires: N. G. B. Cook & D. J. Millns the innings a further 3 wickets were taken leaving CLO: T. J. Boon the score on 247-8 at tea. After tea the weather Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & P. J. Makepeace was threatening and bad light again meant that the Umpires had to take the players off the field. The interruption cost another 5 overs before the resumption of only 2 more overs before the match was concluded as a draw.

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 25 Match by Match The Specsavers County Championship Reports

Somerset v Warwickshire 20th-22nd May 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Toss: Uncontested – Warwickshire chose to field Somerset (20 points) beat Warwickshire (3 points) by 49 runs. This was a match where the bowlers were in the ascendancy, where the highest score was a quality 92* and the next highest 36 and where 17 wickets fell on the first day. Somerset batsmen struggled against a well-disciplined attack, led by Oliver Hannon-Dalby and by lunchtime they were reeling at 143 for 6. After lunch the wickets continued to tumble and, Somerset were all out for 209. Hannon- Dalby claimed a career-best 5-18. Warwickshire fared little better and by the close of play, they had moved on to 110-7. Day two saw even more wickets fall than on day one – a total of 19 as Warwickshire were all out for 135, giving Somerset a vital lead of 74. Craig Overton finished with 5-31 at an economy rate of only 1.9 runs per over. The third innings continued the trend of rattling stumps. In the hour and a half left before lunch Somerset doubled the lead, but lost 5 wickets in the process. This time it was Norwell wreaking the damage, which continued after the interval. The Somerset innings ended just after 15.00h, at 164 all out – Craig Overton ending not out on 36, thus contributing hugely with both ball and bat, but it was Norwell who earned the plaudits with his 7-41. Chasing 239 to win, Warwickshire lost their first wicket in the opening over and their second in the seventh, and went in to tea after twenty minutes at 26-2. After the interval a further five wickets went down for only 77 runs; the only saving grace was the innings played by who was unbeaten on 43 by the end of the day. Day three opened in the knowledge that much narrower, had Warwickshire not been so Warwickshire needed a further 136 runs, and that profligate in the extras given away; a total of 67 Somerset needed four wickets to win. The seventh in the match compared with Somerset’s 24. A wicket to fall was in the third over of the day and by difference of 43! this time Somerset could sniff victory. There was Somerset 209 all out (47.2 overs) O. J. Hannon-Dalby still some resistance by the final three batsmen, 5-18, and 164 all out (41.5 overs) L. C. Norwell 7-41 but it was not enough. Credit must go to Hain who finished on 92* on a track which proved tricky for Warwickshire 135 all out (54.1 overs) C. Overton 5-31 everyone else. and 189 all out (71.4 overs) Gregory ended up with five wickets in the match Umpires: J. W. Lloyds & N. A. Mallender and Craig Overton seven. CLO: W. M. Noon The winning margin of 49 runs might have been Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & M. D. Smith

26 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club CHAMPIONSHIP

Surrey v Somerset 3rd-6th June 2019; Woodbridge Road, Guildford Toss: Somerset – chose to bat. Somerset (22 points) beat Surrey (4 points) by 102 runs. Somerset made use of the best of the pitch in what turned out to be Marcus Trescothick’s last full Championship match. With Azhar Ali nursing a virulent sore throat, Tom Abell opened with Trescothick but both were out fairly cheaply and were replaced firstly by James Hildreth and OVERVIEW secondly by Tom Banton, who came into the side as a replacement for Azhar Ali. When Hildreth’s wicket fell at 35, George Bartlett joined Banton and the two youngsters began to build a total. It could have been very different had Rikki Clarke, fielding in the slips, clung on to a catch from Bartlett’s very first delivery. As it was, Bartlett began to accumulate here and there, gradually gaining in confidence. He had ample support, first from Banton and then from Steve Davies in partnerships of 95, followed by that of 73 with Craig Overton before Bartlett was out for a career best total of 137. The last four wickets then fell for an additional 46 runs. The second day started on time and again, the first three wickets fell cheaply, before a partial recovery saw Surrey reach 101-3 at lunch. Shortly afterwards Foakes completed his half century but was caught behind on 57. Rain and bad light, hampered the afternoon and evening sessions, with no play possible for three and a half hours. The clouds lifted enough to let play continue for just over an hour at the end of the day, during which Surrey went onto 188-5. Play began on time on day three with the last five Surrey wickets falling in an hour with Craig Overton claiming 5-38. In the hour of play before lunch Somerset had moved onto 50-3. After the interval it was Bartlett who provided support for Hildreth, the latter making Brooks taking 5-33 whilst Craig Overton collected a solid 64. When Bartlett was out it only took Surrey another two. an hour and a half, interrupted by tea-time, to Somerset 344 all out (92 overs) G. A. Bartlett 137, and collect the last five wickets, collecting 153 all out (49.2 overs) 5-43. Surrey 231 all out (73 overs) R. S. Patel 63, B. T. Foakes Surrey were set 267 to win, but Somerset made 57, C. Overton 5-38, and 164 all out (56.3 overs) J. A. it very difficult. They started brightly enough, Brooks 5-33. managing to get to the close of play on day three at Umpires: P. K. Baldwin & P. J. Hartley 99-2. The first hour would be crucial and, Somerset CLO: J. Whitaker took less than half an hour to claim three more wickets, leaving the hosts on 120-5. Another hour Scorers: P. J. Makepeace & L. M. Rhodes saw the final five wickets fall and Somerset win, Jack

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 27 Match by Match The Specsavers County Championship Reports

Kent v Somerset 10th-13th June 2019; Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury Toss: Uncontested – Somerset chose to field Somerset (19 points) beat Kent (3 points) by 10 wickets. This was a game that seemed destined to end in a draw because of the amount of rain that fell and time lost in the match. In spite of the best efforts of the ground staff the first day was washed out completely. Day two dawned fair, and Somerset’s captain, claiming an uncontested toss and fielding first, had Kent deep in trouble at 45-5. Ollie Robinson and Alex Blake then doubled the score and helped the hosts reach lunch at 121-7. Half an hour afterwards they were all out for 139, Lewis Gregory claiming a career best 6-32. Somerset began similarly, the first four wickets going down with only 35 on the board. This is when Steve Davies came out to join Tom Banton who was already on 9. Together they began to build a partnership and gradually the total climbed; by tea-time it was 66 and when eventually, Davies was out half an hour after the break, Somerset had recovered somewhat to 97-5. Gregory was next in and he managed to keep Banton company for fifty minutes, during which time Banton reached his half century. When the scores were level Banton was out for 63, and half an hour later the Somerset innings closed on 169, a lead of 30 runs. With twelve overs still to be bowled, Kent came out for the second time in the day and with those overs managed to get to 24-2 by close of play. Day three saw the teams turn up to a damp and dismal sight, and again, as for day one, not one ball was bowled. On the last day, it wasn’t possible to start until after an early lunch. An hour later Kent were bowled out for a mere 59. The eight wickets that were taken, fell with amazing regularity, within 14.1 overs and for only 35 runs; Craig Overton chipping in with three wickets and Gregory taking 5-21. Needing 30 to win, the first over went for 13 runs and twenty minutes later it was all over and Somerset had won by 10 wickets, making it a winning double over the hosts for 2019. Gregory’s total for the match was a staggering 26.2-12-53-11.

Kent 139 all out (41 overs) L. Gregory 6-32; and 59 all Umpires: M. J. Saggers & B. V. Taylor out (26.1 overs) L. Gregory 5-21 CLO: S. J. Davis Somerset 169 all out (46.2 overs) T. Banton 63; and Scorers: L. A. R. Hart & L. M. Rhodes 30-0 (6.4overs)

28 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club CHAMPIONSHIP

Essex 216 all out (77.3 overs) A. N. Cook 80, and Essex v Somerset 183 all out (53.3 overs) T. D. Groenewald 5-51. 23rd-25th June 2019; Cloudfm County Ground Somerset 131 all out (48.5 overs) J. A. Porter 5-51, Chelmsford and 117 all out (32.2 overs). Toss: Essex – chose to bat. Essex (20 points) beat Somerset (3 points) by Umpires: N. G. B. Cook & G. D. Lloyd 151 runs. CLO: T. J. Boon The Somerset captain, Tom Abell, opted to have a Scorers: A. E. Choat & L. M. Rhodes toss which he consequently lost and Essex chose to bat and by lunchtime the hosts had moved onto 110-1. OVERVIEW The afternoon proved more fruitful for Somerset as five wickets fell including Alastair Cook’s for a well crafted 80. The wickets were shared amongst the bowlers, the pick of them being Jack Leach with 3-30 at an economy rate of 1.8. In the last hour of play on day one, Somerset played carefully and reached 32-1 by close. It was a different matter on day two and by lunchtime Somerset found themselves 90 for 6, and bowled out by mid-afternoon for 131. Abell, again in the opening spot, managed the top score of 36. In the hour up to tea Essex managed 57-1, Alastair Cook once again showing his class. He was the fourth wicket down, for 47, in the mid-evening session, when the score was 125-4 and at close of play on day two it was 164-6. The Essex second innings was wrapped up after 40 minutes of play on day three for 183. Tim Groenewald continued to take wickets and ended up on 5-51 at the end of the innings. This meant that Somerset needed to score 269 to win, but the fourth innings started very inauspiciously, in that Abell drove the second ball straight back to the bowler, , who clung on to a relatively straightforward catch. Hildreth came in but, having started his innings carefully, was out on the stroke of lunch for 32, leaving the score on 64-4. After lunch Somerset continued to find ways to get out. There was a little light relief afforded when Lewis Gregory started his innings. He managed to plunder 40 from only 34 deliveries, including four sixes, one of which was deposited into the river so another ball had to be found. Somerset were all out for 117 an hour in to the afternoon session and Essex inflicted Somerset’s first defeat of the season by 151 runs.

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Somerset v Hampshire 30th June-3rd July 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Toss: Somerset – chose to bat. Somerset (24 points) beat Hampshire (6 points) by 313 runs. The beginning of this match was poignant as home and visiting players, staff and spectators alike, stood for a minute’s silence to pay tribute to Charles Clarke, the Chairman of Somerset County Cricket Club, who had died the previous week. The visitors lost the toss and found themselves in the field. Somerset lost Azhar Ali early on for 12, before Tom Abell and James Hildreth shared a partnership of 178 which ended when Hildreth was out for 105. Abell made 82 and by the time he was out Somerset had already gained one batting point. The next pair of Banton and Bartlett rattled up a half century in the half an hour leading to tea, and continued until Banton was out and the total was over the three batting points’ margin. Somerset eventually went onto claim maximum batting points. By close Hampshire had reached 15-1. Next day an early wicket fell, bringing together and , who shared a century partnership until Rahane was out or 55. Hampshire continued to build on this solid start and by close they were 329-8. Somerset took twenty minutes the next morning to wrap up the other two wickets giving them a lead of 59. The opening batsmen for Somerset, Abell and Ali, took the total onto 128 before Abell was out. Two wickets fell in the afternoon and five in the evening before Somerset declared on 358-8. Needing 418 to win, Hampshire lost Oliver Soames before the close by which time they were 12-1. Continuing on day four, Hampshire lost three quick Somerset 408 all out (87.5 overs) J. C. Hildreth 105, T. wickets. When James Fuller joined Northeast at the B. Abell 82, T. Banton 79, G. A. Bartlett 68, K. J. Abbott crease they added 57, but when Northeast was out 6-84; and 358-8 declared (83 overs) Azhar Ali 79, T. for 23, Hampshire’s task became monumental. Half Banton 70, T. B. Abell 58. an hour later they had lost their last five remaining Hampshire 349 all out (106.3 overs) S. A. Northeast wickets for 19 runs to the “spin twins” of Jack Leach 101, A. M. Rahane 55, J. Overton 5-70; and 104-9 all out and Dom Bess. Hampshire had made 104-9 all out, (34.2 overs). Weatherly being unable to bat, and lost by a margin Umpires: D. J. Millns & R. J. Warren of 313 runs. CLO: T. J. Boon Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & K. R. Baker

30 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club CHAMPIONSHIP

Somerset v Nottinghamshire 7th-9th July 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Toss: Somerset – chose to bat. Somerset (22 points) beat Nottinghamshire (4 points) by 132 runs. Nottinghamshire lost the toss and Somerset chose to bat first. The hosts started steadily and by lunch were 111 for 3. James Hildreth made 44 and during his innings moved up Somerset’s list of run scorers to fifth above , and also reached OVERVIEW 17,000 First-Class runs for the County. Somerset slipped to 145-6 before Steve Davies and Dom Bess steadied the innings with a 128 run partnership, Davies collecting 77 runs and Bess 51 before the last four wickets went for 53 runs and Somerset were 326 all out. Nottinghamshire began batting at the start of day two and by lunch had moved onto 91-1. Shortly afterwards, Chris Nash, who was 50, was hit on the head by a bouncer and had to retire – not out. Meanwhile, , who had opened, was still there at tea with the score at 189-2. Shortly afterwards, he was caught and this allowed the floodgates to open, seven wickets going down for 40 runs. With Nash unable to return Nottinghamshire ended on 241-9 all out, giving Somerset a lead of 85. Facing five overs Somerset reached 7-1 by close, night-watchman Tim Groenewald, the man out. Azhar Ali, who had come in when the first wicket fell, played a major part in the second innings on day three. With the pitch now taking spin, the Nottinghamshire duo of and Liam Patterson-White bowled all but six overs of the sixty overs in the second innings, and collected five wickets apiece. Ali stayed firm at one end, and was an invaluable 65 not out from 184 deliveries, as the hosts posted a total of 169 all out. Needing 255 for victory, wickets continued to Somerset 326 all out (94.3 overs) S. M. Davies 74, D. tumble, as the visitors reached 31-2 by tea. There M Bess 51; and 169 all out (59.4 overs) Azhar Ali 65, R. was then a steadying 32 run partnership between Ashwin 5-59, L. A. Patterson-White 5-73. Ashwin and Mullaney, the former making 41 in Nottinghamshire 241 all out (88.1 overs) J. D. Libby addition to his prowess with the ball, but once the 77, C. D. Nash 50, D. M Bess 5-59; and 122 all out (43.5 latter was out, there was a regular procession of overs). batsmen out. At the end of the day it only needed five deliveries of the extra half-hour, which had been Umpires: N. G. B. Cook & B. J. Debenham claimed by Somerset, to effect a second defeat CLO: G. R. Cowdrey of the year on Nottinghamshire by a margin of 132 Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & R. Marshall runs, as they finished on 122 all out. Jack Leach and Bess claimed seven wickets each in the match, and Jamie Overton five.

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Yorkshire v Somerset 13th-16th July 2019; Emerald Headingly, . Toss: Uncontested – Somerset chose to field Yorkshire (22 points) beat Somerset (1 point) by an innings and 73 runs. Yorkshire batted well and it wasn’t until fifteen minutes before lunch that Somerset made the breakthrough, claiming and Will Fraine. Tom Kohler-Cadmore and then shared a third wicket stand of 199 before the latter was out for 111, and by close Yorkshire had scored 282-3. Tim Groenewald took two early wickets next morning, including Kohler-Cadmore for 102, but it wasn’t enough for Somerset to gain a second bowling point. Yorkshire continued to bat well and were eventually bowled out for 520. After tea it was a completely different story, as the bowlers took charge. In the two hours of the evening session Somerset managed 76 runs for the loss of four wickets. James Hildreth batted steadily and when the fifth wicket fell he was joined by Steve Davies and they stemmed the flow. Hildreth continued in the morning until he was out for 37 with the score now 85- 5. Davies then anchored the innings, but it wasn’t until Jamie Overton came in to bat and started to share a partnership that the game calmed down a little. The score had reached 138 when Maharaj accounted for Davies for 37. By lunch Somerset were 164-8. When play resumed Jamie Overton bludgeoned 14 from the first over, reaching 50 from the last ball, however next over Tim Groenewald was out LBW, yet another wicket for Maharaj. Ten minutes later he added another to that total when Jack Brooks was caught and Somerset were all out for 196. Left arm spinner Maharaj took 7-52. Following on things were looking bleak for Somerset, but Abell and Azhar Ali showed intent and in the hour and a half before tea the partnership yielded 79 runs from 25 overs. Shortly after tea Ali was out LBW for 41 followed by James Hildreth and Tom Abell before Tom Banton and George Bartlett produced a stand of 47 which Yorkshire 520 all out (160.1 overs) G. S. Balance 111, T. was ended when Maharaj claimed the latter. By close Kohler-Cadmore 102, H. C. Brook 101, K. Maharaj 72. Somerset had reached 159-4, Banton reaching his Somerset 196 all out (67.3overs) J. Overton 52*, K. half-century before the close. Maharaj 7-52; and 251 all out (82.5overs) T. Banton 63, In the morning night, watchman Groenewald was out, T. B. Abell 53. not long after which Banton followed for 63. An hour Umpires: M. Burns & P. J. Hartley later Somerset were all out for 251, giving Yorkshire CLO: S. J. Davis victory by an innings and 73 while Maharaj took ten Scorers: J. T. Potter & L. M. Rhodes wickets in the match – 10-127

32 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club CHAMPIONSHIP

Warwickshire v Somerset 18th-21st August 2019; Edgbaston Stadium, . Toss: Warwickshire – chose to bat Somerset (21 points) beat Warwickshire (7 points) by 5 wickets. Somerset claimed Dominic Sibley without a run on the board but there were no more wickets until well into the afternoon session. and Rob Yates then added 153 before Craig Overton brought an end to it as Warwickshire closed on 303-4. OVERVIEW Yates was out to the seventh delivery of the second morning for 141 and by lunch Warwickshire had moved onto 383-7. Within an hour of the re-start the up the 200. At tea a further 48 were needed home side were all out for 419. with five wickets remaining. After the break Rain then called a halt to proceedings, but when Bartlett brought up his 50, but it was Bess who play did get underway Somerset lost three quick stroked the winning runs; Bartlett 54* and Bess wickets. However Steve Davies withstood the 40*, saw Somerset home by 5 wickets. bowling and, together with Tom Banton and Warwickshire 419 all out (127 overs) R. M. Yates 141, then George Bartlett, partnerships of 63 and 59 W. M. Rhodes 82, M. G. K. Burgess 52; and 146 all out respectively were forged, and by the end of the day (50.4 overs) R. M. Yates 53. Somerset had reached 166-5 with Davies and Dom Somerset 308 all out (92 overs) S. M. Davies 109 and Bess the overnight batsmen. D. M. Bess 52*; and 258-5 (72.4 overs) T. Banton 66, G. The next morning Davies completed his century A. Bartlett 54*. before being out for 109. Craig Overton then took up Umpires: I. J. Gould & R. J. Warren the cudgel and he and Dom Bess had another half- CLO: P. Whitticase century partnership before the new ball was taken and Somerset were all out for 308, Bess undefeated Scorers: M. D. Smith & L. M. Rhodes on 52. With Warwickshire leading by 111 it was Jack Brooks who made the all important breakthrough taking the wicket of Rhodes, before Tom Abell claimed wickets in successive balls leaving the hosts on 52-3 at lunch. There was more of the same to follow as Brooks and both Overtons pinned the hosts down, claiming five wickets between them before Abell ended things as Warwickshire were dismissed for 146. Needing 258 to win only 2.5 overs were possible before bad light halted play on 8-0. Three Somerset wickets went down before lunch, which brought Tom Banton out to join Babar Azam. This pairing was ideal, as Azam was the perfect foil to the more flamboyant Banton. When finally, Azam was out LBW for 40, the partnership yielded not only 90 runs, but a fine 50 for Banton. Now it was George Bartlett’s turn to play second fiddle, before Banton was out for 66. Still needing 88 runs for victory Bess set about the bowling, soon outscoring his partner and bringing

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Somerset v Yorkshire 10th-12th September 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Toss: Uncontested – Yorkshire chose to field Somerset (19 points) beat Yorkshire (3 points) by 298 runs. Yorkshire bowled first and, before long, started taking wickets, the first being Steve Davies which brought Tom Abell to the crease. Three further wickets fell before he and George Bartlett managed to get the total to 70 without further losses. Bartlett was then out trying a reverse sweep but Abell continued as wickets fell and reached 50, going on to make 66 before being out at 199-9. Josh Davey was dismissed without scoring and Somerset were all out for 199, Keshav Maharaj taking 5-54. Both Yorkshire openers were caught by wicket- keeper Davies but then Gary Ballance showed his class before he was the third wicket down for 35 shortly before close of play on day one as Yorkshire ended 70-3. In the morning Yorkshire lost their remaining wickets and were 103-9 all out as the unfortunate Ben Coad was absent, unable to take to the field. Roelof van der Merwe and Josh Davey both claimed three wickets. When Somerset replied both Murali Vijay and Davies were out early on. Abell and James Hildreth once again calmed things down, and at lunch Somerset were 49-2. The pair went onto complete a century partnership, before Hildreth was out for 58. Tom Banton made 43 from 48 deliveries before he was out on the stroke of tea, having shared a partnership of 70 with Abell. Once Abell was out, no more wickets fell before play was abandoned for the day, on 269-5. The partnership of 81 between Lewis Gregory and Bartlett came to a close during the third over of play on day three, and thereafter the final four wickets were taken in under an hour as Somerset were all eighth Somerset bowler to take five wickets in an out for 329. innings this season; the first time in sixty years, that it Needing 426 for victory, things could not have has been done. started worse for Yorkshire as Jamie Overton dived Somerset 199 all out (72.5 overs) T. B. Abell 66, K. A. full length at third slip to take a remarkable catch Maharaj 5-54; and 329 all out (83.2 overs) T. B. Abell to dismiss Lyth. Ballance was out on the stroke of 62, J. C. Hildreth 58, K. A. Maharaj 5-122. lunch and after the break two more wickets fell as Yorkshire 103 all out (33.3 overs) and 127 all out (45.2 the total reached 71-4. A direct hit on the stumps overs) J. H. Davey 5-21. by Dom Bess from backward point ran out , followed by two quick wickets from Josh Umpires: M. J. Saggers & M. A. Gough Davey that saw Yorkshire reduced to 94-7. Davey CLO: D. A. Cosker struck twice more as Yorkshire were all out for 127, Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & J. T. Potter giving Somerset victory by 298 runs. Davey was the

34 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club CHAMPIONSHIP

Hampshire 196 all out (58.4 overs) L. A. Dawson Hampshire v Somerset 103; and 226 all out (61.3 overs) J. M. Vince 142. 16th-18th September 2019; The Ageas Bowl, Somerset 142 all out (48.4 overs) K. J. Abbott 9-40, and 144 all out (48.4 overs) K. J. Abbott 8-46. Toss: Hampshire – chose to bat. Umpires: G. D. Lloyd & N. A. Mallender Hampshire (19 points) beat Somerset (3 points) by 136 runs. CLO: R. M. Ellison Somerset lost the toss and Hampshire chose to Scorers: K. R. Baker & L. M. Rhodes bat. Up until lunch it was going well for Somerset, the first hour and a quarter yielding only 57 runs for the loss of six wickets. Soon after lunch the score had reached 88-7 at which point OVERVIEW was joined by and the pair put on an incredible 92 before the hosts were all out for 196. Somerset started batting after the tea interval, and there were two interruptions before stumps by which time they had moved onto 30-2. On the second day none of the batsmen could get a good start until the eighth wicket fell and Roelof van der Merwe joined Dom Bess. These two players put on 67 for the ninth wicket until Bess was out for 37. When Davey was the last man to go Somerset were 142 all out, leaving a deficit of 54 runs, claiming 9-40. There had been fewer than five sessions in the match, when Hampshire batted for a second time. The third innings was threatening to go the same way as the previous two, as wickets continued to tumble. came in at the fall of the third wicket when the score was on 10 and, when Sam Northeast was out shortly before tea, Hampshire were 34-4. Before tea it had looked extremely difficult for batting but this changed completely afterwards as Vince started to establish himself. Along with different partners, notably Abbott, he went on to make a century which he completed the next morning. When Vince was out in the sixty- first over only four more runs were added giving a Hampshire total of 226 meaning that Somerset would need to get 281 to win. The Somerset openers Vijay and Davies batted through until lunch by which time the score was 62-0. Soon after the break however Vijay was out following which there was a steady stream of wickets during the afternoon and Somerset were eventually bowled out for 144, giving Hampshire victory by 136 runs. Abbott claimed another eight wickets giving him match figures of 17 for 86.

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Somerset v Essex 23rd-26th September 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Toss: Somerset – chose to bat. Match drawn: Somerset (9 points) Essex (8 points). Somerset won the toss and opted to bat first. Murali Vijay and Steve Davies fell cheaply and at 14-2, James Hildreth joined Tom Abell and together they stabilised the innings. Spinner was introduced for the eighth over and claimed two wickets in his seventh over, leaving the score at 61-4. Abell and George Bartlett took the score to 75-4 before an early lunch as the threatened rain finally arrived, after which there was no further play. On the second day play was not possible until midday. Lunch was taken at 1300 by which time the score had advanced to 126-6 with Abell on 45 and Dom Bess 10. Harmer accounted for both Abell and Craig Overton in his first over after lunch at 130-8. This was the signal for new batsman Roelof van der Merwe to play a cameo innings. He made 60 runs from 51 deliveries, before he was out as Somerset were dismissed for 203. Essex made 25-0 in the eleven overs before tea and barely looked troubled. They were unable to resume for not only the rest of the day, but also there was no play on day three. Play started at midday on day four and only two overs were bowled before the rain made another return. This time play was held up only for ten minutes. At this resumption 10 overs were bowled, during which the first wicket fell, a catch to Hildreth at silly mid-off, from the bowling of Bess. At lunch the score was 61-1. Cook had moved onto 53 when he was out to Jack Leach, who immediately claimed for 0 in the same over. Another wicket fell before tea by which time Essex were 118-4. After tea suddenly things started to happen. Leach and van der Merwe slipping away from them towards Essex. The first were bowling in tandem. wicket fell, but not until the seventeenth over when Men crowded the bat, and wickets tumbled as it was 38-1. Ten balls later the players shook hands Essex were all out for 141, Leach taking 5-32 and van and the game ended in a draw. der Merwe 4-41. This was a lead for Somerset of 62. Somerset 203 all out (61.4 overs) R. E. van der Merwe Somerset forfeited their second innings to try 60, S. R. Harmer 5-105; and 2nd innings forfeited. to press for the victory they needed to win the Essex 141 all out (68.2 overs) A. N. Cook 53, M. J. Leach championship while Essex needed 63 for them to 5-32; and 45-1 (18 overs). win the match. Umpires: R. J. Bailey & A. G. Wharf Three overs were bowled and then the last hour TV Umpire N. L. Bainton started, with minimum of a 16 overs to be bowled. CLO: P. Whitticase As the time went on however Somerset felt the title Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & A. E. Choat

36 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club CHAMPIONSHIP The Statistics Specsavers County Championship ~ 2019

Somerset Batting Averages

Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St TB Abell 14 25 1 756 101 31.50 1 5 13 0 GA Bartlett 14 24 1 718 137 31.22 2 3 1 0 T Banton 10 18 0 533 79 29.61 0 5 6 0 L Gregory 11 18 2 465 129* 29.06 1 1 10 0 SM Davies 14 24 1 642 109 27.91 1 3 47 3 RE van der Merwe 4 6 1 132 60 26.40 0 1 7 0 OVERVIEW Azhar Ali 9 16 2 344 79 24.57 0 3 3 0 DM Bess 7 13 3 233 52* 23.30 0 2 3 0 JC Hildreth 14 24 0 553 105 23.04 1 3 17 0 J Overton 8 14 2 252 52* 21.00 0 1 16 0 Babar Azam 1 2 0 40 40 20.00 0 0 0 0 C Overton 10 15 1 230 40 16.43 0 0 12 0 JH Davey 5 9 1 92 36 11.50 0 0 1 0 JA Brooks 8 12 6 68 35* 11.33 0 0 2 0 ME Trescothick 5 8 0 86 23 10.75 0 0 9 0 EJ Byrom 1 2 0 20 14 10.00 0 0 2 0 TD Groenewald 7 13 3 100 17 10.00 0 0 3 0 M Vijay 3 5 0 42 29 8.40 0 0 5 0 MJ Leach 9 13 4 53 11* 5.89 0 0 7 0 *Denotes Not Out

Somerset Bowling Averages

Player Ovs Mdns Runs Wkts Ave E Best 5w 10w L Gregory 284.1 81 804 51 15.76 2.83 6-32 4 0 MJ Leach 250.3 71 596 34 17.53 2.38 6-36 2 0 RE van der Merwe 66.5 21 177 10 17.7 2.65 4-41 0 0 JH Davey 107.5 29 301 17 17.71 2.79 5-21 1 0 J Overton 156.5 29 521 28 18.61 3.32 5-70 1 0 C Overton 282.3 64 810 37 21.89 2.87 5-31 2 0 DM Bess 174.3 44 447 19 23.53 2.56 5-59 1 0 TB Abell 103.2 30 313 13 24.08 3.03 4-49 0 0 TD Groenewald 163.3 32 472 18 26.22 2.89 5-51 1 0 JA Brooks 214.1 51 728 25 29.12 3.4 5-33 1 0 Azhar Ali 2 2 0 0 - 0 0-0 0 0

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 37 Match by Match Royal London One-Day Cup 2019 Somerset v Kent Spitfires Sussex Sharks v Somerset 19th April 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, 24th April 2019; 1st Central County Ground, Hove Taunton Sussex Sharks won the toss and fielded. Kent Spitfires won the toss and fielded Somerset (2 points) beat Sussex Sharks by 68 Somerset (2 points) beat Kent by 264 runs runs (DLS) MOM: Craig Overton Somerset batted first and slipped to 30-2 when Tom Banton hit his maiden List A century, James Hildreth came to the wicket and along scoring 107 off 79 balls with 11 fours and 4 sixes. with Azhar Ali added 101 in twenty overs. Lewis Lewis Gregory scored 51 from 45 deliveries Gregory and Tom Abell’s partnership added 64 including six fours and 2 sixes then Craig in 40 balls to help Somerset to 283-9. Overton made 66 from 37 balls with 4 fours and Sussex Sharks scored 37-2 in the power play, 3 sixes. however they did not push on and lost two more Kent Spitfires lost four wickets in the first wickets in the thirteenth over. With the score on power play, thanks to Craig Overton and found 62-5 in the 17th over the heavens opened the themselves 26-4. A partnership of 36 for the players left the field and eventually the match fifth wicket between Alex Blake (24) and Adam was abandoned. Rouse (14) afforded them some hope, but there was no way back. Somerset 283-9 (50 overs) J. C. Hildreth 81. Azhar Ali 68, L. Gregory 50. Somerset 358-9 (50 overs) T. Banton 107, C. Overton 66*, Sussex 62-5 (16.3 overs). L. Gregory 51 Umpires: R. T. Robinson & C. M. Watts Kent 94 all out (27 overs) C. Overton 7-2-18-5. CLO: D. A. Cosker Umpires: B. V. Taylor & A. G. Wharf Scorers: M. J. Charman & L. M. Rhodes CLO: W. M. Noon Somerset v Essex Eagles Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & L. A. R. Hart 26th April 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Glamorgan v Somerset Taunton 21st April 2019; Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Essex Eagles won the toss and fielded Somerset won the toss and batted. Somerset (2 points) beat Essex Eagles by 36 Somerset (2 points) beat Glamorgan by 2 runs. runs (DLS). MOM: P. D. Trego After Somerset were limited to 35-2 in the initial Essex had no hesitation in putting Somerset power play, Peter Trego and James Hildreth, in to bat given the forecast. Tom Banton went shared a stand of 48. Tom Abell continued early which brought Peter Trego to join Azhar Ali. where Trego left off, and helped to add 54. Craig Together they added 217 for the second wicket. Overton then hit 41 later in the innings. Trego went on to make 141 helping the hosts to Glamorgan started poorly, slumping to 41-6 353-5. Essex were never up with the required before Graham Wagg and added rate. They weren’t helped by two rain breaks, the 99 runs. second of which came with the total on 82-3. It then kept up the attack and was deemed that only 6 more overs were due the last pair of Lukas Carey and Tim van der to be bowled during which Essex took their total Gugten also stood firm, before, a juggling catch to 154 -6 from their 17 overs meaning Somerset by Azhar Ali gave Somerset victory by 2 runs. had won by 36 runs (DLS) Somerset 261-9 (50 overs) J. C. Hildreth 67. Somerset 353-5 (39 overs) P. D. Trego 141, Azhar Glamorgan 259 all out (48.1 overs) D. L. Lloyd 84, Ali 110, P. M. Siddle 4-60 G. G. Wagg 62, J. H. Davey 10-3-36-4. Essex Eagles 154-6 (17 overs) D. W. Lawrence 51. Umpires: P. R. Pollard & A. G. Wharf Umpires: J. H. Evans & J. W. Lloyds CLO: S. Cummings CLO: R. M. Ellison Scorers: A. K. Hignell & L. M. Rhodes Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & A. E. Choat 38 Somerset County Cricket Club VIEW Royal London Royal London

Gloucestershire v Somerset Somerset v Hampshire 28th April 2019; Nevil Road, Bristol 5th May 2019; Cooper Associates County Somerset won the toss and batted. Ground, Taunton Gloucestershire (2 points) beat Somerset by 4 Somerset won the toss and batted. wickets. Hampshire (2 points) beat Somerset by 7 This was the first defeat for Somerset in the wickets competition this year with the game tighter than All of Somerset’s top batsmen made the scores would suggest. a start but didn’t continue. Several soft Somerset made heavy weather of what was dismissals accounted for most of the a low scoring game. Lewis Gregory was the Somerset wickets. George Bartlett’s 40 was highest scorer for Somerset with 52, and 40s the highest of the innings. Roelof van der for both Azhar Ali and Tom Abell kept the Merwe and Bartlett batted well together to scoreboard ticking over, ending with a total of add 60, but once Bartlett was out when the 242-9 from the 50 overs. score was 201, the writing was on the wall. OVERVIEW OVER - Gloucestershire in reply, got to the total needed In reply, Hampshire made the required run with four balls to spare. Graeme van Buuren was chase look easy, hitting boundaries at will. the only one of his side to hit more than 50 – he Three of the five batsmen that were needed got 61, but there were 40s for made half centuries, as they won with over and . The wickets were spread around eighteen overs to spare. all the bowlers. Somerset 216 all out (40.3 overs). Somerset 242-9 (50 overs) L. Gregory 52. Hampshire 221-3 (31.3 overs) A. K. Markram Gloucestershire 246-6 (49.2 overs) G. L. van 61, A. H. T. Donald 57, S. A. Northeast 51*. Buuren 61. Umpires: I. D. Blackwell & J. H. Evans Umpires: B. J. Debenham & R. T. Robinson Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & K. R. Baker CLO: S. Cummings Somerset v Surrey Scorers: A. J. Bull & L. M. Rhodes 7th May 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Middlesex v Somerset Taunton 1st May 2019; Brunton Memorial Ground, Radlett. Somerset won the toss and fielded. Somerset won the toss and fielded. Somerset (2 points) beat Surrey by 5 wickets. Middlesex (2 points) beat Somerset by 118 This was a must win game against bottom club runs. Surrey who posted 41-1 from the first power play. Somerset decided to field and, from then on, the and added 61 for the match went completely Middlesex’s way. Sam third wicket. A fifth wicket stand between Ben Robson making his first appearance for nearly Foakes and then added 69 before two years opened the batting and hit 106 sharing Jamie Overton accounted for both, as Surrey in a first wicket stand of 138. Nick Gubbins struck ended on 289 for 9. 90 from only 59 balls as Middlesex posted 364. Azhar Ali and Peter Trego were out cheaply, but In reply, Somerset were never in the game. The each of the following partnerships made more highest score was 46 by Azhar Ali, wickets fell at than 50, as the hosts passed Surrey’s total with regular intervals, until the tenth wicket went with twenty-six balls to spare, James Hildreth making more than six overs spare. 93 while George Bartlett was unbeaten on 57. 289-9 (50 overs) D. Elgar 64, J. Overton Middlesex 364-6 (50 overs) S. D. Robson 106, N. R. Surrey 4-64. T. Gubbins 90. 292-5 (45.4 overs) J. C. Hildreth 93, G. Somerset 246 all out (43.4 overs) J. C. Hildreth 81. Somerset A. Azhar Ali 68, L. Gregory 50. Bartlett 57*, T. Banton 53. : M. J. Saggers & R. J. Warren Umpires: R. J. Bailey & P. K. Baldwin Umpires :S. Cummings CLO: P. Whitticase CLO : L. M. Rhodes & P. J. Makepeace Scorers: D. K. Shelley & L. M. Rhodes Scorers

TheThe The 2019 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac Almanac and and and Season Season Season Revi Review Reviewew 39 RLODC PLAY-OFF RLODC SEMI-FINAL Worcestershire v Somerset Notts Outlaws v Somerset 10th May 2019; New Road, Worcester 12th May 2019; Trent Bridge, . Worcestershire won the toss and fielded. Notts Outlaws won the toss and fielded. Somerset beat Worcestershire by 147 runs. Somerset beat Notts Outlaws by 115 runs. After beating Surrey three days previously, Somerset were put in and they raced away to Somerset were fired up, none more so than Tom 69 by the end of the first power play. The first Banton, who made 112 his highest List ‘A’ score. wicket went down at 93 and the second at 183 Banton’s first 50 came off 62 deliveries, his and at the end the Overtons added 47 from just second in 33! 30 deliveries to see Somerset to 337 from the 50 When Worcestershire replied there were only overs. two partnerships of more than 30 and none In reply the hosts reached 66-1 at the end of the over 50. Somerset’s fielding, always good, was 10 overs power play. However 110-2 at 18 overs exemplified by the pin-point accuracy of a throw did not look like a winning score as the Outlaws by Tom Abell to run out Calum Ferguson. When fell away badly once Slater had gone. Luke Daryl Mitchell was the sixth wicket down at 146, Fletcher later hit 43, but the hosts were all out for the writing was on the wall. Azhar Ali with his 222 with 11.4 overs to spare. occasional leg-spin ended with a five-wicket Somerset 337 all out (50 overs) P. D. Trego 73, haul as Worcestershire were all out for 190. Azhar Ali 72, T. Banton 59, J. T. Ball 4-62. Somerset 337-8 (50 overs) T. Banton 112. Notts Outlaws 222 all out (38.2 overs) B. T. Slater Worcestershire 190 all out (38 overs) Azhar Ali 58, A. D. Hales 54. 5-34. Umpires: N. G. B. Cook & M. Burns Umpires: A. G. Wharf & S. J. O’Shaughnessy CLO: S. Cummings CLO: W. M. Noon Scorers: R. Marshall & L. M. Rhodes Scorers: S. M. Drinkwater & L. M. Rhodes

40 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club Royal London

RLODC FINAL Somerset v Hampshire 25th May 2019; Lord’s Cricket Ground Hampshire won the toss and batted. Somerset beat Hampshire by 6 wickets. MOM: Jamie Overton Hampshire won the toss and batting first, started tentatively. It only took twenty-two balls for Davey to claim the first wicket of Aneurin Donald for 11. Davey struck again when he removed and by the end of the first power play the score showed 43-2. Sam Northeast played sensibly and shared in partnerships of 19 with Weatherley, 46 with , and 49 with Gareth Berg, OVERVIEW before he was finally out for 56 getting an inside edge on to the stumps from Tom Abell. The best partnership of the innings was the unbroken ninth of 64 between James Fuller and . In reply, Somerset’s Tom Banton and Azhar Ali came out all guns blazing. The first fifty came up from only thirty-nine balls and at the end of power play one, were 64-0. The first wicket didn’t go down until the twentieth over with the score on 112 as Banton on 69 found himself cramped for room to a ball from and gave a catch to wicket-keeper Alsop. Ali was out 13 balls later for 45. Stalwarts Peter Trego and Hildreth were now together and their partnership finished, Abell came in and made 14. George Bartlett then came in to finish the job alongside Hildreth, the latter scoring the final run to take Somerset over the line, and thus winning by the margin of six wickets with six and a half overs to spare. Man-of-the-match was Jamie Overton for his bowling stint of 10-1-48-3. Hampshire 244-8 (50 overs) S. A. Northeast 56, J. K. Fuller 55*. Somerset 245-4 (43.3 overs) J. C. Hildreth 69*, T. Banton 69. Umpires: M. J. Saggers & R. J. Bailey TV Umpire: A. G. Wharf CLO: P. Whitticase Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & K. R. Baker

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 41 42 Somerset Somerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club Royal London The Statistics Royal London One-Day Cup ~ 2019

Somerset Batting Averages

Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St C Overton 11 9 6 213 66* 71.00 0 1 7 0

JC Hildreth 11 11 1 457 93 45.70 0 4 2 0 OVERVIEW T Banton 11 11 0 454 112 41.27 2 3 11 1 Azhar Ali 11 11 0 451 110 41.00 1 2 8 0 PD Trego 11 11 0 389 141 35.36 1 1 0 0 GA Bartlett 9 9 3 207 57* 34.50 0 1 4 0 L Gregory 11 10 1 287 52 31.89 0 3 4 0 JH Davey 11 6 4 52 23* 26.00 0 0 3 0 TB Abell 11 10 0 253 44 25.30 0 0 3 0 RE van der Mer- 11 8 1 145 38 20.71 0 0 12 0 we TD Groenewald 6 4 1 62 28 20.67 0 0 0 0 J Overton 5 3 1 39 27 19.50 0 0 2 0 DM Bess 2 2 0 19 14 9.50 0 0 0 0

*Denotes Not Out

Somerset Bowling Averages

Player Ovs Mdns Runs Wkts Ave E Best 4w TB Abell 6 0 26 2 13.00 4.33 2-19 0 Azhar Ali 19 1 136 7 19.43 7.16 5-34 1 C Overton 83 3 402 20 20.10 4.84 5-18 1 JH Davey 78.3 6 382 14 27.29 4.87 4-36 0 J Overton 38 1 228 8 28.50 6.00 4-64 1 RE van der Merwe 73.1 2 397 11 36.09 5.43 3-29 0 TD Groenewald 38.3 1 253 7 36.14 6.57 3-34 0 L Gregory 73.4 1 438 10 43.80 5.95 2-35 0 DM Bess 5 0 32 0 6.40 0-32 0 PD Trego 1 0 10 0 10.00 0-10 0

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 43 Match by Match T20 Vitality Blast 2019

Glamorgan v Somerset Somerset v Sussex Sharks 18th July 2019; Sophia Gardens, Cardiff 28th July 2019; The Cooper Associates County Somerset won the toss and fielded Ground, Taunton (Floodlit) Somerset (2 points) beat Glamorgan by 8 Somerset won the toss and fielded wickets. MOM: Tom Banton Sussex Sharks (2 points) beat Somerset by Openers Jeremy Lawlor (43) and David Lloyd 13 runs. MOM: (57) put on 88, then an unbeaten 50 from Colin Alex Carey with 78 from only 46 deliveries Ingram (50*) saw the hosts post 180. firstly with , and then Tom Banton (64) and new recruit, Babar Azam helped Sussex to 184-8. (35) shared an opening partnership of 98 before An opening partnership of 96 between Tom Peter Trego (47*), and James Hildreth (24*) saw Banton (51) and Babar Azam (83) put Somerset Somerset home. in a good position to be able to win the match, Glamorgan 180-5(20 overs) D. L. Lloyd 57, C. A. but once Azam was out they fell short. Ingram 50*. Sussex Sharks 184-8 (20 overs) A. T. Carey 78, Somerset 181-2 (18 overs) T. Banton 64. L. Gregory 4-0-30-3. Kent v Somerset Somerset 171-5 (20 overs) Babar Azam 83, T. Banton 51. 20th July 2019; The Spitfire Ground, St. Lawrence, Canterbury (Floodlit) Somerset v Surrey Kent Spitfires won the toss and batted 2nd August 2019; The Cooper Associates Kent (2 points) beat Somerset by 41 runs. County Ground, Taunton (Floodlit) MOM: Somerset won the toss and fielded Ollie Robinson with 53 and Mohammed Nabi Somerset (2 points) beat Surrey by 8 (34) helped Kent to post 165. wickets. Somerset struggled from the start and were MOM: Eddie Byrom bowled out for 124, of which Tom Banton hit 28, took a stunning catch to dismiss while Imran Qayyum took 5-21. Will Jacks before and Aaron Finch Kent 165-9 (20 overs) O. G. Robinson 53, R. E. put on 100 from 67 deliveries. and van der Merwe 4-0-19-3. added 54 runs before brilliant Somerset 181-2 (18 overs) I. Qayyum 4-0-21-5. fielding by Tom Lammonby ran out Pope. Openers Banton and Babar Azam made 93 for Somerset v Hampshire the first wicket from 9.2 overs, when Banton 26th July 2019; The Cooper Associates County was out for 71 from 37 deliveries. Azam played a Ground, Taunton (Floodlit) support role but still managed 43 from 31. Man Hampshire won the toss and batted of the match Eddie Byrom made 54 not out to Hampshire (2 points) beat Somerset by 4 help Somerset home with 10 balls to spare. wickets. MOM: James Fuller Surrey 203-4 (20 overs) A. J. Finch 72, S. M. Babar Azam with an unbeaten 95 from 61 balls, Curran 53. including 9 fours and 3 sixes, supported by Somerset 207-2 (18.4 overs) T. Banton 71, E. J. Peter Trego (35 from 29 deliveries) and James Byrom 54*. Hildreth (28 from 17) saw Somerset to 172. However, knocks from Aneurin Donald (48) and Middlesex v Somerset Liam Dawson (47*) saw the visitors home by 4 4th August 2019; Richmond CC wickets with three balls to spare. Somerset won the toss and fielded Somerset 172-3 (20 overs) Babar Azam 95. Middlesex (2 points) beat Somerset by 35 Hampshire 174-6 (19.3 overs). runs.

44 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club T20

MOM: AB de Villers Somerset 202-4 (20 overs) Babar Azam and (56) put on 78 102*, T. B. Abell 57.

for the first wicket, before AB de Villiers hit an Hampshire 69-6 (12.1 overs). OVERVIEW unbeaten 88 from 35 set a formidable total of 215. Somerset v Kent 10th August 2019; The Cooper Associates Somerset were never really in touch, only Tom County Ground, Taunton (Floodlit) Banton and Tom Abell with 41 apiece making any impact. Somerset won the toss and batted. Middlesex 215-4 (20 overs) AB de Villiers 88*, D. Somerset (2 points) beat Kent by 55 J. Malan 56. runs. Somerset 180 all out (18.2 overs) N. A. Sowter MOM: Tom Banton 4-0-29-4. Opener and man of the match, Tom Banton, batted superbly for his maiden Essex Eagles v Somerset T20 hundred, and helped to set up a 102 run 7th August 2019; Cloudfm County Ground, partnership with his captain, Tom Abell. When Chelmsford Banton went, Abell carried on almost until the Somerset won the toss and batted. end before he was out for 63. Somerset (2 points) beat Essex Eagles by Kent started with 50 and 39 for the first two 114 runs. wickets. When Daniel Bell-Drummond was out MOM: R. E. van der Merwe Kent fell away badly, with wickets going down Somerset passed 50 in the fifth over, before regularly, the last seven adding 41. losing two quick wickets. Babar Azam anchored Somerset 206-8 (20 overs) T. Banton 100, T. B. the innings and made 56 from 39 balls. Tom Abell 63. Abell (45) and Eddie Byrom (44) helped the total Kent 115-all out (18.4 overs) C. Overton 4-0-32-3. to 225. The Essex reply never got going after the first Somerset v Gloucestershire wicket fell at 38- the highest partnership of 16th August 2019; The Cooper Associates the innings. The annihilation was finished in County Ground, Taunton (Floodlit) the thirteenth over with Roelof van der Merwe Match abandoned without a ball bowled taking his first 5 wicket haul, as Somerset won Gloucestershire (1 point) & Somerset (1 by a massive 114 runs. point). Somerset 225-6 (20 overs) Babar Azam 56, R. Gloucestershire v Somerset S. Bopara 4-0-18-3. 23rd August 2019; The County Ground, Nevil Essex Eagles 111 all out (12.5 overs) R. E. van Road, Bristol (Floodlit) der Merwe 3-0-32-5. Somerset won the toss and fielded Hampshire v Somerset Gloucestershire (2 points) beat Somerset by 9th August 2019; The Ageas Bowl, 25 runs. MOM: Tom Smith Southampton (Floodlit) and Miles Hammond put on a Hampshire won the toss and fielded century partnership for the first wicket, before and Jack Taylor helped set a Somerset (2 points) beat Hampshire by 63 challenging total. runs (DLS). Somerset started well and with ten overs MOM: Babar Azam gone, they were well up with the rate and had This match was interrupted, and then curtailed, only lost two wickets. However after Babar by rain. Somerset reached a total of 202, Azam and James Hildreth were out (43 & 40 Babar Azam, getting an unbeaten 102 from respectively), only Tom Lammonby (31) and 55 deliveries, including 7 fours and 6 sixes. Roelof van der Merwe (17), stayed in for any Tom Abell gave good support in a third wicket length of time as the hosts won by 25 runs.. partnership of 113 from 68 balls. Gloucestershire 189-4 (20 overs) M. Klinger 74, Hampshire started poorly and they had reached M. A. H. Hammond 56. 69-6 when the rain came down and the match 164 all out (19.3 overs) T. M. J. Smith was abandoned Somerset winning by 63 runs Somerset 4-0-19-3. (DLS).

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 45 Somerset v Glamorgan wove his spell around the Somerset batsmen 24th August 2019; The Cooper Associates limiting them to 157-9. County Ground, Taunton (Floodlit) When Surrey batted, Aaron Finch blasted an awesome unbeaten 102 from 52 balls to see the Glamorgan won the toss and fielded visitors home with 21 balls to spare. Somerset (2 points) beat Glamorgan by 25 157-9 (20 overs) Imran Tahir 4-0-25- runs. Somerset 4. MOM: Babar Azam Surrey 158-4 (16.3overs) A. J. Finch 102*. Tom Banton and Babar Azam posted the half century off 28 deliveries. James Hildreth came Somerset v Middlesex out in the fourteenth over, replacing Banton 30th August 2019; The Cooper Associates who made 34. When Azam was out for 63 from County Ground, Taunton (Floodlit) 42 deliveries wickets fell regularly but Somerset Somerset won the toss and batted still reached 177-8. Middlesex (2 points) beat Somerset by 6 Glamorgan started slowly and at 64-6 after 10 wickets. overs were well behind the rate. However, 47 MOM: off 29 balls from David Lloyd and Andrew Salter Somerset posted a massive 226 -5, Tom Abell slightly changed the balance. A late flurry by making an unbeaten 101 from 47 deliveries (his Marchant de Lange and Salter then added 37 maiden T20 century) and Tom Banton 62 from runs, but Glamorgan ended on 152, handing a 39 deliveries. victory to Somerset by 25 runs. Dawid Malan and Paul Stirling made a blistering Somerset 177-8 (20 overs) Babar Azam 63, M. start, with 67-2 posted after just four overs. de Lange, 4-0-36-3. Morgan then clubbed 83 from 29 deliveries to Glamorgan 152 all out (20 overs) D. L. Lloyd 63, take Middlesex through to the quarter finals M. T. C. Waller 4-0-19-3. with three overs to spare, and put paid to Surrey v Somerset Somerset’s hopes. 27th August 2019; The KIA Oval (Floodlit) Somerset 226-5 (20 overs) T. B. Abell 101*, T. Somerset won the toss and batted. Banton 62. Surrey (2 points) beat Somerset by 6 Middlesex 227-4 (17 overs) E. J. G. Morgan 83*. wickets. MOM: Aaron Finch Tom Banton and Babar Azam made 80 from 8.2 overs when Banton went for 47. Imran Tahir then

SOMERSET V CARDIFF MCCU 26th -28th March 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton Toss: Somerset won the toss and chose to bat. Somerset beat Cardiff MCCU by 568 runs. James Hildreth made an unbeaten 158 and Eddie Byrom 58 not out to enable Somerset to declare on 387-4. In reply the students were bowled out for 118, Lewis Gregory taking 4-28. The hosts did not enforce the follow on and in the second innings they made 345 -9 declared of which Byrom made an unbeaten 115 while Craig Overton hit 58. Facing an unlikely target of 614, Cardiff MCCU were bowled out for 46, Craig Overton claiming 6-24 and Josh Davey 4-21. This result was a record-breaking win for Somerset of 568 runs; the largest ever margin of victory by runs in UK domestic cricket. Somerset 387-4 declared (88 overs) J. C. Hildreth 158*, E. J. Byrom 58*; and 345-9 declared (86 overs) E. J. Byrom 115*, C. Overton 58, P. Sisodiya 4-79.

OTHER MATCHES OTHER Cardiff MCCU 118 all out (50.2 overs) L. Gregory 4-28: and 46 all out (16 overs) C. Overton 6-24, J. H. Davey 4-21. Umpires: I. D. Blackwell & J. H. Evans CLO: D. A. Cosker Scorers: L. M. Rhodes & W. J. Anderson

46 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club T20

The Statistics OVERVIEW T20 Vitality Blast ~ 2019

Somerset Batting Averages

Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St Babar Azam 13 13 2 578 102* 52.55 1 4 5 0 TB Abell 13 10 2 354 101* 44.25 1 2 11 0 T Banton 13 13 0 549 100 42.23 1 4 6 1 PD Trego 4 4 1 116 47* 38.67 0 0 1 0 JE Taylor 13 5 4 38 19* 38.00 0 0 1 0 EJ Byrom 9 9 1 185 54* 23.13 0 1 2 0 JC Hildreth 13 13 2 216 40 19.64 0 0 4 0 TA Lammonby 12 9 3 88 31 14.67 0 0 5 0 J Overton 4 2 0 28 19 14.00 0 0 1 0 C Overton 12 7 2 47 19* 9.40 0 0 5 0 L Gregory 4 3 1 16 10* 8.00 0 0 2 0 RE van der Merwe 13 8 2 45 17 7.50 0 0 7 0 MTC Waller 13 4 1 17 7 5.67 0 0 10 0 TD Groenewald 7 4 1 10 9 3.33 0 0 0 0 *Denotes Not Out

Somerset Bowling Averages

Player Ovs Mdns Runs Wkts Ave E Best 5w L Gregory 11 0 91 5 18.20 8.27 3-30 0 TD Groenewald 20 0 175 8 21.88 8.75 2-22 0 RE van der Merwe 46 0 387 15 25.80 8.41 5-32 1 TA Lammonby 20 0 218 8 27.25 10.90 2-32 0 MTC Waller 46.5 0 361 13 27.77 7.71 3-19 0 JE Taylor 43.5 0 415 14 29.64 9.47 2-12 0 C Overton 38 0 366 11 33.27 9.63 3-32 0 TB Abell 1 0 9 0 - 9.00 0-9 0 J Overton 10 0 121 0 - 12.10 0-19 0

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 47 Tom Banton By Marcus Trescothick

aving worked with Tom Banton I’m not at all surprised with the way that he has progressed over the last two summers. HLast summer his white ball game was really spectacular at times and hugely enter- taining to watch. The way he played and the way that his game grew into it was brilliant and he has very quickly put himself onto the world map. Since the end of the English season there have been a number of opportunities that have come to the fore- the Big Bash, the T10 and The Hun- dred, so there are a lot of people who are after him and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he kicks on and gets an IPL contract. he has the ability at the young age of 21 to take Over the time that Tom has been here with us we on the best bowlers in the world and take control have seen him grow and the talent that he has to dominate games. got is immense. I would say that Tom is more advanced than I At the moment Tom has the natural game to play was at the same age when you look at some white ball cricket. He has got a lot of flair and a of the shots he has. My game was a bit more lot of fine shots as well as a lot of different shots. traditional, although still quite aggressive at 21, Gradually as he gets more experienced the and I didn’t really kick on until I was 24, by which reverse scoops and his more extravagant shots time I had worked things out and got a lot more will take more of a back seat because he will confidence in myself and my game, and started become more dominant in other areas where he putting everything together. can hit the ball. Tom is a couple of years ahead of where I was Tom certainly has the ability to hurt teams and probably because of the Academy system that we now have in place here at Somerset and the position that county cricket is now in. Cricket is in a much better place to breed and develop youngsters and bring them on a lot quicker and coming through the ranks than when I was the same age as he is. I have had the opportunity to work closely with Tom and we have got on well together. However, before me, Paul Tweddle and Greg Kennis have worked closely with him and helped to get him to where he is now. Tom’s red ball game is slowly coming together. That is a tougher game, the pitches are different and the ball does more than what it does in the white ball game. Already in the longer format he has played several innings’ when he has really impressed. Its now a case of bringing his red ball game up to the same speed as his white ball game and if he can achieve that then he will be a very consider- able player in all formats.

48 Somerset County Cricket Club Pictured before the occasion at the former players who were present- present- were who players at the former the occasion before Pictured over that never to be forgotten weekend shared their memories with the large number who attended on July 6th, July on who attended number with the large memories their shared weekend be forgotten to that never over Somerset Former Players Former Somerset Back Row: Mike Barnwell, Robert Coombs,John Roberts,Bob Clapp, , Andy Caddick, David Gurr, Graham Burgess, Gary Palmer, Colin Dredge and Nick Pringle. Colin Dredge Palmer, Gary Burgess, Graham Caddick, David Gurr, Andy Garner, Joel Clapp, Roberts,Bob Coombs,John Robert Mike Barnwell, Back Row: The Somerset Former Players Dinner celebrated the 40th anniversary of winning the club’s first ever silverware back in 1979 and during the evening a number of those involved those involved of a number evening and during the back in 1979 silverware ever first winning the club’s of the 40th anniversary celebrated Dinner Players Former The Somerset Front Row: Keith Jennings, Alan Whitehead, Lewis Pickles, Peter Robinson, Graham Tripp, , Brian Rose, Roy Kerslake, Dennis Breakwell, Trevor Gard, and Phil Slocombe. and Phil Gard, Trevor Dennis Breakwell, Kerslake, Roy Brian Rose, Palmer, Ken Tripp, Graham Robinson, Peter Pickles, Lewis Whitehead, Alan Jennings, Keith Row: Front The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 49 Somerset 2nd XI in 2019 By Greg Kennis

as this year been This has created a lot of continuity in the players a successful one development and that is what the club is about, Hfor Somerset 2nd trying to produce as many home grown players as XI - well that very much possible, and I’d like to think it is a record that the depends on how you club are incredibly proud of. define success? It’s encouraging to see that as a club we are doing There were a lot of good a lot of things well, with Steve Snell who oversees things that came out of the Academy now and Matt Drakeley who has the 2019 season from the taken over age group cricket, there are players point of providing positive constantly coming through that pipeline. experiences for the young Groups of young players developing through the players who played 2nd pathway can go in cycles but at the moment there XI cricket. is a good number of young players coming through They made it through to the semi-final of the 2nd XI and we have just taken three more young players Trophy competition but unfortunately just lost out in onto the professional staff, Kasey Aldridge, Lewis the last over to a very strong Durham side. Goldsworthy and Sam Young who have all just The team that we fielded for that game consisted come off the Academy and progressed onto the entirely of players who have come through the professional staff. Somerset Pathway and Academy, the oldest of This winter the three of them will be away a lot with them was just 23. England Young Lions, it’s always an exciting time This created an exceptionally challenging to see the next crop of players starting off on their experience for the players. To have not only that journey. number of young players representing Somerset, but also performing as they did against an experienced Durham side, that contained many players with a lot of first team experience, was hugely encouraging to see. The Club’s view is very much that the 2nd XI exists to prepare players for first team cricket and results are not always the be all and end all. That being said there is still a huge desire to perform at the expected levels and to win as many games as possible. Second team cricket must be about developing players and ensuring they are ready for when they get their opportunity to step up to the first team. Somerset Second XI 2019 This season we certainly saw that with players stepping up into the first team to play T20 Blast cricket on the back of performances for the Back row: Colin Crees (scorer), Gary Metcalf Seconds- Tom Lammonby and Eddie Byrom both (Second XI physio), Ben Wells, Sam Young, Nathan achieved that and I’m sure there will be many more Gilchrist, Kasey Aldridge, Charley Reed, Greg examples next season across the different formats. Kennis (Second XI Coach), James Alway (Assistant The majority of the established players who are Strength and Conditioning Coach) and Steve Snell now in the first team squad have come through the (Academy Director) Somerset Pathway and the Academy from the time Front row: Tom Lammonby, Eddie Byrom, Tim that Jason Kerr was Director and my involvement Rouse, Ollie Sale, Dom Bess, Ben Green and Lewis then was as his assistant coach. Goldsworthy

50 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club 2nd XI Match by Match 2nd XI Championship Matches OVERVIEW Sussex v Somerset Kent 315 all out in 78.4 overs (DJ Bell Drummond 53, JM Lysaught 84 no, JH Davey 6 - 52) and 49 Blackstone Academy 7th - 9th May 2019 for 0 wickets in 9.1 overs). Somerset 86 all out Somerset won toss and batted in 31.4 overs (DJ Stevens 5 - 11) and following on Somerset (13 points) drew with Sussex (6 points) 277 all out in 78.1 overs (EJ Byrom 53, TD Rouse Somerset 311 for 2 dec in 97.3 overs (ME Trescothick 65, A Karvelas 5 -62, DJ Bell Drummond 4 -36) 53, BGF Green 100 no, TD Rouse 102 no) and 195 for 4 declared in 47overs (SM Davies 63). Sussex 183 all Gloucestershire v Somerset out in 54.5 overs (JW Jenner 54, EO Hooper 59 no, MJ Rockhampton CC 1st - 3rd July 2019 Leach 4-66). Gloucestershire won toss and batted Somerset (24 points) beat Gloucestershire (6 Somerset v MCC Young Cricketers points) by 9 wickets Taunton Vale 21st - 23rd May 2019 Gloucestershire 394 all out in 84 overs (BG Somerset won toss and batted Charlesworth 144, JMR Taylor 64, NN Gilchrist Somerset (13 points) drew with MCC YC (10 4-111) and 212 all out in 55.4 overs (ORT Sale 4-48). points) Somerset 320 for 6 dec (ME Trescothick 53, EJ Somerset 375 for 4 dec in 93.3 overs (EJByrom Byrom 104) and 289 for one in 54.4 overs (ME 170, T Banton 67) and 338for 4 dec in 88 overs (TA Trescothick 90, EJ Byrom 137 no, BGF Green 56 no). Lammonby 156 no, SJ Young 107 no). Somerset v Essex MCC YC 374 all out in 98.3 overs (BP Erasmus 70, SW Taunton Vale 23rd - 25th July 2019 Mead 58,BFW de Leede 77, AJ Woodland 69, BGF Essex won toss and batted Green 4-76). Somerset (13 points) drew with Essex (8 points) Somerset v Hampshire Essex 198 all out in 61.5 overs and 404 for 4 dec in Taunton Vale 27th - 29th May 2019 103 overs (MS Pepper 110, FIN Khushi 90, RK Patel Somerset won toss and fielded 102, WEL Buttleman 54 no). Somerset 397 all out Somerset (9 points) drew with Hampshire (13 in 119 overs (ME Trescothick 93, BJJ Wells 112, ASS points) Nijjar 4 -84). Hampshire 476 for 6 dec in 118 overs (FS Organ Surrey v Somerset 110, BJ Taylor 141, LD Mcmanus 103, TAR Scriven 70) LSE Sportsground New Malden 12th - 14th August Somerset 277 all out in 89.4 overs (ME Trescothick 2019 53, T Keast 87, GK Berg 4-46) and following on 178 for Somerset won toss and fielded 3 in 51 overs (EJ Byrom 93 no) Somerset (12 points) drew with Surrey (13 points) Middlesex v Somerset Surrey 313 all out in 92.5 overs (SG Borthwick 81, C Southgate CC 18th - 20th June 2019 McKerr 89 no, JA Brooks 4 -65). Somerset 256 for 9 Middlesex won toss and batted in 79.1 overs (SJ Young 88, JH Davey 54no). Somerset (10 points) drew with Middlesex (9 points) Somerset v Glamorgan Middlesex 183 for 9 dec in 60.1 overs (MDE Holden Taunton Vale 20th - 22nd August 2019 70, TS Roland-Jones 63, JH Davey 5-24). Somerset Glamorgan won toss and batted 185 for 7 dec in 73.3 overs (BGF Green 101 no). Somerset (10 points) drew with Glamorgan (12 points) Somerset v Kent Glamorgan 341 for 7 dec in 104 overs (TN Cullen Taunton Vale 24th - 26th June 2019 105no,SJ Reingold 84) and 208 for 7dec in 54.3 overs Somerset won toss and fielded (DA Douthwaite 53). Somerset 246 for 8 dec in 80 Somerset (4 points) lost to Kent (24 points) by 10 overs (TD Rouse 106no, BJJ Wells 54) and 165 for 2 in wickets 46.3 overs (EJ Byrom 90, BGF Green 61no). The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 51 2nd XI Championship Matches 2nd XI Championship Matches Bowling Averages Batting Averages

Name Ov MdnsRuns Wkts Ave 5whBest Name M Inns NORuns HS Ave 100 50 Ct St JH Davey 94.5 20 274 17 16.12 0 6-52 SJ Young 3 5 2 250 107* 83.33 1 1 0 0 MJ Leach 21 7 66 4 16.50 0 4-66 T Hall 3 2 1 61 40 61.00 0 0 0 0 EO Leonard 19 0 58 3 19.33 0 3-22 EJ Byrom 8 14 2 725 170 60.42 3 3 2 0 JA Brooks 69.5 19 207 9 23.00 0 4-65 ORT Sale 6 3 1 109 39* 54.50 0 0 3 0 R Jerry 19 1 93 4 23.25 0 3-58 TD Rouse 8 12 3 474 106* 52.67 2 1 6 0 LP Goldsworthy 73 16 203 8 25.38 0 2-26 BJJ Wells 5 6 2 205 112* 51.25 1 1 1 0 KL Aldridge 28.4 2 108 3 36.00 0 2-45 TG Keast 3 2 0 99 87 49.50 0 1 5 0 BGF Green 49 9 181 5 36.20 0 4-76 TA Lammonby 6 9 2 325 156* 46.43 1 0 5 0 TA Lammonby 70.3 15 258 7 36.86 0 3-71 BGF Green 9 14 4 462 101* 46.20 2 2 3 0 SR Croft 17 0 77 2 38.50 0 2-65 SM Davies 2 2 0 87 63 43.50 0 1 1 1 NN Gilchrist 203.2 36 771 20 38.55 0 4-111 ME Trescothick 6 10 0 384 93 38.40 0 5 4 0 ORT Sale 86 11 351 8 43.88 0 4-48 JH Davey 5 6 1 125 54* 25.00 0 1 4 0 PA van Meekeren 65 16 194 4 48.50 0 1-27 LP Goldsworthy 4 4 1 65 35 21.67 0 0 1 0 T Hall 28 6 101 2 50.50 0 1-9 MA Toohey 2 2 1 21 13 21.00 0 0 1 0 MA Toohey 53 7 176 3 58.67 0 2-15 EO Leonard 1 1 0 17 17 17.00 0 0 0 0 TD Rouse 51 7 194 2 97.00 0 1-20 CJ Reed 7 8 2 87 31 14.50 0 0 14 1 S Baker 12 3 57 0 0 0-57 GA Bartlett 1 1 0 13 13 13.00 0 0 0 0 JC Harding 3 1 7 0 0 0-7 C Sharland 2 2 0 21 12 10.50 0 0 0 0 C Sharland 2 0 14 0 0 0-14 AS Kopparambil 2 2 0 16 9 8.00 0 0 1 0 J Sumerauer 10 3 27 0 0 0-27 NN Gilchrist 9 5 1 30 12 7.50 0 0 0 0 JA Brooks 3 1 0 2 2 2.00 0 0 1 0 PA van Meekeren 4 1 0 2 2 2.00 0 0 1 0 Match by Match KL Aldridge 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 S Baker 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 T Banton 1 1 1 67 67* 0 1 0 0 2nd XI Trophy (50 Overs) SR Croft 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 JC Harding 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 League Stages R Jerry 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Middlesex v Somerset MJ Leach 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Radlett CC on 17th April 2019 J Rew 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Middlesex won toss and batted J Sumerauer 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0 Somerset (2 points) won by 9 wickets Blackstone Academy on 6th May 2019 Middlesex 278 all out in 49.5 overs (NRT Gubbins 92, Sussex won toss and batted GFB Scott 97, BGF Green 7-42. Somerset 281 for one Somerset (2 points) won by 3 wickets in 40.2 overs (T Banton 150, EJ Byrom 104no) Sussex 280 all out in 50 overs (TJ Haines 110, DWW Somerset v Glamorgan Rawlins 51, JA Brooks 4-60) Somerset 281 for 7 in 49.4 Taunton Vale on 23rd April 2019 overs (SM Davies 55, TD Rouse 54, IS Sohi 4-46) Glamorgan won toss and batted Somerset v Hampshire Somerset (2 points) won by 7 wickets Taunton Vale on 30th May 2019 Glamorgan 140 all out in 35.5 overs. Somerset 151 for 3 in 26.2 overs. Somerset won toss and fielded Somerset (2 points) won by 4 wickets Somerset v Gloucestershire Hampshire 205 all out in 43.5 overs (BJ Taylor 74) Taunton Vale on 25th April 2019 Somerset 206 for 6 in 40 overs (TA Lammonby 53, Match abandoned - Somerset 1 point BGF Green 57) Gloucestershire 1 point Essex v Somerset SET Semi-Final Billericay CC on 1st May 2019 Somerset v Durham Somerset won toss and fielded Taunton Vale on 21st June 2019 Somerset (2 points) won by one wicket Somerset won toss and batted Essex 200 for 7 in 50 overs (MS Pepper 83). Somerset Durham won by 3 wickets 204 for 9 in 40 overs (J Overton 68 BMJ Allison 4-48) Somerset 295 all out in 50 overs (BJJ Wells 52, TA Sussex v Somerset Lammonby 85, LP Goldsworthy 50, J Couqhlin 4-63). Durham 296 for 7 in 47.3 overs (S Steel 87no) 52 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club 2nd XI

2nd XI Trophy Batting Averages 2nd XI Trophy Bowling Averages Name M Inns NORuns HS Ave 100 50 Ct St Name Ov MdnsRuns Wkts Ave 5whBest T Banton 1 1 0 150 150 150.00 1 0 2 0 BGF Green 36.5 5 140 10 14.00 1 7-42 J Overton 3 1 0 68 68 68.00 0 1 2 0 JA Brooks 10 0 60 4 15.00 0 4-60 TA Lammonby 6 5 1 231 85 57.75 0 2 2 0 MTC Waller 15.5 2 52 3 17.33 0 1-8 OVERVIEW LP Goldsworthy 2 2 1 56 50 56.00 0 1 1 0 KL Aldridge 25.5 1 134 7 19.14 0 3-20 BJJ Wells 3 3 1 83 52 41.50 0 1 3 0 J Overton 26 2 125 5 25.00 0 2-42 ME Trescothick 1 1 0 40 40 40.00 0 0 1 0 LP Goldsworthy 13 0 76 3 25.33 0 2-32 EJ Byrom 6 6 1 196 104* 39.20 1 0 0 0 NN Gilchrist 40 1 203 7 29.00 0 2-23 SM Davies 3 3 0 114 55 38.00 0 1 6 0 MJ Leach 24 4 91 3 30.33 0 1-8 KL Aldridge 3 2 1 24 16 24.00 0 0 0 0 ORT Sale 32.3 1 186 4 46.50 0 2-56 TD Rouse 6 5 0 115 54 23.00 0 1 4 0 TD Groenewald 10 0 48 1 48.00 0 1-48 BGF Green 6 4 0 80 57 20.00 0 1 4 0 TA Lammonby 11 0 51 1 51.00 0 1-22 MJ Leach 3 2 0 36 18 18.00 0 0 2 0 DM Bess 20 0 116 2 58.00 0 2-65 NN Gilchrist 6 2 1 12 12* 12.00 0 0 2 0 TD Rouse 4 1 23 0 0 0-23 RE van der SJ Young 3 3 0 29 24 9.67 0 0 0 0 8 0 55 0 0 0-55 ORT Sale 4 3 2 3 2* 3.00 0 0 3 0 Merwe GA Bartlett 1 1 1 33 33* 0 0 0 0 DM Bess 2 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 3 0 JA Brooks 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 TD Groenewald 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CJ Reed 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 PD Trego 1 1 1 12 12* 0 0 0 0 RE van der Merwe 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 MTC Waller 3 1 1 25 25* 0 0 3 0 Match by Match 2nd XI T20 Matches Glamorgan v Somerset 18.3 overs(TA Lammonby 58, IS Sohi 4-31) Newport CC 8th July 2019 Gloucestershire v Somerset Match 1 Rockhampton CC on 17th July 2019 Somerset won toss and batted Match 1 Glamorgan (2 points) won by 4 wickets Somerset won toss and fielded Somerset 127 all out in 19.1 overs. Glamorgan 131 for Somerset (2 points) won by 4 wickets 6 in 19.2 overs Gloucestershire 141 for 5 in 20 overs. Somerset 142 Match 2 for 6 in 18.3 overs. Glamorgan won toss and batted Match 2 Glamorgan (2 points) won by 26 runs Gloucestershire won toss and batted. Glamorgan 164 for 6 in 20 overs (AO Morgan 54). Gloucestershire (2 points) won by 32 runs Somerset 138 all out in 19.5 overs (KB Szymanski Gloucestershire 177 for 5 in 20overs (IA Cockbain 4 - 26) 91no). Somerset 145 for 7 in 20 overs (JH Davey Somerset v MCC Young Cricketers 62no). Taunton Vale 11th July 2019 Somerset v Essex Match 1 Taunton Vale on 22nd July 2019 Somerset won toss and fielded Match 1 Somerset (2 points) won by 8 wickets Somerset won toss and fielded MCC YC 153 for six in 20 overs. Somerset 154 for 2 in Essex (2 points) won by 31 runs 14 overs (EJ Byrom 67). Essex 242 for 9 in 20 overs (MS Pepper 100). Match 2 Somerset 211 for 6 in 20 overs (EJ Byrom 51) MCC YC won toss and batted Match 2 Somerset (2 points) won by 2 wickets Essex won toss and batted MCC YC 139 for 9 in 20 overs. Somerset 140 for 8 in Essex (2 points) won by 97 runs

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 53 Essex 227 for 6 in 20 overs (RS Bopara 122no). 2nd XI T20 Batting Averages Somerset 130 all out in 15.3 overs. Somerset v Kent Name M Inns NORuns HS Ave 100 50 Ct St Taunton Vale on 29th July 2019 GA Bartlett 6 5 3 151 69* 75.50 0 1 5 0 SM Davies 4 3 2 68 48 68.00 0 0 4 1 Match 1 JH Davey 9 4 2 96 62* 48.00 0 1 4 0 Kent won toss and batted EJ Byrom 12 11 2 396 91 44.00 0 4 3 0 Somerset (2 points) won by 7 wickets TA Lammonby 8 8 2 243 58 40.50 0 1 5 0 Kent 113 all out in 18.1 overs. Somerset 114 for 3 in TD Rouse 11 8 2 144 44 24.00 0 0 5 0 13.5 overs. T Hall 2 2 1 18 17 18.00 0 0 1 0 BGF Green 12 11 0 195 42 17.73 0 0 5 0 Match 2 ORT Sale 12 5 1 58 25 14.50 0 0 5 0 Kent won toss and batted CJ Reed 2 1 0 13 13 13.00 0 0 0 0 Somerset (2 points) won by 7 wickets JTH Scrivens 2 2 1 12 12 12.00 0 0 0 0 Kent 164 for 6 in 20 overs (SR Dickson 78). Somerset PA van Meekeren 3 3 2 12 6* 12.00 0 0 0 0 BJJ Wells 9 7 0 77 33 11.00 0 0 6 1 167 for 3 in 17.5 overs (EJ Byrom 91no). KL Aldridge 4 3 0 29 14 9.67 0 0 1 0 Surrey v Somerset PD Trego 5 5 0 38 33 7.60 0 0 1 0 LSE Sportsground, New Malden on 31st July 2019 MTC Waller 3 2 0 14 12 7.00 0 0 1 0 TB Abell 2 2 0 7 5 3.50 0 0 0 0 Match 1 RE van der Merwe 3 2 0 7 6 3.50 0 0 1 0 Somerset won toss and fielded JA Brooks 6 1 1 16 16* 0 0 0 0 Somerset (2 points) won by 9 wickets SJ Croft 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Surrey 105 for 8 in 20 overs. Somerset 109 for one in CAR Gilbert 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12.3 overs (EJ Byrom 69no) NN Gilchrist 12 3 2 0 0* 0.00 0 0 4 0 TD Groenewald 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Match 2 Somerset won toss and fielded 2nd XI T20 Bowling Averages Somerset (2 points) won by 9 wickets Surrey 120 all out in 19.1 overs (J Clark 59, ORT Sale Name Ov MdnsRuns Wkts Ave 5whBest 4-13). Somerset 126 for one in 14.4 overs (GA MTC Waller 12 0 46 5 9.20 0 2-13 Bartlett 69no). JA Brooks 23 1 137 12 11.42 0 3-11 KL Aldridge 14.2 0 104 7 14.86 0 3-17 T Hall 3 0 32 2 16.00 0 2-18 SJ Croft 6 0 38 2 19.00 0 2-12 JH Davey 32.2 0 254 13 19.54 0 3-23 ORT Sale 46 0 374 15 24.93 0 4-13 NN Gilchrist 45 0 358 14 25.57 0 3-22 TD Groenewald 4 0 33 1 33.00 0 1-33 PA van Meekeren 12 0 115 3 38.33 0 2-46 TA Lammonby 14 0 124 3 41.33 0 2-38 TD Rouse 10 0 90 2 45.00 0 1-11 RE van der Merwe 12 0 68 1 68.00 0 1-23 CAR Gilbert 3 0 42 0 0 0-18

Lewis Goldsworthy, Kasey Aldridge and Sam Young, who all graduated from the Academy and played for Somerset 2nd XI in 2019, are all involved with England Under 19’s this winter.

54 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club 2nd XI Match by Match 2nd XI Friendlies OVERVIEW Somerset v Worcestershire Somerset v Hampshire (T20) Taunton Vale 25th - 27th March 2019 Taunton Vale on 15th July 2019. Cancelled -unfit pitch. Match 1 Somerset v Gloucestershire (2 day) Hampshire won toss and batted Hampshire won by 115 runs Millfield School 31st March/1st April Hampshire 193 for 7 in 20 overs (BJ Taylor 55, JK Gloucestershire won toss and batted Fuller 59). Somerset 78 all out in 12.5 overs. Match Drawn Gloucestershire 439 for 7 dec in 93 overs (MAH Match 2 Hammond 94, JR Bracey 155, RF Higgins 91, K Hampshire won toss and batted Aldridge 4-86) and forfeited second innings. Somerset won by 4 wickets Somerset 294 for 7 dec (CJ Reed 52, RE Van der Hampshire 159 for 8 in 20 overs. Somerset 160 Merwe 71, SJ Young 95) and 108 for one in 19 overs. for 6 in 19.2 overs. Devon v Somerset (One day) Somerset v Gloucestershire (T20) North Devon CC on 7th April 2019 Taunton Vale on 5th August 2019 Devon won toss and fielded Match 1 Somerset won by 74 runs Somerset won toss and batted Somerset 274 for 6 in 50 overs (TA Lammonby 59, SJ Somerset won by 22 runs Young 63, TD Rouse 56no). Devon 200 all out in 45.1 Somerset 221 for 6 in 20 overs (SM Davies 68, PD overs (MW Thompson 56). Trego 77). Gloucestershire 199 for 7 in 20 overs. Somerset v Gloucestershire Match 2 (One day) Gloucestershire won toss and batted Taunton Vale on 8th April 2019 Somerset won by 6 wickets Match abandoned - rain. Gloucestershire 183 for 9 in 20overs (GH Roderick Somerset v Glamorgan (One day) 55, JH Davey 4-32). Somerset 187 for 4 in 16.5 overs North Devon CC on 10th April 2019 (BGF Green 70, PD Trego 70no). Somerset won toss and batted Warwickshire v Somerset (4 days) Glamorgan won by 3 wickets Edgbaston Community Sports Ground 2nd - 5th Somerset 203 all out in 44.5 overs (J Overton 60). September 2019 Glamorgan 204 for 7 in 40.1 overs (CAJ Meschede 57, Warwickshire won toss and fielded. JL Lawlor 69). Warwickshire won by 10 wickets. Somerset v Worcestershire Somerset 203 all out in 57.1 overs (GW Furrer 4-26, M (One day) Davison 4-41) and 225 all out in 56 overs (EJ Byrom Taunton Vale on 12th April 2019 62, JH Davey 63no). Warwickshire 336 all out in 79.1 Worcestershire won toss and batted overs (EJ Pollock 125, E Brookes 78, OJ Hannon-Dal- Somerset won by 6 wickets by 51, JH Davey 4-66, PA Van Meekeren 4-47) and 93 Worcestershire 191 all out in 48.4 overs (OE Westbury for no wicket in 6.4 overs (E Pollock 60no). 60, DM Bess 4-31). Somerset 192 for 4 in 28 overs (T Somerset v Gloucestershire Banton 109). (4 days) Somerset v Exeter University Taunton Vale 16th - 19th September 2019 (One day) Gloucestershire won toss and fielded Taunton Vale on 29th April 2019 Gloucestershire won by 7 wickets. Exeter University won toss and fielded Somerset 168 all out in 40.4 overs (T Lammonby Somerset won by 74 runs 56no) and 433 all out in 105.4 overs (EJ Byrom 106, Somerset 313 for 7 in 50 overs (EJ Byrom 94, TD BGF Green 64, TA Lammonby 64, BJJ Wells 59, GS Rouse 108,). Exeter University 239 all out in 49.1 Drissell 4-109). Gloucestershire 220 all out in 63.3 overs (MC Clarke 56). overs (ORT Sale 6-64, SR Croft 4-47) and 383 for 3 in 68.4 overs (GT Hankins 223no, TJ Price 70, GL Van Buuren 52no).

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 55 Somerset Academy in 2019 By Steve Snell

believe that 2019 has been skill level. Physically he is slight but he makes up for this in successful one for the smartness of thought and quickness of movement. and I ISomerset Academy. When the am very excited by the level that his cricket could get to. His first team is winning out on the movement is so good whether he is batting bowling or fielding, pitch and performing well and if he can keep adding and improving his all round game he will some of our former graduates become a very smart cricketer. are contributing towards that It was clear to me that Kasey Aldridge. Lewis Goldsworthy and success, it adds further and Sam Young are players of high potential. We have tried to help realistic context to what we are shape a learning environment for them to prosper, without working towards in the SCCC hen pecking and nagging them what to do. They have all had pathway. good exposure to 2nd XI cricket and an England Under 19 Tom Lammonby made his 1st Xl environment and both Sam and Kasey at Bath Cricket Club and debut. He played a pivotal role also for all of them at Millfield School. in the T20 campaign and made I think its important to facilitate that they are getting the right an excellent impression; Eddie Byrom has also shown what he amount of cricket and the right graded opportunities at school can do in the shorter format of the game and of course Tom and at club level and ensure and encourage that they are Banton has gone stratospheric in world cricket! learning and challenging themselves to get better. I believe One aspect of the Academy programme is to identify players this is one of the things that we have got right for these three, and help them evolve into players who can represent Somerset, working in conjunction with our external partners. positively influence the result of professional matches and We haven’t tried to mollycoddle them so much so that as they ultimately progress further in the game. At this moment in time, have transitioned onto the professional staff seamlessly. It is their we are evidencing that is certainly taking place. expectations that they are professional cricketers and that’s how There are a lot of good things happening in cricket in the we have treated them for a period of time now. South West and there are a lot of good environments that are I think it has been very useful having really good communication providing attention to cricket and providing opportunities for with Millfield School and England Under 19s and also the other people to develop. There are lots of skilled and enthusiastic coaches here in terms of what the players are working towards. coaches working with these players and it is without doubt Everyone has been really well informed and most of all the making a difference. players themselves are driving their own agenda. They are at There is no doubt that Somerset CCC thrive off and indeed the centre of their own development and the way that they have benefit from the passion and interest in cricket in the South approached their cricket on and off the field has been in a very West. As an ethos the club are striving to identify players from pro-active and mature way. the west and most importantly work with them to give them that opportunity to play professional cricket for Somerset. We are not The three who have joined the professional staff from the trying to buy success we are trying to grow it and I think that we Academy this year have taken the next step in their cricketing are starting to see more and more the fruits of this approach. Six development journey, but there are other exciting players who former SCCC Academy graduates have represented England in at the moment haven’t progressed onto the professional staff the last 18 months. Thats a phenomenal statistic and highlights but still very much have an opportunity to progress their cricket what is possible. careers. Over the last four years we have run The Potential Somerset Ben Wells and Charley Reed who are at Exeter University are Players (PSPP) Programme which runs alongside the Academy two young players who we are still very much keeping an eye and I have seen that as an opportunity to give further contact on time to players and to give them experience and coaching Ben has already had a season at Exeter Uni and this summer within the SCCC environment. has played some 2nd XI cricket for us and shown that he has Kasey Aldridge and Lewis Goldsworthy both came through improved and is still a player of high potential which is exciting the PSPP before joining the academy. Subsequently they have to see. joined the professional staff this autumn. This highlights how Charley has just joined Exeter University and over the summer effective the PSPP can be as a staging post for players to further put in some good performances. At the moment he hasn’t develop. These two example are very pleasing. been offered a contract by Somerset but the amount of growth Kasey has moved quite quickly from the PSP Programme onto and the attitude he displayed during his time on the Academy the Academy and into the England Under 19s then onto a full shows that he has got a lot of cricket in front of him still. It will contract, and Lewis Goldsworthy has been very similar and I be very exciting to see what his progression looks like at Exeter am delighted for both of them. Hopefully they will continue to University and if he puts in some stand out performances that benefit from this and soon we will be seeing them showing their wont rule him from playing a high level of cricket in the future. skills in Somerset first team colours. In the meantime this autumn five new young exciting players Lewis is first Cornishman that we have taken on in my time in will be taking the next exciting step of their cricketing journey by charge of the Academy. He is a competitor with a very high joining the Somerset Academy.

56 Somerset County Cricket Club Tony Coles Charitable Trust- Harry Burden Award he Tony Coles Charitable Trust provides This summer has been a grants to clubs and schools across the pretty busy one for Lauren Tsouth-west in order to help with the and she was part of the development of youth cricket. successful Somerset The Harry Burden Fund is an integral part of the Women’s team who were Tony Coles Trust and provides an annual award crowned T20 Division Two and a bursary, sponsored by Somerset County champions. Sports to promising young cricketers. Still just 18, Lauren has Charlie Sharland has been grown in experience this selected as this year’s year, leading the bowling winner of the Harry Burden attack and pushing for higher honours. She was Award, and Lauren Filer is selected to represent the the recipient of the Harry South West at the Regional Development Centre Burden Bursary. Festival in July, played a handful of games for Charlie who is 16 years old the England Women’s Academy, and joined the is the winner of the Harry squad on a couple of days as part Burden Award which in of the rookie programme. recent years been won In addition Lauren plays men’s cricket for Weston- by Tim Rouse, George Super-Mare CC, where she has played regularly Bartlett and Will Smeed. in the Second XI who played in Division Three The young all-rounder, of the Monmouth Scientific Somerset Cricket from Kings College Taunton, plays his club cricket League. for Taunton Deane who have recently been promoted to WEPL Premier One. Most recently, she has been selected for the England Women’s Academy Training Squad. Charlie made an impact in both the Somerset and England pathways this summer playing U15’s, Sophie Luff the Somerset Women & Girl’s U17’s and Second XI cricket but also representing Performance Head Coach and captain of the South & West at the Bunbury Festival before Somerset Women’s team said: “Lauren is an being selected for the prestigious incredibly exciting talent with the ball in hand and games held at Loughborough. has been on the England Women’s Academy Winter Training radar for some time. To see her On Somerset’s Sri Lanka tour he scored 115 in one get recognized is just reward for the hard work of the matches. she has put in over the past 12 months. It’s a great Somerset Academy Director Steve Snell said; time to be a young female cricketer and I’m really “Charlie Sharland has evidenced that he is excited to see where Lauren can go with her a cricketer of extremely high potential. He’s cricket.” played some exciting innings in the summer of Contact us 2019 and has demonstrated that his game is evolving. Charlie has produced some standout We are always pleased to receive donations performances against his peers, notably his 51* to help in the development of youth cricket. All off 35 balls against West Indies U15’s. Naturally requests for grant assistance and donations we’ll be looking for Charlie to keep improving and should be sent to the Trust treasurer furthering his development across the course of Nigel Manley, The Tony Coles Charitable Trust, this winter.” 28 Bakers Close, Bishops Hull, Taunton, Lauren Filer, who has been awarded the Harry Somerset, TA1 5HD. Burden Bursary is a fast bowler who hails from Telephone 07773389471 Weston-Super-Mare CC, and bowls at a real pace. or email [email protected]

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 57 The Somerset Cricket Museum 2019 By David Wood, Hon Curator

he Museum had a satisfying 2019. We were be willing to staff the museum on a fairly regular able to make a strong contribution to the basis. Each person on the list might offer to attend TClub’s successful hosting of three World perhaps once a week or once a fortnight and for Cup matches. The St James Street gates were not only four hours a day. The more people there are available for spectators so the museum’s gates on the list the less each person would have to do. I were used as a major entrance to the ground would be grateful to hear from anyone who would and the museum was used for several TV and like to volunteer, either by phone at 01823 275893 radio interviews. One of them can be seen on the or e-mail at somersetcricketmuseum@btconnect. museum’s website. It was particularly satisfying com that we could provide the Eddie Lawrence Library in the museum’s office as a prayer room for Muslim Work goes on to prepare new displays for the 2020 supporters at the matches involving Pakistan, season. We anticipate having information about Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It was perfectly Lionel Paliaret, said to be the most stylish batsman placed away from the noise of the match. The ever to play for the county. The 150th anniversary original intention was that it would be used by of his birth falls on 25th July 2020. He scored 13,851 the players but in fact it was used by very grateful runs between 1891 and 1909 and still shares with supporters. As usual for international and other H T Hewett the record Somerset opening stand of special matches we made no charge for entry to 346, set in 1892. We are also working on Somerset the museum. hat-tricks, which are rarer than you might think, even though Craig Overton and Tom Abell both I am sorry to have to record the death of Sheila got one in the same match, and a way of trying Stedall. Sheila and her husband, Tony, were driving to assess the relative performances of all the forces in the establishment and operation of the counties in one day matches. museum for many years. Ann Collins has taken over responsibility for our book sales during the lunchtime of most matches during the season. She is grateful to the very many people who donate cricket books in large numbers and to the many regular customers who buy them. The museum costs about £9000 a year to run even though we are staffed entirely by volunteers and the book sales make an important contribution to that sum. Moreover, it is a pleasure to both the donors and the Museum to know that the books are going to cricket lovers. Olive Wilkins, who has staffed the museum most days in summer ever since it opened in 1989 was unable to attend throughout the season due to health problems. She is very disappointed: this would have been her 30th successive year. She hopes to be back in 2020. As a result of her absence we had to severely limit our opening hours on non-match days. The Museum is a Registered Charity and it is our wish that as many people as possible should visit and see what we have to offer. To this end we intend to establish a list of people who would

58 Somerset County Cricket Club SCCC SCCC Womens Ashes Test OTHER MATCHES England v Australia

The Cooper Associates County Ground 18th- 21st July, 2019 Australia Women won the toss and elected to bat. Match Drawn. Australia, knowing that they only needed to avoid defeat to retain the Ashes, batted solidly and patiently on a sluggish pitch. Led by a century from , who put on 162 for the fourth wicket with (87), and other half centuries by and Beth Mooney ensured they posted an imposing total. They were also helped by the weather as rain prevented any play after lunch on the second day. The eventual decla- ration came on the third morning. England also batted with little urgency and they were indebted to half centuries by Natalie Scriver and .The last day started with England still needing 72 to avoid the follow-on and they soon lost Anya Shrub- sole and Nat Scriver. However and , with more positive batting, ensured that Australia had to bat again. Heather Knight immediately declared in the hope of getting quick wickets. Marsh followed up her innings by taking two wickets in five balls but and Ellyse Perry eased any worries with a half century partnership. Australia elected not to declare and set England a target and when the captains shook hands on the draw Perry was unbeaten with 76 to go with her first in- nings century. The visitors had achieved their aim and retained the Ashes. Australia Women 420 for 8 dec ( 154.4 overs) E. Perry 118, R Haynes 87, A Healy 58, B Mooney 51 and 230 for 7 ( 64 overs) E Perry 76 n.o. England Women 275 for 9 dec (107.1 overs) N Scriver 88, A Jones 64.

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 59 Western Storm win The Women’s Kia Super League 2019

Kia Super League – Women’s 20 Western Storm v Loughborough Overs Competition Lightning 13th August 2019; The County Ground, Nevil Road, Bristol Loughborough Lightning v Toss: Loughborough Lightning won the toss and chose Western Storm to field. 6th August 2019; Haslegrave ground, Loughborough Result: Western Storm (5 points) beat Loughborough Toss: Loughborough Lightning won the toss and Lightning by 40 runs. Player of the match: F. R. Davies chose to bat. made 55 off 43 balls, and shared in stands Player of the match: H. C. Knight of 47 with and 64 with Heather Knight Western Storm (4 points) beat Loughborough as Storm posted 158-4. Lightning by 7 wickets. Lightning never recovered from a poor start and only Loughborough Lightning were soon in trouble at15-3 Mignon du Preez (30) showed any real resistance as but recovered to post125-6. they ended 118 all out. Rachel Priest took 12 runs from the first over before Western Storm 158-4 (20 overs) R. H. Priest 55. Heather Knight and Smriti Mandhana started to play. Loughborough Lightning 118 all out (18.2 overs) F. R. Knight and , took the total onto 111 , before Davies 4-27. Wilson and Sophie Luff saw Storm home. v Loughborough Lightning 125-6 (20 overs) A. E. Jones 65. Western Storm 126-3 (17 overs). Western Storm 15th August 2019; York CC Western Storm v Toss: Western Storm won the toss and chose to field. Result: Western Storm (5 points) beat Yorkshire 10th August 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Diamonds by 9 wickets. Player of the match: R. H. Priest Taunton Yorkshire Diamonds reached 44 for the loss of only one Toss: Lancashire Thunder won the toss and chose to bat. wicket at the end of power play then suffered five run Result: Western Storm (4 points) beat Lancashire outs to reach 151-8. Sophie Luff was responsible for four Thunder by 6 wickets. Player of the match: F. C. Wilson of the run outs. Thunder started well but lost their first wicket on 20 but Rachel Priest and Smriti Mandhana started in a a couple of partnerships saw them to 141-6. whirlwind of action and reached 133 before the first Western Storm lost two quick wickets, but Wilson came wicket went down. Preist remained at the crease to see in and made a superb 50 and with Heather Knight who Storm home. ended with an unbeaten half century to see Storm Yorkshire Diamonds 151-9 (20 overs) H. J. Armitage 59. home.. Western Storm 152-1 (14.5 overs) R. H. Priest 72*, S. S. Lancashire Thunder 141-6 (20 overs) S. Luus 62. Mandhana 70. Western Storm 143-4 (19.3 overs) F. C Wilson 54, H. C. Lancashire Thunder v Western Storm Knight 50*. 18th August 2019; Broughton Hall CC Toss: Lancashire Thunder won the toss and chose to bat. v Western Storm Result: Western Storm (4 points) beat Lancashire 11th August 2019; Hampshire Bowl, Southampton Thunder by 5 wickets. Player of the match: S. S. Toss: Southern Vipers won the toss and chose to bat. Mandhana Result: Western Storm (4 points) beat Southern Vipers claimed two wickets in the opening by 3 wickets. Player of the match: F. C. Wilson over before a third wicket stand of 85 helped Thunder Batting first the Vipers posted 142 thanks to a 66 run reach 159 for eight. partnership between and Susie Rachel Priest and Smriti Mandhana started well, putting Bates, and who hit 44 not out off 25 balls. on 39 for the first wicket. Mandhana and Knight then Storm lost an early wicket so it fell Heather Knight and put on 67 together for the second wicket, during which Smriti Mandhana who added 71 for the second wicket to Mandhana passed 50 before hit the put things right. Fran Wilson and Sophie Luff also shared winning a ball left. a half century partnership, before wickets fell quickly Lancashire Thunder 159-8 (20 overs) H. Kaur 50, A. but Naomi Dattani and Sonia Odedra saw Storm home. Shrubsole 3-36. Southern Vipers 142-5 (20 overs). Western Storm 160-5 (19.5 overs) S. S. Mandhana 72. Western Storm 143-7 (19.5 overs) N. E. Farrant 3-23. 60 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club Western Storm

Western Storm v Southern Vipers Western Storm v 20th August 2019; The County Ground, Nevil Road, Bristol 21st August 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Toss: Western Storm won the toss and chose to bat. Taunton Result: Western Storm (4 points) beat Southern Vipers Toss: Surrey Stars won the toss and chose to field. by 15 runs. Player of the match: F. R. Davies Western Storm (4 points) beat Surrey Stars by 4 Rachel Priest and Smriti Mandhana, put on 43 for the runs. Player of the match: S. J. Taylor first wicket before Heather Knight and Fran Wilson Rachel Priest, pummelled 44 from sixteen balls added 115. Knight was out for 61 from 48 deliveries as with 5 sixes and 3 fours. Heather Knight and Fran Storm ended on170-3. Wilson then consolidated the innings, but it was did her best with 56 when Vipers replied the partnership of Sophie Luff and Deepti Sharma 2019-2020 and they eventually fell 15 runs short. making 65 from fifty-one deliveries that helped Western Storm 170-3 (20 overs) H. C. Knight 61, F. C. Storm to159-8. Wilson 50*. Chasing 160 Stars lost second ball Loughborough Lightning 155-9 (20 overs) D. N. Wyatt 56, of the innings. Sharma then removed Dane van F. R. Davies 4-18, A. Shrubsole 3-39. Niekerk. joined Taylor who together added 70 from 53 deliveries, but they were still behind the rate. With 10 runs were needed from the last over, Anya Shrubsole took two wickets and conceded six runs. Western Storm 159-8 (20 overs) N. R. Sciver 3-37. Surrey Stars 155-8 (20 overs) S. R. Taylor 73, D. B. Sharma 3-18.

Back row: Oliver Hunt (Strength & Conditioning), Victoria Self (Nutritionist), Jack Whaley (Performance Analyst), Danielle Gibson, Natasha Wraith, Ellie Mitchell, Deepti Sharma, Alex Griffiths, , Smriti Mandhana, Amara Carr, Sonia Odedra, Michael Bates (Assistant coach), Natalie Sansom (Physio), Lisa Pagett (General Manager), Mark O’Leary (Assistant coach). Front row: Lauren Filer, Sophie Luff, Fran Wilson, Heather Knight (captain), Trevor Griffin (Head coach), Anya Shrubsole, Rachel Priest, , Naomi Dattani. Missing - Adam Rutter (physio)

The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 61 then lost three wickets, and a stand of 76 by Fran Wilson Surrey Stars v Western Storm and Sophie Luff was not quite enough to see them 25th August 2019; Guildford CC, Woodbridge Road, home. Guildford Yorkshire Diamonds 104-3 (10 overs) J. I. Rodrigues 60, F. Toss: Surrey Stars won the toss and chose to field. R. Davies 2-0-7-3. Western Storm (5 points) beat Surrey Stars by 77 runs. Western Storm 99-3 (10 overs). Player of the match: R. H. Priest Rachel Priest, together with Heather Knight blasted the ball around the ground taking 97 from sixty-five Kia Super League Final balls before Priest fell for 89. The last five overs yielded another 45 runs, thanks to Knight and Fran Wilson, to Southern Vipers v Western Storm take the total to 171-4. 1st September 2019; 1st Central County Ground, Hove Surrey Stars lost two wickets with only 18 on the Toss: Southern Vipers won the toss and chose to bat. board. and Nat Sciver made 34 and 25 The Southern Vipers beat Loughborough Lightning in respectively, but once they went the rest of the team the semi final to face Western Storm, who had won nine subsided meekly to 94 all out, the Storm winning by 77 of their ten matches including two over Southern Vipers, runs, with 13 balls to spare. and gone straight through to the Final. Western Storm 171-4 (20 overs) R. H. Priest 89, H. C. Susie Bates and Danni Wyatt put on 69 for the first Knight 51. wicket, before Bates went. The second wicket of Wyatt Surrey Stars 94 all out (17.5 overs) S. B. Odedra 4-25. (73) didn’t fall until the fifteenth over and on 134-2. Only 38 more runs were scored as they ended on 172-7. Western Storm v Storm lost Smriti Mandhana early, so it was left to Yorkshire Diamonds Rachel Priest and Heather Knight then Knight and 28th August 2019; Cooper Associates County Ground, Fran Wilson to collect the runs needed, Knight playing Taunton belligerently for 78 not out; including an unbeaten stand Toss: Western Storm won the toss and chose to field. of 71 with Deepti Sharma and leading the team home Yorkshire Diamonds (4 points) beat Western Storm by with six balls to spare. 5 runs: Western Storm beat Southern Vipers by 6 wickets. Player of the match: J. I. Rodrigues Player of the match: H. C. Knight Reduced to ten overs per side by the rain unbeaten Southern Vipers 172-7 (20 overs). Storm started well and claimed two quick wickets, Western Storm 174-4 (19 overs) N. E. Farrant 3-23. before 79 were added to see Diamonds to 104-3. Storm

62 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club SCB

Somerset Cricket Board

The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, Somerset TA1 1JT. Telephone 01823 352266 E-mail: [email protected]

BOARD MEMBERS ** Andy Curtis (Chairman) Andy Fairbairn ** John Davey

SCB DIRECTORS Winston Duguid Paddy Magill Ken Maddock Jane Knowles * Nominated by Somerset C.C.C. Ray Hancock ** Elected by Somerset Affiliated Clubs Association. Roger Eggleton

SOMERSET CRICKET BOARD OFFICERS Chairman: Andy Curtis 11 Lethbridge Park, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton, Somerset, TA4 3QU Tel: 01823 430877 Finance Administrator: Kaye May The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 1JT. Email: [email protected] Cups Competition (Chairman): Tom Packman 35 Greenway Avenue, Taunton, Somerset. TA2 6HY. Tel: 01823 333014 Grounds Association (Chairman): Phil Mortimore 13 Greenhill Place, Midsomer Norton, Radstock, Bath, N.E. Somerset, BA3 2TF. Tel: 01761 413725

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 63 Aiming to enthuse a new generation of players Says Andy Curtis, Chairman of the SCB

s some of uniquely also via the County Boys teams!) our more Very little stands still in this world and elderly SCCC A sport is no exception. From 2020 the entire members may recall development of young players will transfer to from their somewhat the professional coaching staff at the County distant youth, non Club – although the reality is that there has professional cricket been a very close working relationship with throughout Somerset us for many years, with the better players was overseen in benefitting from additional SCCC coaching the 1980’s and expertise via the elite Emerging Players early 1990’s by Programme and the Academy. Because the combined efforts of Somerset Cricket of this well coordinated and successful Association and Somerset Schools: stalwarts partnership, Somerset cricket continues such as Tony Corner, Paul Wickham, and to identify and develop youngsters from a Tony Davies ran the Association and its youth relatively low population base in national representative teams, while Chris Twort terms, enabling it to punch well above its supervised the schools’ programme. weight year after year. In 1994 reform was afoot: as was the case As a result of what amounts to the first in the thirty eight other counties, the ECB restructuring review of cricket organisations created a newly constituted Cricket Board across the country since the 1994 changes for Somerset as part of a root and branch mentioned earlier, Somerset Cricket Board reorganisation of English and Welsh cricket. will work even more closely with the County For the next twenty five years up until the Cricket Club next year: it will continue to present day, SCB has overseen every aspect operate in most of the areas that it covers of the amateur game – schools competitions, at present, but under the banner of a newly youth cricket, club facility development, launched ‘Somerset Cricket Foundation’ – a funding grants, training programmes for charitable body working independently to coaches, umpires, etc. – and importantly deliver new community initiatives, using the (arguably the activity enjoying the highest power of cricket and the well known SCCC profile amongst SCCC members,) the brand to make a positive impact on people’s County and District Age Group development lives. programme for Boys and Girls. The main focus of this new Cricket Foundation For a quarter of a century several thousand will be to develop ‘cricket in the community’ cricketing youngsters have been tutored - by continuing to deliver and seek additional under the expert eyes of Julian Wyatt, funding support for all the successful Pete Sanderson, Jason Kerr, Greg Kennis programmes running at present – ‘Chance to and currently Matt Drakeley. A consistently Shine’ in Primary and Secondary schools, ‘All successful conveyor belt production line Stars’ for 5-8 year olds in local clubs, urban has operated smoothly to produce a steady area ‘Street Cricket’, Women’s club softball stream of talent – the more notable Somerset and hardball cricket, Disability Cricket, club professional players of this era being James Coach Development etc. We will therefore Hildreth, Max Waller, Arul Suppiah, , continue our work under a new structure Jack Leach, Tom Abell and George Bartlett but with a continuing objective: to secure a – plus countless other first class cricketers healthy future for the game by encouraging too numerous to mention - and certainly not whole family participation – aiming to enthuse forgetting England star Anya Shrubsole who a new generation of players, SCCC supporters came through our Women’s programme (and and cricket lovers generally. 64 Somerset County Cricket Club SCB “Lots of opportunities in 2019” Says Andy Fairbairn, SCB Cricket Development Manager

e may Female cricket at clubs will be a priority never see across England and Wales over the next Wanother five years as part of the ECB’s Inspiring summer like it Generations strategy. again! Somerset In Somerset, we will be focussing on men winning the 50 Over Cup, Somerset developing girls’ cricket and hardball Women being women’s cricket at clubs in addition to the promoted to the T20 women’s softball offer. First Division and Another great success and step forward England Men winning the 50 Over World for cricket in the county was the launch of Cup with three matches hosted in Taunton. our Super 1s Hub Clubs in January 2019. The opportunities that 2019 gave to the Super 1s is a weekly cricket session for recreational game in Somerset were 12-25 year olds with a disability to come significant: to and enjoy socialising and being active, • 64 Somerset clubs received £1,000 grant at the same time as developing physical, from the ECB World Cup fund leadership and social skills. The Lords Taverners fund the programme and with • Bangladesh World Cup men’s squad over 100 unique participants across 6 hubs coached Somerset school pupils in 2019 we are delighted by the impact it is • England Women coached 120 children having. from three Somerset schools plus some All Star children We are currently speaking to stakeholders across the game in Somerset to ensure • Pakistan men’s team delivered coaching that our strategy for 2020-2025 enables to 50 Somerset youngsters our existing clubs, players and volunteers • The World Cup trophy was taken on a to flourish as well as taking cricket to new tour of Somerset Schools markets and communities to diversify and • Jos Buttler returned to Cheddar Cricket future-proof our wonderful game. Club with the World Cup Trophy Our clubs continue to be the bedrock of • Over 300 children were introduced to cricket in the county and we will continue cricket in ‘come and try’ sessions across to do everything we can to support Somerset after the World Cup victory them to be as vibrant and successful as 2019 also saw significant growth and possible. establishment of women’s softball cricket The whole game is totally reliant on the in the county. 30 Somerset clubs entered wonderful army of volunteers at leagues a women’s team into festivals last year. and clubs who give their time to enable Clubs who now have women’s teams are others to play. Please make sure you take reporting a much healthier environment the time to thank those who give so much at the club as well as improved numbers to the game. A thank you can go a long of junior and senior players (male and female), more volunteers and an increase in way. revenue. Winter well and enjoy the 2020 season!

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 65 SCB Knock-Outs The Competitions; 2019 MAJOR CUP FINAL FROME V NORTH PERROTT

he SCB Major Cup Final was between Croker to the crease and together with Frome and North Perrott Cricket Reece rotated the strike well and found the TClubs, who after winning the toss and boundary before Sam fell, off the choosing to bat first found themselves in real excellent bowling of Retter with the score trouble straight away falling to 29 for five in on 61. the six over powerplay. Reece Crocker with two for 22 and Tom However, there were to be no further alarms Barton, two for 12, had caused all sorts of for Frome as Reece Croker (48*) and Andy problems for the North Perrott top order Veal (15*) comfortably saw them to the before Sam Rowswell and Max Dicker set victory target of 111 in the 18th over. about rebuilding the innings. Frome lifted the Major Cup for the first time Frome continued to build pressure through since 1975 after their Intermediate Cup Dredge and Mark Sanger but Perrott had success in 2016. started to rotate the strike more and began to get a small foothold in the game. Dicker Reece Croker was awarded Man of the played well for 16 but fell to new bowler Match for his match winning 48 off 40 balls Mark Watts who took two and two for 22. for 29. Joseph Eckland joined Rowswell and the pair added 38 together in quick time as Perrott looked set to get up to 120. However, Eckland fell LBW to Watts looking to scoop him which saw Perrott lose momentum and finish on 110 for eight thanks to Rowswell’s 42 not out. In reply Lewis got Frome off to a quick start with a couple of boundaries before being adjudged LBW to Hawes which brought captain Reece Croker to the crease and it was Croker’s innings Winners - Frome CC that proved to be the key. Back Row: Mark Watts, Neil Dredge, Tom Barton, Andrew Veal, Sanger fell caught behind for nine leaving Scott Lewis, James Unwin Frome on 36 for two, Front Row: Charlie Smith, Mark Sanger, Reece Croker (Captain), which brought Sam Paul Sanger, Sam Croker

66 Somerset County Cricket Club SCB

MINOR CUP FINAL HUNTSPILL AND DISTRICT V BISHOPS HULL

he SCB Minor Cup Final was between Huntspill In his next over Sealy had Lillycrop caught for eight to and District and Bishops Hull Cricket Clubs. raise Bishops Hull’s chances with Huntspill 37 for two THuntspill and District win the toss and asked off six overs. New pair Jake Randall and Matt Osmant their opponents to bat first. C.J.Organ and Dean continued in a positive manner with Osmant scoring Adams created early pressure and it was the freely as he took the attack to change bowlers Matt former who got the breakthrough in his second Chanter and Liam Redrup. over removing Liam Redrup caught well by Mark Randall was the perfect foil for Osmant rotating the Crawford. strike well for Osmant to continue to pepper the Change bowlers Sam Lillycrop and Shaun Lismore boundaries. Huntspill reached their target in just 13 who claimed two wickets each soon had Bishops overs with Randall 19 not out and Osmant 47 not out Hull in trouble as they combined in the field to of just 26 balls. remove Matt Chanter before Lismore clean bowled This was Huntspill and District’s first win in the Locke first ball leaving them 30 for three off six overs. competition after they were defeated in their only Tight bowling and excellent fielding from Huntspill other Minor Cup Final appearance in 1991. continued to exert real pressure on Bishop Hull who The Man of the Match was awarded to Huntspill and were trying to counterattack through Jotty Chanter, District’s Matt Osmant for his superb 47 not out and who hit a flurry of boundaries off Lismore. However a two catches behind the wicket. false shot saw him caught for a fine 43 by Crawford as the Taunton village side slipped to 66 for five. Randall and Matt Counsell who also took two wickets apiece, both struck in their first overs and when Hoddinott was run out by Garner after a mix up Bishops Hull were 84 for nine. Sensible batting from Tyson (11*) and Sealy took their side to 106 before Sealy was caught behind off Counsell to finish the innings. Huntspill’s reply got off to a flyer thanks to Steve Eley who took 15 off the opening over from Hoddinott whilst opening partner Lillycrop was more circumspect. Winners - Huntspill and District CC Eley continued his assault on the bowling depositing Back Row: Dave Counsell (Chairman), Sam Lillycrop, Sealy effortlessly into The Mark Crawford, Grahame Dyer, Steve Eley, Ryan Edwards, Sir Ian Botham stand but his Shaun Lismore, Amanda Counsell (Scorer) entertaining 25 came to an end when he was caught in Front Row: Tom Garner, Matt Osmant, CJ Organ, the deep off Sealy. Matt Counsell (Captain), Dean Adams, Jake Randall

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 67 INTERMEDIATE CUP FINAL NORTH NEWTON V BEAR FLAT

he Intermediate Cup was contested game with the ball. by North Newton and Bear Flat Cricket First Williams’s excellent knock of 29 as he TClubs. The latter elected to bat first and top-edged a sweep to the grateful hands of after a bare-footed pre-match warm-up in the Jack Mainwaring at short fine leg off Malhotra, indoor School of Excellence, Ashwin Agrawal Morris clean bowled Clemenson for 0, Street and Chris Bence opened the batting for Bear was run out for 0 and when Cook was caught Flat with both batsmen batting steadily at the by Newman off Malhotra, North Newton had start against tight bowling from Chris Wadham collapsed to 66 for four. and Miles Barham. Things got worse for Newton with another Both had contributed 14 before being run out and a stunning caught and bowled by dismissed, Ashwin run out as he attempted to Ellis as the collapse continued and it was left take a single to silly mid-off and Bence caught to Morris to wrap up the victory and complete off Barham to leave the Bears at 38 for two. the turnaround as the Newton lower order That soon became 38 for three when Sam capitulated under an increasing run rate to 93 Vesey fell to a superb reflex catch by Josh all out. Cook off James White. Bear Flat lifted the Intermediate Cup to follow Ross Newman and Rob Wilson changed the their Minor Cup success in 2015 and if they rise momentum of the innings taking the attack to through the leagues could be playing for the the bowlers, both scoring at better than a run a Major Cup in a couple of years’ time. ball in a 64-run partnership that took the Bears into three figures before Wilson departed for Ross Newman was named man-of-the-match 21. for his 60 not out off 51 balls. Newman continued ruthlessly dispatching Newton’s attack to the boundary as he raced to an unbeaten 60 taking Bear Flat to 126 for six at the close of their innings. The North Newton response began slowly much like Bear Flat’s. Josh Cook signalled his intent giving Ross Newman similar treatment to what he had dished out when batting! Tom Williams picked up his scoring and Bear Flat were on the back foot with North Newton 57 without loss and in total control. Winners - Bear Flat CC However Shreyas Back Row: Ross Newman, George Ellis, Jack Mainwaring, Malhotra (2-14) and Jay Jay Morris, Matt Amner, Tom Harris, Sam Vesey Morris (3-7) were then introduced to the attack Front Row: Shreyas Malhotra, Rob Wilson, Mark Gunning, and the pair changed the Ashwin Agrawal, Chris Bence, Mike Holden (scorer) 68 Somerset County Cricket Club SCB SCB Girls and Boys Performance Coaches talk about the Somerset Pathway

It is crazy to think another the Under 15 girls for getting to National Finals and season has passed by and although they didn’t go on to win the competition, the what a year it has been experience for those players will have been hugely for cricket as a sport on beneficial, particularly for the ones moving up into the the global stage. I thought Under 17s. The senior women won the T20 Division 2017 and England Women Two title, just reward for a young group who still have winning the World Cup so much more to offer. There was much talk about this was exciting but this year, being their last season but I’m delighted that the ECB cricket has seen some have decided to continue county cricket in the T20 enthralling finishes and format for another two seasons. I hope it has inspired a lot more boys and girls We had four girls involved in the Regional to take up our fantastic Development Centre festival representing the South game! West team and doing Somerset proud during the summer. Congratulations to Lauren Filer, Natasha The girls’ performance pathway undertook some Wraith, India Owen and Niamh Holland. Natasha was changes last winter which saw around 150 girls also part of the successful Western Storm squad this involved in our pathway at some point. We have just summer whilst Lauren competed at the school games completed our October assessments to inform winter and was able to be part of the Western Storm set up training squad selections and we’ve seen a lot of new on a number of occasions, a great experience for both. faces again, evidence that the women and girls’ game continues to grow exponentially. Finally, I’d like to thank all the County age group and pathway centre coaches, all of whom put in a huge Pathway centres provided girls with a lot more opportunities to improve, in order for them to amount of hard work to make the girls’ performance hopefully compete and challenge for county age pathway as successful as it is. group places. Our county age group teams had mixed Sophie Luff - Women and Girls Performance success during the summer. I’d like to congratulate Head Coach

My second year involved long journey ended in defeat. in the role at Somerset We had four pathway players represent the South & has been another exciting West Under 15’s XI at Bunbury (James Rew, Charlie one. In partnership with Sharland, George Thomas and Jack Harding) with Steve Snell (Academy Sharland and Rew taking part in the North & South Director) we’re continuing to grow and develop the festival at Loughborugh two weeks later. experiences we provide All four players (alongside Max Horton) have to pathway players and progressed from the Emerging Players Programme I hope that we will start onto PSPP or the Somerset Academy programme. to see further benefits in As always, I encourage you to check out the years to come. ‘Performance’ section of the Somerset Cricket Board The number of games and opportunities that our website (www.somersetcricketboard.co.uk) and if young cricketers are receiving continues to grow you find yourself without a day of cricket at Taunton and it is great to see the development of the players it would be great to see some of you watching the throughout this process. players of the future at various venues across the From a County Age Group perspective the Somerset county. Under 15’s were very competitive and secured an There are a lot of exciting young players coming up away quarter final against eventual winners Surrey, where unfortunately despite an exciting 95 from through the Somerset Pathway! George Thomas which nearly got us over the line, the Matt Drakeley - SCB Performance Head Coach

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 69 Bridgwater retain NatWest Under 19 T20 Title

ridgwater Red Sox made it three in a row after beating falling to Sam Fuller and Ben Watts. `Yeovil Whirlwinds in the Somerset Vitality Under 19s T20 Ned Leonard (32) and Dominic Court (30) set a good platform for Bcompetition. Bridgwater but the pair fell to Dan Ewens to leave them 90 for four. The Somerset competition, sponsored by Somerset County The holders continued to lose wickets at key stages, though, and Sports saw 25 teams battle it out to reach finals day that was again were eventually bowled out for 116 thanks to some great fielding superbly hosted by Uphill Castle CC and Weston-super-Mare CC and bowling from the Yeovil Whirlwinds. when eight teams battled it out in 15 Over Quarter Finals before Bellinger and Leonard opened the bowling for Bridgwater and the Semi-Finals and Final. they set the tone brilliantly, as Yeovil slumped to 23 for four, losing After the amazing efforts of the Groundstaff at both Weston- Hanranhan, Veale, Laney and Ewens. Nonetheless, Yeovil were Super-Mare CC and Uphill Castle CC play was able to start on time still in with a good chance, and the pairing of Will Chesterman despite the terrible weather in the week leading up to Finals Day. and Sam Fuller put on 57 for the fifth wicket as they got their team In the quarter finals on the Weston-Super-Mare CC pitches Deane back into the chase and then started to take the game away from Diamonds overcame the Weston Super Kings by seven wickets. Bridgwater. Davis Trego top scored for Weston with 30 out of a total of 77 Bond made the vital breakthrough, trapping Chesterman for 25 which was a good recovery from 22 for four thanks to three for 13 and the game was back in the balance. from Harry Smith. Dan Parsons top scored for the Diamonds with 26 as they chased the target in 13 overs. Sam Fuller continued to pick up singles and the odd boundary as he looked to see his side home, and with two overs to go, Yeovil Whirlwinds held their nerve against the Hinton Hornets who looked set to chase down the 106 they needed to win as Patrick Yeovil needed 14 to win. Fast bowler Leonard, who conceded just Crawford blazed 43 before Sam Fuller with three for six pegged 11 runs from his four overs, produced a very tight over, until the them back to seal a place in the semis. last delivery was Chinese cut for four by Fuller, which saw Yeovil needing eight from the last. Seth Locke bowled an excellent over In the quarter finals at Uphill Castle CC, Bridgwater Red Sox stopping any boundaries and it was down to the final ball with posted 103 for five from their 15 overs, with Ned Leonard retiring three required to win and two for a super over. on 40 as per the competition rules. Keynsham Knight Riders never got going in reply, and the score was always out of their reach as Fuller picked out midwicket as they ran through for a single, but a Tom Bellinger and Callum Pope picked up two wickets apiece clean pick up and throw from Bellinger meant it was Bridgwater with James Burston hitting 23*. Red Sox who claimed a third consecutive title by the narrowest of The Saints saw off the challenge of the Clevedon Coast Busters margins in probably the best U19T20 Final to date. reaching the 84 required to win with an over to spare. Freddie The presentations for the Finals were made by Somerset County Wolfenden took a wicket, a catch claimed two run outs for the Cricket Club’s Paul van Meekeren which included the Player of the Saints and Tom Hazell-Evans top scored with 28. Match Award to Sam Fuller of the Yeovil Whirlwinds for his two The semi-final at Uphill Castle was a rematch of last year’s final for19 and unbeaten 46. between Bridgwater Red Sox and The Saints. Bridgwater fielded first and were excellent as Saints were bowled out for 49. Tilly Bond was outstanding as she took four wickets for three runs in an incredible spell of bowling, while Pope claimed three for five, and Seth Locke three for nine. In reply, the Red Sox opening pair of Bellinger (19no) and Pope (26no) made light work of the target, getting over the line within seven overs without losing a wicket. At Weston-Super-Mare, Yeovil Whirlwinds batted first in the Semi Final and posted 149 thanks to 41 from Will Hanranhan, 39 from Jack Veale and 33 from Will Chesterman. The Deane Diamonds set off like a train with Harry Smith hitting a quickfire 33 but wickets fell regularly as Yeovil looked to be cruising into the final. Enter Toby Stone who wasn’t about to go down without a fight and launched an incredible display of hitting as he raced to 40 by hitting four sixes off four balls and came back to the crease with the score on 99 for nine. Further boundaries from Stone gave hope as he reached 62* but a Bridgwater CC mix up saw McClure run out with Diamonds 20 short of victory. The final pitted the defending champions Bridgwater Red Sox Back Row: Seth Locke, Dominic Court, Callum Pope, Tom against Yeovil Whirlwinds reaching their first U19T20 Final. Bellinger, Ned Leonard, Harrison Buller, James Salt (wk) The Red Sox won the toss but after choosing to bat things didn’t Front row: Joe Redman, Freddie Brewer, Liam Gilbert, Kian quite go to plan, as Pope and Bellinger were dismissed early Roberts, Tilly Bond 70 Somerset County Cricket Club SCB Somerset Disabled Cricket Club Season Review By Nick Dean

ooking back at 2019 we can confidently The Dragons side also played in two call the season a very successful one matches this year, winning one and losing Lfor the Somerset Disabled Cricket Club. one. All in all representing a very successful Our main aim for the First XI was to win our year for the team, contributing greatly to the group and reach the semi final. We went club. through the group stage unbeaten and went We rounded off a great year with another through to the national semi final where fantastic Dan’s day, celebrating our we performed well but ultimately came up wonderful former coach Dan Hodges and short against a very good Derbyshire side. the legacy he has left behind. Another key aim was to develop the This was a day in which the team bond and Dragons side and we are extremely proud to the ‘family’ club mentality was evident for say that we have reached a five year high in all to see. We have built a great platform to team members with some pushing for spots build on from moving into the 2020 season, in the first team, which is really good for the where we look to improve again but also club enjoy every second of it.

Somerset disabled CC 2019 Back row: George Fox-Reid, Simon Penny, James Mayled, Jamie Turner, Colin Hancock, Jon Tucker, Russ Young, Nick Dean, James Redwood, Ben Hallows, Jack Milton Front in wheelchair - Paul Lewis

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 71 Somerset Visually Impaired CC Season Report 2019 By Kathryn Jelfs-White he season began with a bang for Fielder). Somerset’s Visually Impaired side Nominations were received by: Tas we secured our second title in the T20 Final at Wolverhampton. The Vice-Captain Heidi Linegar - competition was weather postponed Wicketkeeper, Low Partial Player and from last September and we battled Female Player through near-Arctic conditions to beat Chairman Alan Mabey - LP Player Yorkshire in the Semi-Final and then (whilst daughter Sharnie Mabey won fend off eventual 2019 National League Best Female Player at the end of winners, Northamptonshire in the Final. season Development Festival event The League campaign was another in ) Rob Crisp - PS Player, PS successful one securing a consecutive Bowler and PS Fielder runners-up finish after four wins, a Kathryn Jelfs-White - Female Player of draw and unfortunately two losses. the Year For the third time in our history a 30- After another marvellous season we over Cup Final place was established are already looking forward to next but we came unstuck against a very spring! determined London Metro side at the Brightside County Ground in Bristol. En route to the Final we took part in our first Bowl-Out as the weather tried to hinder the competition. To compliment a fantastic season a number of awards and nominations from governing body BCEW were claimed: Captain Ed Hossell won Partially Somerset Visually Impaired CC Sighted Fielder and was jointly awarded PS Player (also nominations Back row: Michael Contreras, Alan for PS Batsman and PS Bowler). Maybe, Philip Millington, Rob Crisp, Phillip Frounks, Adam White, The now legendary Steve Cook Graham Glover, Kathryn Jelfs-White claimed the only title missing from his and Steve Cook collection, Total Batsman, to become the game’s only player to have won Front Row: Martin Hallett and Sharnie every award for his sight category (also Maybe. nominated for Total Player and Total Kneling: Heidi Linegar and Ed Hossel

72 Somerset County Cricket Club SCB Somerset Over 50s Report 2019 By Graham Poulton

n 2019 the Somerset over 50’s competed in the ECB National Three more wins followed. competition and the Southern Counties West Division. At Bideford, Devon scored 195 for 6. However a good all round I batting display saw Somerset winning by 4 wickets. (Hugh The ECB competition Brooker, Hinton Charterhouse, 54.) The first match was away to the Isle of Wight, where Somerset The next game was at North Curry versus Cornwall, Somerset scored 298 for 4 off 45 overs. (Ian Thomas, Brislington, 102), (Andy chasing 191 romped home by 9 wickets with 10 overs to spare. Sapey, Trull, 63) and (Kevin Rogers, Purnells, 82.) (Mike Fear, Horrington, 114 not out.) The islanders subsided to 188 for 9 off their 45 overs. Skipper At Lymington, Hampshire batted first scoring 234 for 9. (Rob (Clive Hamblin, Frome, 3 for 25 off 9 overs.) Moysey, Wellington, 5 for 39 off 9 overs.) Somerset won by Game two on the 29th May versus Hampshire was cancelled due 8 wickets with 6 overs to spare. (Hugh Bellamy, 57, and Rob to rain. Moysey, 64, added 142 in an unbroken 3rd wicket stand. The following three matches all ended victorious for the The penultimate game was against Wiltshire at Marshfield CC. Somerset team. Wiltshire 182 for 8, (Ian Smith, 3 for 18 off 9 overs.) Somerset 127 all out. Cornwall was rain reduced to 35 overs. Cornwall 175 for 7. Somerset won by 5 wickets. (Andy Stevens, Minehead, 72 not out). The last group game was at Hinton Charterhouse against Dorset. Dorset 244 for 8 off 45 overs. Somerset lost by 15 runs, (Rob Somerset 161 for 8. (Andy Stevens, 60) beat Dorset 146 all out. Moysey, 75 not out,) and (Giles White, 49,) (Clive Hamblin, Frome, 3 for 18 off 9 overs.) Play Offs Devon 152 for 8 off 45 overs, (Terry Clark, Cheddar, 4 for 44 off 9 overs), Somerset won by 2 wickets. The Play Off was against Gloucestershire at Apperley CC. Winning the toss and batting first Gloucestershire scored 277 for 7. The rearranged game against Hampshire at Midsomer Norton Somerset all out for 229. (Rob Moysey, 67,) (Hugh Brooker 54.) resulted in our only defeat in the group games. Retrospective Hampshire 147 for 9, (Andy Fussell, 3 for 33 off 9 overs). Somerset lost by 3 runs, (Andy Sapey, Trull, 40). Overall it was a good season for both teams. The B team reached the playoffs for the first time in 5 years, and the A team performed Finishing the season in style Somerset won their two final group well for most of the season losing just once in the group games. games. Andy Stevens scored 145 runs at 48.33, Ian Thomas 204 runs at Wiltshire 153 for 8, Somerset won by 5 wickets, Simon Hogg, 49 40.80. and Ian Thomas, 40 not out). Clive Hamblin took 17 wickets at 11.35 and Brian Stone 11 wickets And finally, the Channel Islands 82 all out, (Tony Scott, Brislington, at 15.45 and Brian Stone, Trull 3 wickets each). Somerset won by 8 wickets in 13 overs. The captains and committee would like to extend their thanks to all the clubs, umpires, tea makers and scorers who made the Knock Out stages season possible. The first round of the knock out stages was at home to Graham Poulton – [email protected] Worcestershire at Clevedon CC. Somerset won the toss and batted, posting 190 for 8 off 45 overs. (Andy Stevens, 48). Chris Golding - [email protected] Worcestershire were dismissed for 120 in 37 overs. (Clive Hamblin, Clive Hamblin - [email protected] 5 for 34 off 9 overs.) (Terry Clark, 3 for 32 off 7.4 overs.) Rhys Thomas – [email protected] The second round was away to Oxfordshire at Oxford Downs CC. Somerset batted first and managed 230 for 5 off 45 overs. Oxfordshire batted sensibly throughout, and an early injury to Keith Graddon did not help matters. With just 2 wickets down and 8 runs to win off 3 overs, a thunderstorm brought proceedings to a close, Oxfordshire winning on a faster run rate. Southern Counties competition The first game was against Cornwall at Troon CC. Cornwall 196 for 6 off 45 overs. (Chris Golding, North Curry, 3 for 45 off 9 overs. Somerset won by 4 wickets. Game two was a different story. Somerset were soundly beaten by Hampshire at Hinton Charterhouse. Somerset 213 for 8, Hampshire won by 8 wickets. The third game saw another defeat, this time at North Curry versus Dorset. Somerset 119 all out off 41 overs. Dorset won by 7 wickets. Somerset Over 50s CC The away fixture versus Dorset saw a change in fortunes. Chasing 187 to win, Somerset won by 2 wickets. A mention must go to the lower order that saved the day when all looked lost at 89 for 6. Front Row: Terry Clark, Marc Jenkins, Clive Hamblin (capt), Andy Sapey, Graham Poulton (scorer). Into June and the next game was against Wiltshire. Wiltshire257 for 4 off their 45 overs, Somerset finishing just 16 runs short. (Hugh Back row: Andy Wright (umpire), Ian Thomas, Kevin Rogers, Mike Bellamy, Taunton Deane, 112.) Fear, Brian Stone, Tony Scott, Hugh Bellamy, Simon Hogg The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 73 Somerset Over 60s in 2019 Somerset Over 60s First XI in 2019 by captain Paul Ashton thanks to a patient 39* from Rick Hutchinson and 4 for 28 from In a revamped competition Somerset started with defeats Brian Pearson. A great team effort saw us beat Hampshire against Gloucestershire and Devon. Cornwall then gave us a at Cadnam, but a disappointing display against Oxfordshire first win, overtaking the home side’s 138. Next up came Wales despite a valiant 92* from Pete Rebera, left us needing to beat when Graham Poulton and skipper Ashton (54) established Hertfordshire at Radlett. Great contributions from the two a foundation that was built upon with Andy Ashfold (51) in a Simon’s, Hardy (4 for 38) and Hopkinson 64, saw us beat Herts, stand of 98. Wales struggled to keep up with the scoring rate but Surrey beat Hampshire so they rightly proceeded to the with tight bowling (Brian Brogden (4-45) and sharp fielding. final. Two fixtures were lost to rain and then Devon were completely This was an excellent season winning against good quality dominated by the bowlers (Brogden 3-10, IainLocke 2-14, opposition, and other than the defeat against Wales, putting in Norman Botton 2-15, Phil Stevens 2-19), making 85 which was overtaken. strong performances against the rest. Better availability meant we were able to field stronger sides than in previous years. The Australian Tourists reached 129 for 6 before 71 by Glen Richardson saw them to 234 for 9, in reply to which we ended We also played four friendlies in 2019, which gave us an 200 for 7. opportunity to look at some new players. Against Cornwall, made 217 for 8, (Ashfold 69), in reply to Thirty players represented the Seconds during the season, so which the visitors were bowled out for 72 (Brogden 4-28, Andy big thanks to all those players that made themselves available Stevens 3–17). week after week. The last game in the regional group (against Wales for the Big thanks also to our regular umpires, Paul Bachelor and Chris group title) we made 247 for 8 (Dave Stephenson, 63) Wales Norton and our reliable scorer Tom Gibbard made 170 all out (Phil Stevens 3-14. So, Somerset went on to play for a place in the final as regional winners. Against Wales, Somerset posted 220 for 7 (Ashfold 70, Scott 62). In reply Wales showed little resistance; Tony Scott 3-32 being the chief wicket taker. The long treks to Essex and Berkshire were fruitless with the weather the only winner. Next came Hertfordshire, who scored 154 (Brogden, 4-33). A stand of 90 (Stephenson 56) was followed by a collapse to 97 for 4 before Mike Fear and Iain Locke ensured Somerset’s win. The deciding game in this group to see who would the south in the national final was against Hampshire. After 33 overs Somerset lost their first wicket (Poulton, 71) and Stephenson added an excellent 109, helping Somerset reach a total of 246 for 6. Hampshire’s first wicket fell after 24 overs for 111, but the pressure of quality bowling and fielding saw the hosts fell short by just 12 runs (Brogden 3-48 and a 9 over spell Somerset Over 60s CC 1st XI by Iain Locke which included 3 maidens). In the final Somerset faced Lancashire and losing the toss 1st XI - Back row: Brian Pearson (umpire), Richard Gatton (wkt), and then losing our skipper (who headed for hospital with Graham Poulton, Simon Hardy, Andy Ashfold, Anthony Scott, a fractured finger didn’t help as the opposition hit 273 for Norman Botton, Richard Newport, Mike Brimble (scorer) 4. With a top order batsman missing this was a ‘big ask’ and Lancashire won by 143 runs. Front Row: David Stephenson, Iain Locke, Paul Ashton (c), Brian Brogden, Phil Stevens Throughout the season every player contributed to our success, and there were some outstanding individual efforts on the way. Though the big prize evaded Somerset are one of the top Counties in the Country. As captain, I want to thank all who contributed and to acknowledge the commitment they gave to the squad as a whole and especially the support they gave me. Over 60’s Second XI Captain’s Report 2019 2019 was the most successful season yet for the Over 60s Second XI and we reached the Plate for the first time ever, narrowly out on a place in the national final. The season started badly, losing heavily to eventual West Division champions Wales. But three successive victories against Devon (Glyn Flinders 3 for 26), Worcestershire (Keith Bell 100, Julian Harvey 90, Steve Sheppard 3 for 12) and Gloucestershire (Alistair Barr 105, Jerry Palmer 3 for 26) Somerset Over 60s CC 2nd XI propelled us to 2nd place in the table. We then suffered a shock defeat to Worcestershire, but other results went our way, and we were still in second place, with a winner takes 2nd XI back row: Pete Rebera, Mike Smith, Glyn Flinders, Jerry all game against Gloucestershire for a place in the Southern Palmer, Julian Harvey, Steve Sheppard, Paul Bachelor (umpire) Plate. Even though they won we still went through. Front row: Miles Richards, Steve Pursey (c), David Barton, Nick The Southern plate started with victory over Kent at Orpington, Marsh, Neil Johnson (wkt). 74 Somerset County Cricket Club SCB Somerset Over 70s Review 2019 By Roger Lines Team Captain 2019

his was the third season for Somerset 70+ team in evenly between our 5 bowlers. The game also marked the ‘Friendly Cricket League’ (FCL) and by far the Ray Perrin’s first FCL game of the season. We won by Tmost successful. 4 wickets in 38.1 overs, with the highlight being the In summary we had a significantly improved squad, opening partnership of 102 in 125 balls,(Manley 31, with a couple of good recruits from last year’s 60s Betty 76 ret’d n.o). Our final league games were played team, but we also suffered with long term injuries or as double 20 over matches against Warwickshire. In illness to several key players. However, even though match 1, Warwickshire batted first and scored 106-8 we never fielded the same team two weeks running, in 20 overs, (Elkington 4-0-11-3; Sheppard 4-0-28-2). we finished second in the league, behind Devon, who In reply, we scored 108-2 in 17 overs, (Betty 23 and didn’t lose a match all season. Sheppard 70 no). In match 2 we batted first and again Martin Betty (46) and Steve Sheppard (72 no.) scored We did the double over Wales, Worcestershire and the bulk of our total of 143-2 in 20 overs. Warwickshire Warwickshire but lost to both Devon and Wiltshire batted very well in reply, falling just 1 run short on twice, although one of the Wiltshire results was simply ridiculous, as we lost a game where we needed less 142-3. We also played two friendlies during the season, runs than we had wickets in hand and were all out one beating a strong Worcester Fossils team by 4 wickets short! but losing to Wales who overtook our 139-6 in the 39th over. We started the season well, with an easy win at home to Worcestershire, bowling them out for 114, which we So a first successful 70s season in the FCL – finishing got in 22 overs. (Steve Chaudoir 39, Nigel Manley 54). second to Devon is no mean achievement and there Dave Foster and Colin Brunt both bowled very well, were some notable individual performances. The sharing 5 wickets. team are very grateful to Brian and Amanda, Chalkie and Chris for their invaluable umpiring and scoring Away to Wales we also won, batting first and scoring work and my thanks to Brian Pearson for taking on the 166-6, with another good opening stand of 90, (Nigel role of my vice-captain - and keeping me sane. 2020 Manley 50, Steve Sheppard 48). Brian Pearson and may well see us participate in the National Over 70s Geoff Flynn contributed a useful 31 to close our competition and with our squad growing in numbers innings. Wales had a good opening stand of 66 but and ability, there is every reason to anticipate further were never up with the scoring rate and ended on success. 166-8, with Geoff Flynn and Steve Sheppard bowling well. Away vs Wiltshire was the nadir of the season! We did well to limit Wilts to 152 a.o., with Steve Sheppard and Colin Brunt getting 3 wickets each. Chaudoir and Manley again started well with 54 and 23 respectively, but after that, apart from Sheppard’s 25, it was a bit of a disaster, as we collapsed to 151 all out! Home to Devon followed a more usual trend against them, as they scored 215-7 and we managed 132-6, with Paul Fairman batting well with 45. Home to Wales lifted us as we scored 209-9, (Manley 31, Webster 22, Sheppard 37, Lines 47 Raines 24). Wales were never in the hunt, ending on 147-8, with Sheppard getting 3-12 and Webster 2-29. In the return match against Wiltshire, we accrued a creditable 182-5, (Martin Betty 31, Sheppard 57, Lines 47). However, Wilts got the runs in 35 overs, despite Somerset Over 70s CC Brian Pearson’s bowling contribution of 8-1-24-4. Facing Devon again (away) in temperatures reaching Back row: Chris Norton (umpire), Geoff Flynn, John 29C resulted in a loss but we didn’t disgrace ourselves, Hayward, Bernard Raines, David Foster, Alan Rogerson, scoring 194-4 (Betty 24, Manley 76 no, Fairman 22, Mark Rylands, David Keen, Dick Allen (umpire) Webster 38 no) in reply to Devon’s 225-4. Front row: Brian Brogden, Simon Hopkinson, Paul Away to Worcestershire, they made a respectable Fairman (wkt), Brian Pearson (c), Richard Newport 165-7 in their 40 overs, with the wickets spread fairly The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 75 Somerset Women’s Recreational Cricket Review 2019 By Steve Gass- SCB Growth and Participation Officer he years of 2018 and 2019 saw Taunton Deane defeated Brislington an increase in the number in the final with some stand out Tof clubs taking part in the performances from Hannah Hughes women’s soft ball league with 20 and Sue England. clubs competing for the title of Girls cricket remains a key focus County Champions. for the Board with the intent to Six teams made it through to the grow. This season saw nine Under finals day with Midsomer Norton 11 and five Under 13 clubs engage defeating Weston Super Mare in in some fun and friendly soft ball the final, making them back-to back tournaments. County Champions! One of these festivals was at the In addition to the league, a K.O Cup Cooper Associates County Ground and Plate was also contested with when we were joined by several Weston Super Mare winning the Cup teams from Gloucestershire. and Midsomer Norton winning the plate. Women’s sections also had the opportunity to take part in fun festivals with other 15 events taking place across the County. Women’s hard ball cricket saw eight teams compete in two regional groups before Taunton Deane and Brislington contested a county final. Women’s Hard Ball winners – Taunton Deane CC

Women’s Softball League winners Girls Festival at the Cooper Associates Midsomer Norton County Ground

76 Somerset County Cricket Club WOMENS & GIRLS Under 13’s Girls Report 2019

omerset began with a match against Wellington Game two, saw Somerset bat first and post a total of School, where batting first they scored 159 for 6 off 147 without loss. Stwenty overs. Genevieve Donaldson with 50 and Lilly Annabel Lamb retired on 57 and Osborn also retired on Hawkins 30 provided the backbone. In reply the hosts 31. Charlotte Lamb, 15 not out, and Dixon, 16 not out all scored 80. contributed. The first double T20 format against Hampshire saw The visitors never troubled the target, as the Somerset Somerset bat in game one. Evie Dixon, opening the batting, bowlers took wickets at regular intervals. Mackenzie provided resistance to the Hampshire bowling attack. Her 14 O’Dea had three, Rose Turner, two, and one a piece for and Brooke Whittaker’s, 10, in a sixth wicket partnership gave Charlotte Lamb and Lilly Hawkins. the innings some stability after wickets fell early. The home match against Wales saw two tight finishes, With good contributions, from Megan Hughes and Lilly with Somerset winning both. First chasing a total of Hawkins, saw the home side to 78 for 9 wickets. 87, Somerset got past the finishing line with with nine Replying Hampshire found things tough due to good balls to spare of their twenty overs. Rose Turner’s 22 bowling from Somerset. Freda Cory and Poppy Hewitt-Smith provided the backbone of the chase. took a wicket each and three run outs saw Somerset to a Earlier Alice Bird, amongst the home bowlers bowled CRICKET thrilling victory by one run as Hampshire finished on 77 for 5. well in restricting the away side. Match two brought a win for Hampshire by 7 wickets. In the In match two, it was the bowlers turn to defend the Somerset innings, a positive innings from Lilly Hawkins, 44 87 runs scored as Wales finished on 82 for 9. Brooke not out, was a highlight. Whittaker, three wickets, Rose Turner and Holy Griffith The following week saw the matches against Gloucester two each all played a part in a tense conclusion to the affected by rain. The first match Gloucester won by seven day. wickets as they chased 53. The second was abandoned after An away trip to Herefordshire saw opportunities for 11 overs. the girls to continue to develop their skills with bat Wales at Port Talbot saw the home bat and score 126 for 5. and ball. The two T20 matches saw two victories for the After losing two early wickets, Freda Cory held the innings visitors. Cammie Collins, Connie Osborn and Megan Hughes together with her 33 before a fifth wicket partnership with amongst many impressing with the bat. Rose Turner brought the innings into a stronger position.but Megan Hughes also took five wickets in the first match, with in the end Wales won by 12 runs. Osborn chipping in with three. In a 35 over game against Gloucestershire the opponents The season ending festival at Malvern, saw a victory against batted first and scored 159 in reply to which Somerset Devon, with Alice Bird performing well with 54 not out in the finished on 127 for 9. chase of 132. In the visit to Millfield Prep, rain allowed one match of the Wins over Norfolk and Buckinghamshire which included proposed two. That saw the school side dismissed for 53. a further positive performances with the bat from Connie Brooke Whittaker took three wickets, there was one each for Osborn and Natalie Carrillo. Charlotte Lamb, Evie Dixon, Rose Turner and Megan Hughes. Chasing the target, Nell Woodgate Jones, 25, and Genevieve Donaldson, 14, contributed to the sides successful effort in reaching the total. Against a stronger and older Wiltshire side Somerset were outplayed in the two matches at Bath. On a very hot day in the middle of Cornwall, game one of two, saw the home side bat first and score 87 for 4. In Somerset’s innings, Annabel Lamb, 25, saw her side to the bring of victory before Donaldson and Cory took the side to the required target of 88. Match two saw Evie Dixon score 45 in a total 107 for 4. She was ably supported by Connie Osborn. Cornwall were always behind the required run rate rate due to accurate bowling with Megan Hughes taking three wickets in 28 run triumph. The return fixture against Cornwall at Wellington was played Somerset Under 13 Girls CC on one of the hottest days of the summer. Batting first Cornwall were troubled by pace of Alice Bird Back row: Lola Morland, Genevieve Donaldson, Alice Bird, and the swing of Connie Osborn. The pair took six wickets. Evie Dixon, Freda Cory, Brooke Whittaker, India Masters, The visitors scored 55. Sophie Luff Mackenzie O’Dea, 19 not out, and Annabel Lamb, 13, not out, Front row: Charlotte Lamb, Camille Collins, Rose Turner, took the home side to victory. Connie Osborn, Poppy Hewitt-Smith, Mackenzie O’Dea

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 77 Under 15’s Girls Report 2019 By Rich Askew

omerset’s U15 Girls side enjoyed an three Divisions at Nationals, the first time outstanding season in 2019, winning the for many years that Somerset have been Sregional competition at both 40 over and involved at this age group, we struggled to T20 formats and progressing to the National match both Lancashire and Staffordshire. Finals of the longer format. Compared to regional matches these Friendlies against King’s College and Millfield games were far more keenly contested were weather affected before the ECB fixtures and any errors were punished by very good began against Gloucestershire in May. Early opposition. games suffered from availability issues, Quite understandably several players were particularly those in midweek, before settling missing having taken the chance to book and allowing players to adapt and grow into holidays once the scheduled games had their roles in the side. finished. However, this allowed others the As with most teams at this level we found chance to try a different role and also meant we had plenty of options but that some of the in-form U13s were called on batting was to be at a premium, along with to experience a higher level of competition spin. We were reliant on India Owen, Jess than they had previously been used to. Hazell and Niamh Holland throughout for Outstanding performances were recorded the bulk of the runs, backed up by Pippa with the bat by India Owen (111 vs Devon and Letchford, Holly McLaughlin and Morgan a T20 78 vs Dorset), Niamh Holland (105 and Edwards. 78 in two games vs Devon, 66 vs Lancashire), Catherine Hayton and Rosie Gelston formed Jess Hazell (56 vs Oxfordshire) and with the a reliable, and pacey, opening attack. Lola ball by Evie Dixon (5 for 11 vs Oxfordshire) and Harris, playing up from her U13 age group, Holland (5 for 28 vs Devon). carried the spin burden largely on her own for most of the summer until lately she was Back row: Jess Hazell, Abbie Stride, Evie joined by Evie Dixon. Dixon, Millie Lusk, Holly McLaughlin, Alice Bird, Rich Askew (coach) After a stuttering start, with losses to Gloucestershire and Wales, more regular Front row: India Owen, Niamh Holland, Pip games saw an upturn in form and some Letchford, Morgan Edwards, Lola Harris, Nell momentum started to build. Whilst not Woodgate-Jones entirely stress free the run of games from the start of the school holidays onwards saw a fine finish to the longer format with the girls topping their table after a tense game up in Oxfordshire. By comparison the T20 campaign started very successfully and the side went through the summer unbeaten in six games. With different opposition to the 40 over ‘A’ Division games there were times when players could be rotated around and tried in slightly different roles to challenge them with a view to their potential in future years. Somerset Under 15 Girls CC Competing against the winners of the other 78 Somerset County Cricket Club WOMENS & GIRLS Under 17’s Girls Report 2019 By Paul “Sid” Lawrence, Somerset Girls Under 17s Coach 2019

Results: Played 13, Won 6, Lost 7 wickets for 11 runs) and Lola Harris (8 overs fter the great highs of the 2018 U17 Girls 2 wickets for 14 runs) wreak havoc on the achievements, the 2018 season was Cornish batters on the back of a fine spell Aalways going to be a tough act to follow. of opening bowling from Tilly Bond (7 overs 2 wickets for 17 runs). The run chase was In the first round of T20 matches saw us beat secured on the back of Niamh Hollands 32 Dorset by 47 runs, with a century from India from 40 balls. Owen and lose to Devon by 6 wickets. In the 2nd round of T20 matches we lost by 9 wickets The final match of the season saw us take to Cornwall and beat Dorset by 6 wickets. In on Wales at Cleeve CC. Jodie Filer (8 overs the final match of the T20 season saw us defeat 3 wickets for 26 runs) and Niamh Holland (8 Wiltshire by 59 runs at Weston-Super-Mare CC overs 3 wickets for 34 runs) saw us restrict Wales to 188/7 from their 40 overs. 20’s

In the ECB 40 over competition we started with a CRICKET from Harriet Dimdore-Miles, Jo-Leigh 5 wicket win over Devon with Niamh Holland (66) Roberts, Niamh Holland and Jodie were and Jo-Leigh Roberts (60) scoring the bulk of our never quite enough and we lost narrowly by runs in a partnership worth 141 runs. Two days 17 runs. later saw us play Devon again at Bridgwater CC, and even with Niamh Holland taking 5 wickets The players who represented Somerset in for 28 runs from her 8 overs it couldn’t help us 2019 were- Harriet Dimdore-Miles, Jodie do the double over Devon and we lost by 85 Filer, Hannah Capes, Alice Dymond, Anna runs. Parkinson, India Owen, Jennifer Poole, Jess Smith, Martha Cole, Niamh Holland, Tilly Bond, We then travelled away and played Jess Hazell, Alisa Scantlebury, Morgan Edwards, Gloucestershire in a low scoring match with spin Jess Bailey, Grace Stonehouse, Jo-Leigh playing a big part. Lola Harris 8 overs 1 wicket Roberts, Daisy Jeanes, Lola Harris, Pip Letchford, for 10 runs and Jodie Filer 8 overs 1 wicket for Abbie Stride, Maggie Adams, Rosie Gelston and 11runs couldn’t stop us from being defeated by Josephine Cherson 6 wickets. I have no doubt that this young group of players We then travelled to eventual group winners will come back stronger for the experiences they Wales with a very young team. One of these have had this season. U13’s Maggie Adams led the way with a mature 33 from 36 balls. Wales proved too strong and ran out winners by 55 runs. We got back to winning ways with a 9 wicket win away to Cornwall. This was set up by some very tight bowling by Tilly Bond and Jo-Leigh Roberts, Lola Harris built on this with a very fine spell of wrist to finish with figures of 7.5 overs 5 wickets for 15 runs. Harriet Dimdore- Miles (52 from 43 balls) and India Owen (36* from 37 balls) made sure of the victory. Our next fixture saw us play Gloucestershire at Taunton CC in a close match that went down to the wire and lose by 20 runs, had a few decisions gone our way I have no doubt the girls would have won this fixture. India Owen who enjoyed a successful season In our next fixture against Cornwall at Taunton and scored a T20 century for Somerset Under 17s School saw our spin twins Jodie Filer (8 overs 4 The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 79 All Stars Cricket- a success story By Matt Counsell

ens of thousands of boys and girls among primary school-aged boys and girls have played cricket for the first time has continued to be boosted thanks to the Tthis summer thanks to All Stars Cricket. programme. All Stars Cricket is a new initiative from “Amongst the 50 clubs there were new clubs the England and Wales Cricket Board for 2019, including Claverham who had over in its second year, aimed at providing 60 children at their sessions, Staplegrove 46, children aged five to eight with a great first Chard nearly 40, Wombat CC over 30 and experience in cricket. Blagdon with almost 30 which is brilliant for Every child that joined an All Stars Club a year one club. receives a backpack full of goodies including “We have also seen clubs significantly grow a cricket bat, ball, activity book, personalised their All Stars numbers from the first two shirt and cap which has seen nearly 70,000 years and had Lansdown, Bedminster and children aged between five and eight take Knowle attracting over 120 All Stars. part in the programme across England and Wales. “We definitely got more bats and balls into kids’ hands and inspired them and their The facts and figures for All Stars Cricket in parents into a passion for cricket in what has Somerset are just as impressive with nearly been a fantastic summer so far. 2300 children participating in the initiative across 50 different clubs which is an increase “Somerset County Cricket Club have been of over 500 children. brilliant in their support as well from the Somerset are also the only county to have amazing T20 free ticket offer for the Sussex three clubs Lansdown, Knowle & Bedminster Blast game. The likes of Tom Abell, George attracting over 100 children to their session. Bartlett, Max Waller, Peter Trego and Paul van Meekeren have all taken part in a Locally, Somerset County Cricket Club number of sessions with various clubs. players have supported All Stars Cricket Overall, I think that this year has just seen All with Tom Abell, Max Waller, Peter Trego, George Bartlett, Paul Van Meekeren, Tim Stars Cricket grow even more both nationally Groenewald, Tom Banton, Tom Lammonby, and locally.” Jack Brooks, Jamie Overton and Nathan To find out more about All Stars Cricket and Gilchrist all visiting All Stars Clubs and joining to register your interest for next year visit in at sessions which has been fantastic. allstarscricket.co.uk Somerset CCC hosted an All Stars Cricket Day at The Cooper Associates County Ground for the Somerset v Sussex Vitality Blast match. This special occasion saw over 450 All Stars Cricketers with their parents from All Stars Clubs across Somerset, Cornwall, Devon and Dorset attend the match free of charge and they all had the opportunity to be able to go on to the pitch before the match for a celebration photo. Matt Counsell, the Somerset Cricket Board Some of the All Stars cricketers, parents & helpers League and Club Development Officer, who attended a Somerset CCC match in Taunton who ran All Stars in Somerset, said: “Cricket 80 Somerset County Cricket Club WOMENS & GIRLS Somerset Women’s Team in 2019 By Rich Askew

omerset Women’s team enjoyed a mixed the only player in the country for both skills. season in 2019 struggling in the 50 Over Individual high score in 50 Over games was Sformat in Division Two nationally before Richards with 99 not out against Durham. recovering to come top of Division Two in the Luff had 78 not out against Middlesex and ECB T20 competition. We welcomed a new Head 604 runs overall. The bowlers, in particular Coach, Dave Roberts, prior to the season starting the spin twins of Richards and Szczepanski, with friendlies against the Western Storm supported each other well with Georgia Development squad and local rivals Devon. Tulip, Lauren Filer and Bond leading the With the entire fixture list being condensed into seam attack. The fielding, as to be expected the first two months of the season availability from such a young side, was at times far was always going to be an issue with such more agile and athletic than many of our a young squad, as exams and University opposition teams. CRICKET commitments caused issues with having a settled team. Looking forward from here much has been speculated about Women’s cricket in the This also showed in the longer format games next few years. Somerset have committed where our opposition regularly had access to the proposed T20 competition for the to England and other International players. next few seasons and, with so many of However in the T20 games, playing against the current squad still available, should be in opposition without such ‘stars’ and more a good position to build on their success. A reflective of County pathways, the team comprehensive winter training program is in dominated their games and ran out worthy place and the players and coaching staff look winners. forward to starting again after Christmas with the Having places available within the team led to anticipation of even better performances in 2020. some positives though, several of our County age group (CAG) players found themselves Back row: Dave Roberts (head coach), suddenly elevated to Senior representative Tilly Bond, Jess Smith, Jodie Filer, Lauren Filer, level perhaps a year or two earlier than they Nat Wraith, Niamh Holland, had anticipated. For them to find their feet in the Richard Askew (manager) side and perform at this level is both a credit to Front row: Emma Godman, Georgia Tulip, their maturity and shows that the training and Sophie Luff, Nicole Richards, Cassie Coombes, opportunities at CAG prepares individuals well Lorraine Szczepanski for their future. At various times Nat Wraith and Jess Smith from the U17s, Niamh Holland, Jess Hazell and India Owen of the U15s all played in Senior games. Jodie Filer and Tilly Bond, previously CAG players on the fringe of the full team, also grabbed their chances with both hands and will be looking forward to cementing their places in the side over the next few years. Outstanding performances came from Captain Sophie Luff leading from the front with the bat, bowler Lorraine Szczepanski with her offspin and all-rounder Nicole Richards. All three were in the top ten for the season nationally for their Somerset Women’s Team 2019 respective batting and bowling, Richards being The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 81 Under 12’s Report 2019 By Andrew Skidmore, Somerset Under 12’s Team Manager 2019

omerset U12’s started against Gloucestershire Gloucestershire at Wycliffe College. Good bowling where a devastating spell from Heywood and restricted the opposition to just 152 and in response SGoymer, well supported by Rice (4-12), blew them the chase was a tense one held together by another away for 62. fantastic unbeaten 89 from Thomas Rew. Somerset made short work of the chase with Cole After a strong season of games, Somerset took a squad Willoughby the main aggressor to set up a successful of 15 to the Kings Festival. chase. California were first up and they posted 214 from 40 Next a T20 double header against Hampshire at overs. An off day for us led to a score of 109 all out. Yeovil CC. The first game was a dramatic affair. After scoring 111-3 (Ellis James 54) Somerset’s bowlers Day two we were better as we scored 168 on a tricky created pressure throughout, Dexter Trego bowling his surface against Devon, Dexter Trego shining with 77. 8 overs for just 12 runs. A well-executed final over by Wickets shared and an impressive spell from Lewis Kian Roberts left Hampshire needing 1 to win from the Goodrum (2-6) as Devon were all out for 138. final ball. A clean pick up and throw from Mattravers This momentum carried into our next match as our meant the stumps were taken before the batter could bowlers restricted a Gloucestershire side to 110-8 from make their ground. It wasnt so good in the second as 30 overs in a rain- affected match. John Kumar bowled Hampshire amassed 151 and Somerset made 128 all particularly well taking 4-18 from his 6 overs. The chase out. was not easy and a key innings from Kian Roberts (40) Against Devon, Cole Willoughby (66) and Kian Roberts saw us home. (58) both played excellently, then Thomas Rew played Against Hampshire the Somerset bowlers were the innings of the day batting the entire 40 overs and unable to hit their lines as the opposition made 240. scoring 90*. A strong bowling display restricted Devon Uur batting didn’t click, and we were out for just 113 in to just 171-7 to secure the win. what proved to be our final game of the festival due to We the faced Wiltshire, where our bowlers took the torrential rain on the Friday. opposition batting apart for just 77 runs in 28 overs. Lewis Goodrum’s pace (3-14) was a particular highlight This season was an impressive one from a strong alongside 2 wickets for Ford, Kemp and Roberts group of players. Some valuable lessons were picked in support. Openers Finn Kelsey (37) and James up across the season in areas such as controlling Mattravers (34) capitalised on some inconsistent batters scoring areas, field changes across an innings bowling to reach the total in just 15 overs. and effective batting on different surfaces. The return fixture against Devon at Braunton CC was I would like to thank all players, parents and coaches a hard fought contest. Nathan Kemp put in a strong for their efforts and commitment across a busy summer performance with figures of 3-28 from his 7 overs, of fixtures. helping keep Devon to score 169-9. Thomas Rew hit a run a ball 84 set us on our way, with lower order support from Nathan Kemp (25) to see us hom. Somerset U12s took confidence into the next fixture against Cornwall away at Callington CC where batting first Kian Roberts (64) was able to steer the side to 211- 9, supported well by James Ebdon (33). Wickets were shared as we restricted Cornwall to 137 all out. Jamie Ogbourne with 2-6 from his 5 overs saw Somerset to their fifth win on the bounce! In the T20 double header against Somerset found scoring difficult in the first match against Wiltshire, Lewis Goodrum top scoring with 18 with some excellent straight hitting as we posted a total of 109. An inconsistent bowling allowed Wiltshire to pass their target with 13 balls to spare. Somerset Under 12’s In the second game the bowling continued to be inconsistent and Oxfordshire posted 150-8. A Back Row: Lewis Goodrum, AJ McKay, William partnership from Trego (66) and Rew (20) looked to put Goymer, Finn Kelsey, John Kumar, Kian Roberts, Somerset on their way to a good chase but both were Lachlan Rice and Alex Taylor dismissed and we fell 6 runs short. Front Row: Dexter Trego, William Harvey, James The final game before Kings Festival saw us face a Matravers, Thomas Rew and Thomas Ford

82 Somerset County Cricket Club YOUTH Under 13’s Report 2019 By Andy Payne, Somerset Under 13’s Coach 2019

he 2019 season began with a fixture at Taunton CC. Somerset’s next opponents were Devon at Taunton CRICKET Wales batted first and made the most of a good CC. Somerset won the toss and put Devon into bat Tbatting pitch scoring 260-1 off of their 40 overs. This which seemed to be a good decision as Devon score proved to be too much for Somerset, however a made 174-6 in their 40 overs. In reply Somerset 4th wicket stand of 50 between John Bean (28) and Joel started well with an opening stand of 58 between Harris (69) gave Somerset hope of reaching their target, Nicolas Viljeon and Rupert Baverstock, along with but the bowling attack of Wales proved to be too strong another mature innings of 43 from Joel Harris but and Somerset were bowled out for a respectable 215. they came up short by 8 runs. Somerset’s second game was away at Hampshire. Somerset won the toss and batted first against Somerset batted first and were bowled out for 99. Gloucestershire, and the batting innings told a similar Findlay Robertson giving the scoreboard some story. An early wicket partnership of 73 between Nicolas respectability by top scoring with 31 on his Somerset Viljeon and Will Creaser put Somerset in the driving debut. Hampshire probably thought they would cruise seat. Kian Roberts, playing up a year, also contributed to victory needing only 100 runs. But, this was not going with an expansive 34 before Somerset collapsed to to be the case. The tone was set by a blisteringly quick an under par 162. Somerset once again didn’t make opening spell by Jimmy Clark who finished with 1-8 off it easy for their opponents, with the wickets shared his 5 overs. This was then backed up by Joel Savage, between JT Langridge, Elliot Warner and Jimmy Clark, Eliot Warner and Henry Sanders who each picked up 2 Gloucestershire got home with 3 wickets to spare. wickets. Hampshire having been 68-2 found themselves losing 5 wickets for just 27 runs, still needing 5 for the Somerset lost their remaining 4 games with standout win. Despite these efforts, Hampshire reached their performances coming from John Bean with his 4-27 vs target 7 wickets down. This game saw a lot of fight Gloucestershire and Jimmy Clarks 3-33 vs Cornwall in shown by the lads, which is something that became a the final game of the season. theme as the season progressed. This season saw many hard-fought games as well as In a cricket season that will be remembered for its some outstanding individual performances. There was thrilling finishes, Somerset’s third game at Kings Bruton also noticeable improvement in the teams fielding, with school against Hampshire certainly fit into that mould. a special mention for Jimmy Clark who won the fielding Somerset batted first and with wickets falling at the competition for the season. All players involved should other end, one man stood firm and took responsibility feel proud of their efforts and improvements this year. for getting his team up to a competitive score. This ruthless display of batting was also his maiden century for Somerset which he got off the last ball of the innings and ending up on 100*, well batted Nicolas Viljeon. In reply, Hampshire looked comfortable at 31-0, before JT Langridge blew the top order away with 3 wickets in 2 overs. Somerset then turned the screw with spinners Joel Savage (2-25) and John Bean (2-32). However, a couple of gritty partnerships by Hampshire’s lower order meant that this fixture would once again go to the wire. Hampshire required just 8 runs with 2 wickets remaining, but JT Langridge once again turned the game on its head with a superb run out before taking the final wicket, courtesy of a full-length diving catch by Jimmy Clark. Next Somerset’s U13’s went to the Kings festival, an enjoyable week with its highs and lows. The first 3 days were tough, losing to Cambridge by 10 wickets Somerset Under 13 CC Northamptonshire by 62 runs and Shropshire by 90 runs. However, James Matravers playing a year group up Back row: Andy Payne, Findlay Robertson, Wilfred scored a well-constructed 55 against Northamptonshire. Everritt, Joel Harris, JT Langridge, Jimmy Clark, John Day 4 against Oxfordshire was a better day for Somerset. Bean, Henry Sanders, Will Creaser Somerset batted first and scored 285 thanks to Nicolas Viljeon, who scored a destructive 128, and Joel Harris Front row: Ryan Hearse, Alex Chaffey, Rupert with a pragmatic 53. With the wickets shared, Somerset Baverstock, Ged Williams-Pritchard, Elliot Warner, Joel restricted Oxfordshire to 208-9, winning the game by a Savage convincing 77 runs. Day 5 was cancelled due to weather.

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 83 Somerset Under 14’s in 2019 By Ant Hardwell and Piers McBride

his year’s Under 14s finished a respectable third post 194ao. In reply Cornwall were simply blown in the ECB County League, having played 8 away in 25.1 overs for just 75 runs. Harvey Evans Tmatches, winning 5 and losing 3. leading the wicket taking with 4-22. The season commenced at a not so sunny Knowle Moving in to August and it became 3 wins in 3 with CC for a rain interrupted match against Oxford. When Wiltshire the opponents. The home side elected the rain did relent a superb Josh Thomas innings to bat first and were 209 all out with Nathan Yarde of 106 off 91 balls, which included 13 x 4s and 4 x and Dhruv Parashar taking 3 wickets each. The reply 6s (including one into the nearby tennis club). He did not start well and at 14-4 all the previous hard was ably supported by Noah Davis (50) and a very work was in serious jeopardy however a magnificent competitive target of 234 in 34 overs) was set. In partnership of 142 between Davis Trego (84) and response Oxford struggled and a win by 42 runs Dhruv (72) eventually saw Somerset home by 3 ensued, Harvey Evans taking 4-33. wickets and nearly 10 overs to spare. Next came Hampshire and one that got away. And so to the final match and the local against Batting first a well crafted 61 from Jay Terry was Gloucestershire. Skipper Nathan Yarde won the toss the highlight plus a lively unbeaten 37 from wicket and elected to bat on a flat looking track and a warm keeper Alex Payne off just 42 balls saw the boys day. The opening 50 partnership of Josh Thomas (29) reach a below par 199 all out. In response Hampshire and Jay Terry (14) saw a steady start however wickets lost wickets at regular intervals with Josh Thomas fell regularly and cheaply with resistance from Davis taking 5-31including 2 stumpings from Payne. Trego (48) and Ollie Heard (28) the only highlight, the However a steady innings from the Hampshire fact that 10 overs were left when Somerset were all middle order saw them over the line and a win by 3 out for 195 tells its own story. As coaches you want to wickets. see fighting spirit particularly in adversity so to make Devon next and a win by 65 runs with the middle Gloucestershire bat for 45 overs to overhaul a small order engine room coming to the fore with Bobby target is credit to the team. Mulvey and Nicolas Viljoen hitting 30’s but the Highlights? Well the 100’s from Josh Thomas & honours went to Davis Trego with an excellent Dan Broome clearly stand out however, it was thumping 71 off of just 82 balls. In response Devon the collective team spirit across the group with a were never really in the game especially with number of U13’s players called up to cover injuries/ opening bowlers Jay Terry (7 ovs, 3 mdns, 1 wkt for promotion that will be the lasting highlight, a 8 runs) and James Burston (6ovs, 4 mdns, 1 wkt for 5 talented group of players who we would urge you to runs) in such miserly form. seek out and watch at Under 15 fixtures in 2020 An away day to the eventual league winners Berkshire followed. The loss of early wickets saw Somerset 54-4 at one point however a dogged/ determined partnership between James Burston (47) and U13’s J T Langridge (42) saw them put on 96 runs before the unnecessary run out of James saw the side then collapse to 178 all out. In reality that was never going to be enough and a 6 wicket defeat followed, bad day at the office. It’s the marker of a good side when the previous bad day is a distant memory as 7 days later saw a fantastic win by 71 runs against Dorset. The highest score of the season was put up by Somerset batting first of 283-6 with star of the show Daniel Broome promoted to opener with a licence to thrill…and he duly did with 112. Jay Terry (52) and Noah Davis (55) Somerset Under 14 CC also batted beautifully in support roles. Credit to the side as they were filled with a number of younger players who stepped up and bowled/fielded Back row: Alex Payne, Jay Terry, Davis Trego, very well Tom Stewart (3 wickets), JT Langridge (2 Ollie Heard, Leo Matthews, Daniel Broome, wickets). Dhruv Parashar, Ollie Harrison, Piers McBride The biggest win of the season came next away to Front row: Noah Davis, Rufus Williams-Pritchard, Cornwall, the very early start not putting anyone off Josh Thomas, Nathan Yarde, James Burston, seeing a win by 119 runs. Runs from Noah Davis (61), Will Windows Alex Payne (27), Will Windows (24) saw Somerset 84 Somerset County Cricket Club YOUTH Under 15’s Report 2019 By Andy Draper, Somerset Under 15’s Team Manager 2019

omerset U15’s started their 2019 ECB U15’s A quarter-final spot was secured in a 66 CRICKET Group league matches with a tense match run win against Berkshire. Lower order Sagainst Cornwall. Good contributions from contributions helped in setting the visitors the lower order to set Cornwall a target of 192 to a target of 202 to win following what, in win, which the team did by a margin of 8 runs, truth, was a batting performance where the spinners Callum Harvey (3 for 9 off 10 overs) and majority of the batsman contributed to their Max Horton (2 for 33 off 10) being the pick of the dismissals. In a repeat of other performances, bowlers. the bowling and fielding was outstanding, again Next was an away trip, and a much-improved led by the spinners; Harvey in particular with a performance, to Wiltshire. Somerset bowled and miserly spell. fielded well throughout to restrict the home side Progression beyond the quarter finals was to 221 at the end of their 50 overs, just as the rain unfortunately not to be against a strong Surrey started to fall. Despite losing a wicket from the team. In a rain affected match the home side first ball James Rew (101*) and Rishi Shimpi (81*) (Surrey) batted first, posting 226 for 6 off 36 overs. saw the team to a 9 wicket D/L win, with Rew Despite George Thomas’s impressive 96 off 79 completing his hundred while hitting the winning balls, only Rew (40) made double figures as the run. team were bowled out for 179. A batting collapse, from 82 for 1 to 105 all out, contributed to defeat in an away match to Overall the team enjoyed a decent season, Berkshire, however the team fought well in taking with some impressive individual contributions 8 wickets to make their opponents fight for at times. Obvious improvements were evident their win, with Josh Thomas taking 3 wickets for throughout the season, especially in their match Somerset. Batting again was the issue against a awareness and thinking in general. However, strong Gloucestershire side where the Somerset most pleasing of all was the way in which side hit a below par 147, their opponents winning they played their cricket and how well they comfortably by 7 wickets. represented Somerset. A return match against Cornwall at Perranporth saw some much-needed improvement by the team, led by an outstanding performance from the bowlers, which was backed up well in the field. Harvey and Horton were again the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3-13 and 2-25 respectively off their 10 overs each, restricting the hosts to 142 all out. The match was all over before the end of the 18th over as Charlie Sharland opened his shoulders with 96 off just 58 balls. Somerset also performed well in their next match at home to Wiltshire with wickets and runs shared throughout seeing them win by 7 wickets, chasing down 177 in the 27th over. Half-centuries from Rew (55) and Adam Roslee (64) helped the team to a score of 231 for 7 away Somerset Under 15 CC to Gloucestershire in their next match, which threatened to be more with 20 overs to go. Somerset hopes of victory were high following Back row: Rishi Shimpi, Josh Thomas, 2 early wickets from Jacob Brand, but it was not Shay Sainsbury, Aman Rao, Ben Chaffey, to be as the bowlers struggled to consistently Jack Harding, Jacob Brand, Andy Draper hit the right length and line and, with a number Front row: Michael McNee, Charlie Sharland, of uncharacteristic errors in the field, lost by 5 George Thomas, James Rew, Max Horton, wickets. Callum Harvey The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 85 Under 17’s Report 2019 By Matt Drakeley, Somerset Under 17’s Team Manager 2019

he fluctuating fortunes of the 2019 season all cricket that he has played to date. A turbulent and provided an opportunity for our young players to crazy finish meant that Somerset ran out of time to Tdemonstrate resilience, adaptability and evolving score the winning runs, but the chance for our young skill level in abundance. players to watch (and bat with) Smeed make a score of The first half of the season (in which One-day cricket that magnitude was a fantastic learning opportunity to is played), was no doubt a steep learning curve, for observe Smeed bat patiently and effectively while still what was a very young and inexperienced side. This looking to score in the longer form of the game. being said, there was significant improvement on show as the competition progressed and the growth and Captain, Tom Hall led a young side superbly all year. learning that was demonstrated by the players was Tom demonstrated an excellent manner in how evident. Charlie Sharland’s outstanding innings of 71 he competed, showed encouragement, patience, at Seaton CC was an excellent example of improving empathy and inclusivity with his team mates and grew temperament, exciting stroke play and salient shot substantially in his tactical development as the season selection. The running theme of the competition was progressed. that we failed to score highly enough to challenge the opposition and to create pressure with the ball or bat in My overriding thoughts of the season were that the hand. This was certainly not through lack of effort. players grew and developed the longer the season In contrast to white ball cricket the three-day cricket progressed. Will Smeed’s mammoth 243 has set a campaign saw a far more competitive outcome for our marker for out batsman to aspire to. Will’s inning was young players. the only hundred scored throughout the year, which A comprehensive victory over Devon was achieved. in essence was disappointing. With the capability of Devon were routed for 103 before Baird, Sharland, our batsman these type of standout performances are Rew, Hall all demonstrated high skill and smart game something I will be looking to see more of next season, plans to post a significant first innings score of 383. The experiences that the players gained in 2019 will Leonard with three wickets in each innings provided no doubt be valuable as almost all are available to the firepower in a 9 wicket win which served as a huge confidence booster to the players after a tricky one- play in the 2020 season. I’m positive that the players day cricket campaign. will evolve further over the winter and come back determined to improve on their performances. A hard fought loss against Hampshire followed. Resilience and fight was needed after a poor first innings score of 141 all out on a good pitch. However, the opportunity to bounce back provided some excellent learning that a poor session can really hinder the chances of winning in three-day cricket. Conway Gilbert bowled with explosive pace and blew away the Hampshire tail enders and Tom Halls second innings rear-guard action (scoring a composed 55 not out) failed to stop Hampshire from taking the winning spoils. A thrilling draw against Worcestershire was no doubt the game of the season. Worcester finished the game 8 wickets down and three runs short of a target of 342. With Worcester having been coasting to victory at 279- 2, the fightback and desire from the Somerset boys to stay in the game and keep competing was fantastic to witness. Four wickets from the reliable Max Toohey and an exciting u17s debut from 14-year-old spinning Somerset Under 17 CC all-rounder Josh Thomas (scoring 50 and taking 2 wickets) indicated some future promise to come in the Back row: Matt Drakeley, George Thomas, Charlie Somerset spin department. Sharland, Jack Harding, Alfie Ogborne, Ben Clarke, The final three-day game of the season was a drawn Tom Hall, Tom Brooks, James Rew, Jamie Baird, game against local rivals Gloucestershire, which Max Horton, Steve Snell Somerset dominated. Will Smeed, playing in his first game of the season scored a remarkable 243 and Front row: Scott Reed, William Chesterman, Finlay evidenced why he has been a significant run scorer in Yates, Ned Leonard, Oscar Samuel, Max Toohey 86 Somerset County Cricket Club YOUTH North Somerset Youth Cricket League Report 2019

By Steve Croucher, League Secretary CRICKET

eston Super Mare enjoyed a hugely who were unbeaten with Cheddar a close successful season in 2019 with both, second. Wtheir Under 13 Wizards and Under The Under 13 League was won by Weston 15 teams going unbeaten throughout the Wizards going unbeaten with Blagdon a close campaign. second. In addition Weston also won two cups and However in the Under 11 league it was Blagdon reached a Plate Final, all of which was pretty who took the honours forcing Weston into impressive I think you will agree. second place. Another fine achievement came from Blagdon Let’s hope for another great year of Youth Under 11’s who were also unbeaten in winning Cricket in 2020. the Under 11 League. The Under15 Final was between Weston Wizards and Cheddar, the Wizards winning by seven runs in a very close game. John Fleming top scored for Weston with 21 while Dexter Trego was excellent with the ball bowling four overs and taking one wicket for only nine runs. Weston did not have it all their own way however. Sam Tucker had a great game for Cheddar hitting 29 runs taking two catches and claiming three for 20. The Under 15 plate Final was between Backwell Weston super Mare under 13s Alice Bird Ryan Hearse Bobbi Lee Kingston Harvey Flax Bourton and Portishead. Richards Aadi Potdar Charlie Cunningham Jack Portishead ran out winners by seven wickets Trego Brad Fawcett Dexter Trego Harry Gadsten Joe Wild scored 28 for BFB, but Jack Jenkins took one for 11 and claimed two catches while Jackob Garret Hole starred with the bat making 44 not out. The Under13 final was between Weston Wizards and Long Ashton. Dexter Trego hit 30 and took two wickets for Weston while Daniel Lambert bowled very well for Long Ashton bowling four overs taking one for 13 including a maiden. In the Under 13 plate final Wrington played Weston Wonders, and Wrington proved to strong for their opponents . Monty Milne bowled three overs taking one for six, Charlie Read Weston super Mare under 15s bowled two overs including a maiden taking Top Davis Trego Holly McLaughlin Adam Whit one for two he also claimed a run out, Jake ock John Fleming Eoin Morgan Jake Richards and Sprouting top scored with 21. Morgan Roberts Bottom Lewis Richards Dexter Trego Ethan Carson and Ollie Price The Under 15 League was won by Weston

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 87 Bath and District Youth Cricket League By Jon Flagg, League Administrator and Honorary Secretary he 2019 BDYCL youth cricket season was played took a strong lead and published a fresh set of playing in the midst of the Cricket World Cup and in eager conditions for 2019. In the U11 age group, all 5 leagues Tanticipation of the forthcoming Ashes series later and the cup competition mandatorily adopted the new in the summer. pitch length. As cricket fanatics, I’m sure the memories of 2019 will We also piloted the Barrington Pairs format at the U13 live long in the memory of those of us that have been age group in 2018 and this was well received by the following cricket of all shapes and sizes for some time. clubs and players. We therefore took this forward in In terms of success, performance and profile, we 2019, again with great success and it appears to be a can expect little else and for pure entertainment and permanent fixture in our formats allowing those clubs the great spectacle, I’m sure we’ve rarely seen such without the depth of player numbers and talent to breath-taking moments, tension and remarkable skills. continue with high levels of fun and participation. With Outside of the national team, it shouldn’t be lost that so many competing sports and other activities, it seems our own county won a one-day trophy, attracted some unfair to provide a game where not everybody gets a of the most talented players in the T20 competition and chance to do something in reasonable measure – it fought “tooth and nail” but just fell short in the county may have been okay for the older generations but championship. I’m afraid (or really pleased) that the day of someone batting 11, and fielding only in the least important areas Apart from being entertained, for the youth of today, of the field and not getting to bowl just doesn’t fit into hopefully all of this inspires our kids of today to modern society’s expectations of something they continue to participate in cricket long into their lives, for want to do! If the game persists with that concept in those that have lost heart with the game, hopefully, it recreational cricket, it will be soon lost. will convince them to give it another go and for those yet to try the sport, create the desire to come along to Once again, we saw a good mix of winners of our all our great, local cricket clubs and see what it is all various leagues and trophies raising the silverware, about.. We can ask for little else in terms of inspiration with no specific club domination. That said, we must and encouragement so when those kids arrive, I’m sure recognise Bath Arrows in our U11 competitions, who our clubs will look to deliver a safe and fun experience. completed their third league and cup double in a row. As a result of all the above, I felt there was a certain In a season of great fun and enjoyment, the Roll of buzz around the game and the cricket grounds during Honour for the year was as follows:- the season, which was great. As ever, the BDYCL had a successful season due to the good, repeatable THE 2019 ROLL OF HONOUR organisation and plenty of fantastic volunteers and Cup clubs running through our game. Whilst we are not adverse to change, the formula appears to suit, so aside Under 11s Bath Arrows from minor adjustments, we trust in the “if it ain’t broke Under 13s Heytesbury & Sutton Veny don’t fix it” theory. Under 15s Winsley After many years we have arrived at a format that League provides the competitive edge in equal measure to the eagerness to participate. It provides the opportunity Under 11 - 11 a side Bath Arrows for the elite to play with their friends but also hone Under 11 - NW (8-a-side) Brislington A their skills and then provides the “everyday player” the Under 11 - NE (8-a-side) Biddestone I chance to thrive and also develop their skills. People Under 11 - SW (8-a-side) Purnell Panthers & Tims- (players and clubs) want to win but they also want to bury (Tied) play and we universally recognise that you can’t play without an opposition! Rules are important but to the Under 11 - SE (8-a-side) Trowbridge Boys great credit of our clubs, we know when to be flexible to Under 13 - Premier Lansdown A get the games on, whether that be accommodating an Under 13 - South Hinton Charterhouse older player, reducing players on each side or lending a player or two without detrimental impacts. Under 13 - North Bathford As to the rules, in 2018, we undertook a pilot of Under 13 - Pairs Trowbridge Girls the changing U11 rules in terms of pitch length (moving Under 15 - West Lansdown I from our 20 yards to 17 yards in the BDYCL) and knew Under 15 - East Winsley Boys of its success, so we were very pleased when the ECB

88 Somerset County Cricket Club YOUTH Taunton Deane reach both ECB National Club Under 13 and

Under 15 Finals CRICKET

aunton Deane Cricket Club won the Somerset In the National Finals at Rugby School on 12th Under 13 and Under 15 Boy’s County Cup August Taunton Deane Under 15s faced Burnopfield Tcompetitions, after both teams triumphed over CC from Durham in the semi-finals. Batting first the Lansdown in their respective county finals, hosted at side from the north east were restricted to 124 for Taunton Vale Sports Club. 7, thanks to a good all round bowling performance In the Under 13s final Taunton Deane won the toss and the highlights of which were from Rufus Williams- after putting Lansdown into bat thanks to bowlers Fin Pritchard who took 2 for 11 from his 4 overs and 2 for 18 Robertson who took four for 15 and Alex Chaffey with from Josh Thomas from his allotted overs. three for 12 the Bath based side were dismissed for 85. When Deane replied they got off to a great start thanks After some early setbacks Ged Williams-Pritchard with to 44 from Ben Chaffey and 17 by Aman Rao who 26 and Bryce Bedingfield who made 30 before he retired together added 41 for the first wicket. With 25 runs helped to see Deane home to victory in 10 overs. needed from as many balls Freddy Stevens and Rufus In the next round of the Vitality Under 13 National Williams-Pritchard kept their composure to see their side competition Taunton Deane travelled away to play home to victory by six wickets. against West Wilts. In a low scoring game on a damp wicket the hosts batted first and scored 89-9, in reply In the National Final the Deane faced Shenley Village, Taunton Deane Sabres were 87 all out, so lost by 2 runs. who had won the competition in 2013. The strong Hertfordshire side batted first and posted 159 from their In the Under 15 final Taunton Deane were asked to bat 20 overs. first by their Lansdown counterparts. Thanks to 54 retired from Charlie Sharland which came off just 15 balls with In response Deane were always slightly behind the five 4s and five 6s, along with 46 from Aman Rao and 23 asking rate and although Ben Chaffey with 23, Freddy from Josh Thomas, Deane posted 191 for nine off their Stevens 15, Harrison Hambly 14 and Taylor Flitton with an 20 overs. unbeaten 15 all batted well the Somerset side were all When Lansdown replied they were bowled out for 89 out for 100. giving Deane victory by 102 runs. Taunton Deane Youth Cricket Manager said: “It has been After being crowned the Somerset champions Deane a fantastic cup odyssey and one we can all cherish and Under 15s beat Devon champions Exeter to qualify for be proud of. We came up short in the final, but on a the regional finals. better day we may have gone all the way. Nevertheless, In the regional finals the Deane boys firstly defeated there are so many positives to be remembered from Thornbury before facing Welsh champions St Fagans Rugby School and all the previous rounds of the National who they beat by 44 runs. Cup.

Taunton Deane Under 15s Taunton Deane CC Under 13s

Back row: Keith Woodman (coach), Freddy Stevens, Back row: Theo Harlow, George Jarrett, Bryce Bedingfield, Will Baverstock, Max Johnson, Aman Rao, Josh Nelson, Fin Robertson, Will Taylor, Isaac Finch, Cole Willoughby, Harrison Hambl, Taylor Flitton and Ben Squire. Will Harvey, Luke Augustine and coach Gary Chaffey. Front row: Eddie Byrom SCCC who presented the Front row: Jacob Hall, Ged Williams-Pritchard, Rupert trophies, Rowan Keyte, Josh Thomas, Ben Chaffey, Charlie Baverstock, Alex Chaffey and Brogan Flitton. Sharland and Rufus Williams-Pritchard. The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 89 D.F.C.A Bristol Youth Cricket League Report 2019 By Jim Donaldson, Chairman DFCA B.Y.C.L. fter the excellent Summer of 2018, Following the guidance set out by the the weather in 2019 was generally ECB for altering the formats for the Apretty good, and the majority of younger age groups, the BYCL introduced matches were completed. ‘Pairs Cricket’ at under 11’s for the first We are very pleased to have again time. This ‘Super 8’ Competition was received excellent cooperation from the specifically aimed at the less experienced, B & D CA, who see the future of their and 21 Teams competed across the Clubs in a solid youth set up. The BAU&S season. This was the ‘pilot’, and really have again proved extremely helpful, in appointing Umpires to all of our League positive feedback means that we continue and Cup final matches. Steve Silk and the the ‘Super 8s’ in 2020. GCB work force have continued to provide The U9’s Annual Festivals involving a more opportunities for the majority of our total of 22 teams were held at Chipping Clubs who are Gloucestershire based, Sodbury and Lodway. Both Tournaments and I know that his Somerset counterpart were very much enjoyed, and are now Andy Fairbairn has been equally busy in part of a set Calendar of U9 Tournaments that area. in the area. Continued development of The K.O. Finals took place at Frampton the game at this age is so important for Cotterell where they successfully the future of the sport. Clubs must take managed the five Finals on the 14th July. the opportunity to encourage youngsters Bedminster beat Thornbury ‘Red’ in the Dave McCarthy U11 K.O. Cup. The Don through this age group and All Stars into Brooks Under 11 Challenge Cup, was cricket, otherwise the great work the GCB won by Coalpit Heath who beat Bristol and SCB are doing by coaching, and with YMCA ‘A’ in the Final. Bristol YMCA ‘A’ beat the Tournaments in Primary Schools will Winterbourne ‘Maroon’ in the U13 Frank be of little avail. Benner Cup. Thornbury beat Bristol in the The Autumn of 2019 has seen the DFCA Urban Windows U15 Cup, and Bedminster BYCL Indoor U12 League based on a 12 beat Thornbury in the David Allen K.O. U17 Cup. overs innings, ‘8-a-side’ matches with eight Teams battling it out each week The League Finals started at Frenchay on at the County Ground. Matches last one the 11th, and the Ray Baker U11 League Trophy was won by Frenchay ‘Heat’ who hour, and every team plays each Saturday beat Bristol YMCA ‘B’, and in doing so, culminating in Finals, totalling 9 matches. became the first ‘All Girls’ Team to win a The intention is to repeat the format after BYCL League Championship. Sadly, rain Christmas with another 8 Teams, and it then precluded further play, so the other has been very popular, with good learning three Finals took place the following experiences and some competitive week in better weather. In the Les Hodge cricket. In addition, this year DFCA has also U13 League Cup, Pak Bristolians beat introduced a similar format Competition Winterbourne. In the Joe Roden U15 for the U15 age group. This continues the League Cup Thornbury beat Bristol YMCA, ‘fight back’ against twelve month a year’ and in a terrifically competitive and tense Football by youth cricket! Colin Mitchell U17 League Final, YMCA beat Bedminster by 1 wicket off the Looking forward to a dry and productive penultimate ball. 2020 Season.

90 Somerset County Cricket Club YOUTH Taunton and District Youth Cricket League Report 2019

By Amanda Counsell - League Secretary CRICKET

he Taunton and District Youth Cricket League Andrews Griffins in the east division. continues to flourish across the county. This North Petherton and Taunton Deane Lions Tseason we had entries from 39 under 11 sides, 33 under 13s sides and 20 at under 15, an increase won the two under 15s 11 aside divisions whilst on 2018 as we welcomed new clubs and returning Crewkerne Crusaders took the LMS crown. clubs to the league. This is possibly due to the ECB Our Under 13 and under 15 cups were both won All Stars cricket initiative Clubs have been running by very strong sides from Taunton Deane, who for a few years and are now bearing fruit with had phenomenal success in the National Vitality youngsters moving on to hardball league cricket. Cup. The under 15s were the South West and The Taunton and District Youth Cricket league Wales regional winners and travelled to Rugby runs Barrington rules cricket at under 11 and 13, School where they were runners up. An amazing standard format 20 over matches at under 13 and achievement to end up as the second-best side 15s as well as the increasingly popular 8 a side Last out of the 1450 sides that entered in the whole Mans Stands league for clubs with smaller squads of youth players but whom wish to continue to country. offer age appropriate cricket as well as open age, The season was drawn to a close with our largest something that we will be looking at offering at ever attendance at our Presentation evening held under 13 as an option in 2020. at the county ground in early September. We were We also introduced the opportunity for clubs to delighted that this was attended by Max Waller ‘name’ their sides rather than using ‘A’ or ‘B’. This who presented our trophies and took part in a Q certainly proved popular and we had team names and A, answering some very probing questions raging from Hurricanes to Sapphires, to from Our Chairman Paul Bulbeck, and latterly Bears. spent time with our young cricketers and posed for The biggest growth this year was in the teams who photos. entered the under 11 divisions, which we split by region and strength. By doing this it ensures that Finally, the league is grateful for the continuing all young players played in challenging matches support of our sponsor Fullstop, Fire and Security appropriate to their ability. This was the second and to their CEO Doug Robertson. year of playing off 17 yards with shorter boundaries, and this has certainly improved the game for these youngsters. The pleasure is there to be seen as an under 11 hits their first four or six! West A was won by Taunton St Andrews and West B by Bagborough, whilst over in the east of the county, Taunton Deane Dynamos won the A division and Wembdon Wizards the B. The Under 11 cup was won by Taunton St Andrews . In the under 13s 8 a side Barrington divisions, twenty one teams took part with Taunton Deane Tornadoes, an all-female side winning the west division and in the east Wedmore Wolverines took Pictured at the Presentation Evening are the honours. representatives from winning clubs, and front row left to right Paul Bulbeck Chair, Max Waller The 11 aside under 13s leagues was won by SCCC and Simon Rudd, Treasurer Taunton Deane Sabres in the west and Taunton St The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 91 West of England Report 2019 By Clive Copp -WEPL Administrator

otterne became the first ever 2nd Xl from Gloucester and Corsham Wiltshire club to win the West of 2nd Xl and Avebury who finished second PEngland Premier League title, losing and third in Wiltshire with Great Bedwyn, just four matches to push Bath into the champions, unable to fulfil WEPL second place by a margin of 31 points. membership criteria. Bristol and Taunton St Andrews are the One challenge for a lot of WEPL clubs as sides relegated into Premier 2 after well as those throughout the Country has winning just five games apiece. been to adhere to the ECB conditions of Clubmark re-accreditation which is a Their places will be taken by Premier requirement for all clubs within Premier 2 sides, Taunton Deane who won Leagues. The move to maintaining all the Bristol/Somerset Division and club information online has seen many Chippenham who won the Gloucester/ clubs struggle with resources to adhere Wilts Division. to the ECB deadline of 31st October.” With both Premier 1 sides being I have attached a photo of the Potterne relegated to the Bristol/Somerset side of players celebrating after becoming the the pyramid, three teams were relegated first Wiltshire club to win the West of from Premier 2 Bristol/Somerset Division England Premier League title. with Taunton and Shapwick & Polden relegated to Level 3 Somerset Division and Keynsham relegated to Level 3 Bristol & North Somerset Division. On the other side of the pyramid, Trowbridge were relegated to Level 3 Wiltshire Division. The four Level 3 champions that are promoted are Frome, Bath 2nd Xl, Hatherley & Reddings and Marshfield. Eight Level 3 sides will return to their respective feeder leagues being Taunton Potterne CC Deane 2nd Xl, Yeovil, North Petherton, Back row: Tahir Afridi, Jack Bramwell, Frenchay, Timsbury, Purton, Hinton Dave Bromley ,Olly Jackson , Charterhouse and Tewkesbury to be Michael Ferreira, Graham Wiseman replaced by Taunton St Andrews 2nd Xl and Staplegrove from Somerset, Old Front row: Tom Cullen Sahan Wijeratne Bristolians/Westbury and Bristol YMCA Neil Clark Basil Akram Jake Goodwin from Bristol, Applerley and Thornbury 92 Somerset County Cricket Club YOUTH Monmouth Scientific - Somerset Cricket League Report 2019 By Ray Hancock, Hon. Secretary SCL CRICKET

he Somerset Cricket League found a new sponsor continued to manage the website using his unique in 2019 when Monmouth Scientific Ltd. became the skills to meet the challenges offered by the ECB’s T4th sponsor of the League since its inception in 1973. play-cricket website. The SCL is most grateful to David Pomeroy, Chairman and Drawing up the fixtures list continues to be a difficult founder of the Bridgwater based company for his decision job. Matching home & aways coupled with ground to support local cricket. Incidentally, David is also Chairman unavailability on some Saturdays has made it a of Middlezoy Cricket Club, so he knows what cricket means to the clubs and players in the County. time-consuming task. Furthermore, the low numbers of teams in division 8 N has required some imagination to give The Somerset Cricket League lost several teams including all 14 teams 18 fixtures! Kilve, Barrington, a Peasedown team and East Huntspill 1st XIs during and prior to the playing season. Barrington Properly qualified Club Welfare Officers has become a went out of existence at league level, while Kilve and East key issue in most sports organisations and cricket is no Huntspill decided to concentrate their resources by fielding exception. Safeguarding and protecting children in sport has single teams in the WSCL. At the time of writing this report become a key responsibility for all clubs and we in cricket it looks as though the SCL will comprise 106 teams in 2020 are very fortunate to have a team of experts based at Lords, with, Leigh on Mendip CC and Kilmington & Stourton CC en- Edgbaston and Loughborough University who are quick to tering additional teams. Three new teams have also joined respond to any concern. the SCL Stoke St. Gregory from the WSCL; Beaminster 2nd Bad language, dissent aimed at the officials and opponents, XI from the Dorset County League and TICCR Curry Rivel. misuse of social media sites, together with bad behav- Taunton St. Andrews 2nd XI and Staplegrove 1st XI will play iour often witnessed by the spectators, have again raised in Tier 3 of WEPL in 2020. The former won the J C Bail Trophy concerns amongst the Committee. It met last season and for the winners of the Premier Division of the SCL. TSA had held a disciplinary hearing for the first time in recent years. a comfortable 28-point margin over Staplegrove. Instead of In future, the Committee has resolved to take the strongest the usual promotion/relegation of two teams, the SCL re- possible action against individuals and clubs that exhibit ceived three teams from Tier 3 of WEPL (Somerset Division) bad behaviour. due to the anomalies in the make up in the WEPL divisions after promotion and relegation had taken place. The ‘knock- This year the League’s Dinner and Presentation Evening was on’ effect created a problem in the SCL as 3 teams were held for the first time at Wembdon Cricket Club. The Club also relegated from Divisions 1 & 2. However, the issue was did a magnificent job in hosting this event and we shall look resolved at Div. 3 level as that division was already depleted. forward to future years at this Bridgwater club for functions and meetings. This year the principal guest, Dom Bess was The 2019 Season’s winners were all represented at the joined by Matt Counsell, SCB and Management Committee, Presentation Night. Division 2 was won by Trull 1st XI; Lymp- in a ‘question and answer’ session before presenting the sham & Belvedere 1st XI took Division 3 and Castle Cary 1st trophies to the various winning recipients. XI were Division 4 winners. In Division 5, Taunton Deane 3rd XI emerged as winners while Divisions 6N & 6S were won by Butleigh 2nd XI and Fitzhead Crusaders respectively. In Divisions 7N & 7S the winners were Lympsham & Belvedere 2nd XI and South Petherton 2nd XI and the picture was completed with Lydford Sports 2nd XI and North Perrott 3rd XI winning Divisions 8N & 8S respectively. The Sunday Independent Cup, which is awarded for the highest points’ aggregate of all 11 divisions was won by Trull 1st XI for the second year running. The Ladbrokes Trophy for the ‘Club of the Year’ was won by Lympsham & Belvedere CC, while the Don Crouch Trophy, which is awarded for sportsmanship based on the scores recorded by their oppo- nents, was won by Huish & Langport 2nd XI. The Committee determines the Young Player of the Year and the best All Rounder. In 2019, the young player trophy was renamed “The Monmouth Scientific Cricket League – Young Player of the Year Trophy”. It awarded this new trophy to James Hawkesworth of Long Sutton CC and Kevin Curtis of Temple Cloud CC took the Glastonbury Mowers All Rounders Award. play-cricket.com continued to provide a huge range of Dom Bess presents the JC Bail trophy to cricket statistics, while also managing the registration and Josh Clatworthy from Taunton St Andrews results systems. The SCL was fortunate in that John Squirrell

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 93 West Somerset Cricket League Review of the 2019 Season. By David Wilson (Acting Secretary)

his was not the easiest of seasons. As with Buckland St Mary. In fact only 15 points separated leagues all over the country, more and the top 5 teams in that division. For Brompton Tmore games were cancelled because Ralph 1st XI, Rob Hake hit an astonishing 251 clubs were unable to raise a side. Well over 20 against Stoodleigh – and apparently apologized matches were called off for this reason, but even for getting out through loss of concentration! more worryingly, three sides folded. Fortunately, Champions of Division 5 by just 7 points were the now defunct Watchet, Stoke St Mary 2nd Stogumber 2nd XI, for whom James Rexworthy XI and Crowcombe 3rd XI will be replaced in starred in all departments, with the division’s best 2020 by teams from Wembdon, East Huntspill bowling average of 6.38, highest score of 123, and and West Monkton, to whom we extend a warm best bowling of 6-4. welcome. Numerous causes and remedies have been suggested, but there seems to be no Division 3 Champions were Stoke St Mary 1st consensus on any of them, and at the AGM there XI – a remarkable feat considering that they had was only one proposal for a rule change, and that to “borrow” so many players from the 2nd XI that concerned the allocation of points. the latter eventually had to fold. Winsford were runners-up, just 6 points ahead of Wiveliscombe Another worrying feature was the increasing 2nd XI. number of incidents in which rules on eligibility or discipline were broken, either because the The WSCL Cup Final proved rather one-sided: captains hadn’t read them, or because they Bishops Hull finished on 109-5, and Wiveliscombe decided that they knew better than the majority reached the target with the loss of just one wicket. of clubs who had voted for them. Scarcely a week The Hinkley Point final, however, could not have went by without a dispute, generally involving been closer, with Kilve (108-9) beating West the same handful of clubs. It’s a sad day when Monkton 2nd XI (107-8) by a single run. the volunteers who run the league welcome the We all hope that 2020 will see a similar standard of end of the season. On the other hand, the League cricket, a much improved standard of behaviour, Dinner at the County Ground was a great success, and a glut of new players to fill the gaps that despite the absence of Chairman Bob Bowyer threaten the very existence of some of our through bereavement. The friendly atmosphere member clubs. represented all that is best in the WSCL, and perhaps it was no coincidence that the majority of the troublemakers were conspicuous for their absence. On the plus side, there was some marvellous cricket, with some exciting climaxes to the season. Division One champions were West Monkton 1st XI by a single point from Wiveliscombe 1st XI. West Monkton actually did a double, as their 2nd XI won the 4th Division championship, 22 points ahead of Carhampton, and well ahead of the rest of the field. One of their bowlers, Karl Peatfield, recorded the best bowling figures in the entire league: 9-3- 9-8 against Huish Champflower. Back in Division West Monkton CC One, Bishops Hull’s Brad Lock took 8-23 against Stogumber 1st XI, who were relegated along with Top row: John Salter, Ashley Dingle, Jon Reeves, Churchinford. James Dingle, Will Ostler, Dave Baverstock Brompton Ralph were another club to do a Bottom row: Raneesh Devassy, Phillip Anning, double, as their 1st XI were runners-up to Over Samuel Wadham-Sharpe (C), Jack Turner, Dan Stowey 1st XI in Division 2, and their 2nd XI were Matthews runners-up in Division 5, a single point ahead of 94 Somerset County Cricket Club SCB Somerset Schools’ Cricket Association 2019 Report. By Chris Twort (Hon Secretary)

ECB - SOUTH & WEST REGION won by Wembdon St. George’s Primary School. James Rew, Charlie Sharland, George Thomas (all King’s ORGANISED BY THE SOMERSET CRICKET BOARD College) and Jack Harding (Taunton School) were the GIRLS’ CRICKET Somerset representatives for the Region in the 33rd U15 U13 Lady Taverners Competition - Castle School from Bunbury Festival, held this year at Felsted School in Essex. Taunton defeated Millfield Prep by 49 Runs in the County Joseph Eckland (Millfield School) was a standby reserve. Final, then went on to win at Regional level before being The South & West won all five matches (3 x 50 Over, 2 x crowned National champions at Lord’s in May. A fantastic T20) during the week – a unique achievement. achievement! James Rew and Charlie Sharland were selected to play for U15 - Queen’s College were County winners, defeating the combined South & West/London & East team against Castle School in the Final by 8 Wickets. a combined Midlands/North team in 50 Over and T20 matches at Loughborough at the end of August. In the Indoor Winter Competitions, results were – ESCA U15 National Competition (40 Overs) - Millfield U13 Boys - Beechen Cliff defeated Castle School by 5 School lost by just 15 runs to Marlborough College in Wickets. Round 3. U15 Boys - Haygrove School defeated Castle School by ESCA U15 National T20 Competition - King’s College, as 42 Runs. County winners, went out at the final Regional stage to Year 6 Girls Kwik Cricket - Nine schools competed in Bradfield College by the narrowest of margins – I run. Finals Day at Street Cricket Club. Group winners were St David English/Bunbury Cup U13 National Competition Stephen’s, St George’s and Somerset Bridge. St Stephen’s - Millfield Prep School did well to reach the National Final emerged as overall winners and went on to represent at Oakham School, but fell at the final hurdle to Prestfelde Somerset with great distinction at the Regional Finals. School (Shrewsbury) by 64 runs. Year 6 Kwik Cricket - Ten schools competed in Finals Day COUNTY CUP COMPETITIONS at Wembdon Cricket Club. In the Final, Bathwick St Mary defeated St Stephen’s. Under-15 : King’s College defeated Millfield by 9 Wickets (PoM George Thomas) Year 5 Kwik Cricket - Nine schools competed in Finals Day at Clevedon Cricket Club. Group winners were Chandag, Under-14 : King’s College defeated Beechen Cliff by 188 Swanmead and Enmore, with Chandag emerging as Runs (PoM Josh Thomas) overall winners. Under-13 : Millfield Prep defeated Taunton Prep by 7 Summer CHANCE TO COMPETE Results - Wickets (PoM Kian Roberts) U13 Girls : Castle School Under-12 : Taunton Prep defeated Queen’s College by 231 Runs (PoM Ben Mason) U15 Girls : Holyrood Academy The second year of the U13 Girls Hardball competition U13 Boys : Haygrove School saw an entry of ten schools and a win for King’s Hall over U15 Boys : Clevedon School Millfield Prep by just 2 runs in an exciting, well-contested Final. Player of the Match was Harriet Wrelton (King’s Hall). GRATEFUL THANKS are due, in particular, to King’s College, Taunton School, Millfield School, King’s School Bruton, North Perrott Cricket Club, Huish & Langport Cricket Club and Taunton Vale Sports Club for hosting County and Regional Finals. Also, to Terry Sterland, Richard Trott and Stuart Allbut for arranging Umpires for all the various Finals. Thanks are also due to Mike Ward (Vice-President) for his continued sponsorship of the Wylie Shield Competition. Also, to Alex Eckland at Trophy Solutions of Somerset for sponsoring the Player of the Match Awards in all the County Competitions. PRIMARY COMPETITIONS King’s Hall who won the Under 13 Girls Hardball ESCA U11 Hardball Competition - In the County Final, competition. Pictured: Harriet Wrelton (the trophy King’s Hall defeated Millfield Prep by 49 Runs. Player of she is holding is for ‘player of the match’ as voted the Match was Thomas Rew (King’s Hall). At the Regional for by the umpires and scorers from both schools), Finals, King’s Hall won through to the National Finals at Emily Ogle, Sophie Flatt, Josie Woodard (reserve), Oakham School where they finished a very creditable Elise Roberts, Hettie Chippendale, Lexie Wallace, sixth. Niamh Wait and Flo Delafield Cook on the floor. The County Plate Competition for the Wylie Shield was The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 95 The Mid Wessex Youth League 2019 By Rich Askew he Mid Wessex Cricket League provides league U10 East was tied between Chard and North Perrott, based friendly cricket to adults on Sundays and the West was also tied between Lydford and Yeovil. Ta mix of youth teams for clubs within a nominal Glastonbury won the U12 Cup and North Perrott won 20 mile radius of Yeovil in south Somerset. through in the Plate knock-out final. This year the Seniors saw a mix of a single league Looking towards next year there are options being in 40 over format, based on a one-game home or considered to include a T20 format competition for away fixture against each other, for the first half of Senior sides for at least some part of the season. We the season before splitting regionally for a ‘Super5’ have also received a bumper number of youth team competition producing a play-off final. applications which would indicate that cricket, at Queen Camel C.C. won four of their ‘Super10’ games, least in the younger age groups, is as popular a sport as did Broadwindsor, but narrowly pipped the trophy as ever. Having had an increase in U16 participation by means of a greater number of bonus points in in recent years we hope that clubs can maximise their games. It’s fair to say that there were a fair the retention of these players, run a team in the SCB few cancellations in the early part of the season as U19 T20 games and see the benefit of having these weather and player availability often played a part. players start to enjoy playing weekend league cricket in their clubs. In the West Division Long Sutton C.C. won all their games to qualify for the final, held at Warminster’s Minor County ground. In the East, Cranmore and Horningsham shared two win each with bonus points putting the former through. The final itself saw a somewhat one-sided affair, largely due to Cranmore’s Harry Veal who took 5 for 6 in just five overs to blast through Sutton’s line up after their own innings had amassed 233, largely thanks to a 25 ball 57 from J.Carol. Sutton never recovered, stuttering to 35 all out in reply. Ilminster CC Under 14 Plate Winners Senior cricket is a mix of competitive teams, some of whom don’t take part in Saturday games, while other Pictured: Saami Khan, Riley Millett, JT Langridge, teams take part to bring on younger players with a Joel Harris, Max Jaffe, James Treacher, Josh Lamb & view to them developing into their Saturday league Lachlan Rice players of the future. By far more numerous are the youth teams within the region, with some 60+ sides across four age groups. This year saw a change to the U14s and U16s with a reduction to 8-a-side, offering more opportunity to take part to the clubs in the league which don’t normally have access to large squads of players. Bridgwater were comfortable winners of the U16 Division, with Long Sutton winning the Cup competition. For the earlier age groups the teams are split regionally to try to minimise travelling where possible. U14 ‘A’ winners were Sparkford and the ‘B’ Division saw Compton House top the table. The U14 Ilminster CC Under 12 Plate Winners Cup winners were Ilminster. U12 East winners were Yeovil C.C. and Compton Pictured: Leo Rich, Zac Harris, Charlotte Lamb, House took the West title. Cup winners were Joseph Sainsbury, Sian Sainsbury - manager, Luke Sparkford. The U12 Plate competition was won by Theobald, Jack Smith , Lachlan Rice & James Ilminster. Treacher. 96 Somerset County Cricket Club Martin Berrill Sports Bristol & District League 2019 By Tony Hitch, Secretary

he 2019 season saw many games played The number of wides bowled in games was with the weather often disappointing very high as the leg side regulation bit hard. Tin the week, but much better at the Most weeks where there was e full programme weekend. of games saw in excess of 2000 being bowled! As in 2018 a large number of games were Individual awards presented at the dinner were cancelled due to player shortages and three won by: teams-Chew Magna Seconds, Grendel and Rob. Bailey (Stanton Drew)--1350 runs, Bitton Thirds withdrew during the season. With 17 divisions it is essential to have good Gareth Griffiths (OB/W)--46 wickets and administration and the B & D are fortunate in Matt Green (Winterbourne 2)-24 catches and this respect with more players offering their stumpings. services to keep the league running. Tony Pepworth sportsmanship shield This season the Senior Division was won by --Midsomer Norton Methodists Rod Honour Old Bristolians/Westbury who return to the umpires award--Colin Groves WEPL pyramid after a short sojourn in the B Club Officials Award--Russ Yandell & D. The runners up were Y.M.C.A. who have Over 50 player of the year--Kenny Earl Young achieved a long cherished promotion into Player of the year--Chris. Weare Service to the upper reaches of local cricket. These two Cricket--Phil. Thorn were replaced by Frenchay and Timsbury who The Annual Dinner and Presentation Evening returned to the B & D. was held at the BAWA Centre where a record Other divisional winners were Pak Bristolians, attendance of 350 were present. The guest Bath 3, Backwell/Flax Bourton, Twyford House speaker was Peter Trego (Somerset CCC) and 3, Winterbourne 3, Brislington 3, Whitchurch 2, he presented the awards to the numerous Keynsham 3, Dyrham and Hinton, Bristol New winners. Eleven, Bristol Eagles, Twyford House 3, Mells, Preparations are now underway for the 2020 Winterbourne 5, Midsomer Norton 3, & Blagdon season. The leagues have been organised 2. and fixtures prepared so let’s hope for good Two 20 over competitions were played in weather in 2020 and that full teams can be put midweek with the senior competition for the out by the 170 sides in the league. Tony Hitch Cup won by Bradley Stoke who defeated YMCA and the Junior competition for the Graham Bateman trophy won by Bristol Asians who defeated Pucklechurch. During the season there were four totals over 400 with Stanton Drew the highest with 487-5 and 52 totals over 300.The highest partnership was 369 between R.Bailey and M. Morris (Stanton Drew) and there were12 others over 200. The highest individual score was 227(24 x 4,14 x6) by K.Ford (Winterbourne 3) although it is worth noting that R. Bailey scored 2 double Stuart MacArthur (second right) receives the Bristol hundreds with a borrowed bat! & District League’s Senior Division trophy from The best bowling was 8-9 by C.Mavely (Bristol former Somerset all-rounder Pete Trego (second left) watched by sponsor Martin Berrill (far left) and Aces) and there were 9 bowlers who took 7 chairman Trevor Crouch (far right). wickets.

The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 97 Geoff Hope J Kingston Roger Harris Richard Wilding 2019 Ian Lock Brian Daw Anthony French Kenneth Knight Obituaries Christopher Martin Broker Seamark Keith Keyte (As of 5th November 2019) Tony Sutton Tony was elected to the Club’s General committee in 1991 Former Somerset CCC player and served for thirteen years, part of the time also sitting Michael Anthony (Tony) Sutton on the Management Committee. As a result of his loyal and considerable contribution to the Club he was awarded died peacefully at his home on Honorary Life Membership in 2012. June 28th 2019 at the age of 98. Tony died on 5th September 2019 and is survived by his wife Tony Sutton was born on 29th Celia, three children and two step-children. March 1921 in Weymouth and attended Ampleforth in North John Harris Yorkshire where he made a mark Former Somerset cricketer John in both the school cricket and Harris died on 28th March 2019 rugby teams. at the age of 83. When the Second World War John Henry Harris was born broke out Tony was involved with in Taunton on February 13th the D Day landings serving as a lieutenant with the Westminster 1936 and spent much of his Dragoons. Later he was awarded the Military Cross for his early life with his grandfather bravery and in 2016 was granted the Legion d’Honneur by the Harry Ferdinando, who at that French Government. time was Somerset’s Head He left the army at the end of hostilities and went up to Groundsman. Worcester College, Oxford, where he gained blues in both He went to live in south-east cricket and rugby, in addition to which he played as a second London when he was 12 years row forward for Richmond. old and it was while he was During his time at Oxford, Tony Sutton played in 18 first class there that he started to make his mark on the cricket scene. He was invited to Taunton for a two week trial and during this time matches taking 46 wickets at an average of 25.52. he was coached by Arthur Wellard, who encouraged John to On leaving Oxford he was articled to a firm of Bath solicitors change his bowling style from off spin to fast medium, which and once again immersed himself in the local sporting scene, resulted in him being taken onto the staff at the age of 15. playing rugby for Bath and Somerset and cricket for Lansdown. The following season a last minute injury to Jim Redman After having nets at the County Ground in Taunton in May led to John being drafted into the side for the match against 1948, Tony made one appearance for Somerset against Oxford Glamorgan at Swansea, making him the youngest ever player University at Bath later that year in which he scored 13 runs and to appear for the County at the age of 16. On his debut he took one wicket at an average of 44. opened the bowling and then contributed 18 to a ninth wicket When he qualified as a solicitor Tony moved to Teignmouth in partnership of 48 runs that he shared with Bertie Buse. South Devon where he worked for Tozers, going onto become a In 1954 John went off to do his National Service, during which partner in later years. he was based in York and played his club cricket in that area. He continued to play cricket regularly for South Devon Cricket On his return, John’s cricket was mainly with the Second XI, Club and in 1954 he appeared for Devon. Tony played cricket but in 1959 he enjoyed his best season for Somerset. That until he was nearly 60 in addition to which he was heavily year he played in seven First Class matches and claimed 12 involved with Teignmouth RFC where he served as Chairman wickets, which included his career best of three for 29 against and President of the club for many years. Worcestershire at the Imperial Ground in Bristol. Tony continued to live life to the full and the day before his At the end of April 1960 John left the County to take up an passing he met up at lunchtime with a group of friends at their appointment as groundsman and cricket coach at Framlingham ‘local’. College. During that time he played minor counties cricket for Suffolk. He then moved to Canterbury and became Head Tony’s wife predeceased him, but he is survived by three Groundsman at St Edmunds School and a cricket coach at Kent daughters, two sons, 15 grand children, and two great grand College. children. In 1966 John returned to the West Country when he joined Tony Lacey Sidmouth Cricket Club where he had a major involvement. At Anthony Clive Lacey was born in India on 9th July 1931 and one stage during the 1970s John was captain, groundsman, came to England following his father’s retirement from the opening bat, chief wicket-taker and even worked behind the Army in 1938. bar. He attended Prior Park School in Bath before completing his John was also a good footballer, and during the winters he National Service also in the Army and subsequently worked in regularly appeared in goal for Sidmouth AFC. London before moving back to Somerset to live in Glastonbury After leaving Sidmouth John became Head Groundsman at the in 1967. County Ground in Exeter for several years, during which time he His life long interest in cricket saw Tony join the Mid-Somerset started to umpire at Minor Counties level before going onto the Area Committee and he was a much liked and respected Area First Class list in 1983. Chairman for twenty years . He always tried to encourage John became one of the most respected umpires on the circuit people and never criticized in the knowledge that most people and for a period in the 1990s he was Chairman of the First Class were always trying to give of their best. Umpires Association. During the same period he was inspector 98 Somerset County Cricket Club OBITUARIES

Anthony Cornell Peter Eele Edward Pullen John Smith L Webber Paul Tiso T Dickinson Richard Hollaway Ann Wait John Harris Karen Statton John Vile Michael Sutton Peter Denney Viv Brewer Dennis Silk Peter Knapp of grounds for the Devon Cricket League. and briefly for the brewers Hall and Woodhouse, before In 2000 John retired from the First Class list having officiated in eventually pursuing a career in banking. nearly 600 First Class or List A matches. He always had an interest in umpiring and in 1976 Peter After his retirement, John devoted his time to running Drum was put on the Minor Counties list. Three years later he Kennels at Sidbury in Devon with his wife Morag, in addition to officiated in one first class match at Portsmouth before which he organized the Somerset Former Players Association being added to the list in 1981 where he remained until before handing over to David Gurr, and remained interested in 1984. the local cricket scene. In 1987 he was back on the reserve list and in 1989 and 1990 he Ken Palmer, who played alongside John on a number served on the first class umpires list. occasions in the 1950s, said: “John was in charge of the young In addition to his interest in cricket, Peter was also a keen golfer professionals when I first joined the Club and he was a great and was the assistant secretary at Taunton Vale Golf Club for a help to me. John had a nice action and I opened the bowling number of years. Latterly he enjoyed playing bowls and played with him for Somerset when he got his career best against his golf at Oake Manor Golf Club. Worcestershire. Former Somerset President Roy Kerslake who played “For several years John was the Chairman of the First Class alongside Peter on a number of occasions said: “Peter was a Umpires and over the years we umpired together in a lot of very fine keeper and a more than useful left hand bat. games. I always enjoyed his company and got to know him “He was unfortunate that his career coincided with Harold very well.” Stephenson so that Peter did not get as many first team calls as Peter Eele he deserved but he was an extremely good reserve.” Peter, who played cricket for Between 1958 and 65 Peter Eele played 54 first class matches Somerset CCC between 1958 for Somerset in which he scored 612 runs and claimed 106 and 1965 died at his home in dismissals, 87 catches and 19 stumpings. Wellington on 25th January 2019 at the age of 83. Dennis Silk Born and bred within a mile of Former Somerset cricketer the County Ground, in Taunton, Dennis Silk died at Langport on Peter was a wicket-keeper 19th June 2019 at the age of 87. and middle order left handed A schoolmaster by profession, batsman. He won a scholarship Dennis was one of the most to Taunton School where he successful amateurs to play for played for the first eleven for Somerset. Between 1956 and four years. 1960 the stylish right handed From a young age he caught the batsman played in 33 first class eye of Somerset and joined the games for the county scoring playing staff straight from school 1543 runs at an average of 33.54, which included a best of 106 , making his Second XI debut in 1955, when he finished fourth in not out against Glamorgan. the batting averages. Dennis was born in Eureka, California where his father worked was already well established as the regular as a priest and doctor on a Native American reservation, but Somerset ‘keeper, at that time, but when he sustained an injury when he was five his mother died and he went to live with his in 1958, Peter ably deputized playing in 17 matches, during grandmother in Primrose Hill. which he claimed 35 victims, 29 catches and six stumpings. His He was educated at Christ’s Hospital near Horsham from debut appearance was against Sussex at Taunton when he let where he gained a place at Cambridge University to read only three byes through in a combined innings total of 402. history. He was a talented all round sportsman and between In the match against Northamptonshire at Glastonbury that 1953 and 1955 Dennis won blues for cricket each year as well season he claimed eight catches in the game and scored 39 as winning his rugby blue and a half blue for rugby fives. On before being bowled by Frank Tyson- a feat Peter was proud of. graduating from Cambridge Dennis began a teaching career at Marlborough College. During the 1963 season Peter scored the only century of his career when he made an unbeaten 103 against the Pakistan It was during the school holidays when he was living with an Eaglets at Taunton. aunt at Kingston St Mary that he came to the attention of Bill Gresswell who was then president of SCCC who immediately First team appearances continued to be limited for the young invited him to play for Somerset. keeper but when Harold Stephenson eventually retired he stepped up and in 1964 played in all the first team games and It was to be the start of four highly enjoyable seasons of first claimed 48 victims 43 caught and five stumped. class cricket for the County playing alongside the likes of and Maurice Tremlett who took the young school master Despite his success Somerset engaged Geoff Clayton to under their wing. He opened the batting and as the team’s keep wicket for the 1965 season, at the end of which Peter ‘August expendable’, would often find himself fielding in the left the club and went off to play Minor County Cricket with firing line at short leg! considerable success for Devon. Outside of cricket Peter worked for a time for Whiteway’s Cider In his first season -1956, he was second in the Somerset batting averages with 325 at 36.11, in 1957 he topped the list with an The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 99 2019 Obituaries Continued

average of 40.46 from his nine matches. During his time with SWEB Brian worked in Plymouth, Bristol, The following year Dennis was fourth in the Somerset averages Weston super Mare and Taunton and it was when he moved to and after not being available in 1959 he returned in 1960 for the latter that he met his wife Sally, who he married in 1981. his swansong season in which he played in eight games and Away from work Brian was a county standard badminton player scored 401 runs to finish third in the county list behind Peter and for a number of years he was on the committee of the Wight and Graham Atkinson with an average of 36.45. Somerset County Badminton Association and served as their In 1963 Dennis strengthened his links with Somerset when he treasurer. married Diana (nee Milton) at Pitminster Church, with whom he He was also a more than useful golfer and played regularly at had four children. Taunton Vale Golf Club up until it closed in 2014. His highly successful teaching career took him from At the age of 49 in 2002, Brian took early retirement and from Marlborough to where he was Warden from that time he started to become increasingly involved with the 1968-1991. He did however still find time during the holidays to Taunton Area Committee of Somerset County Cricket Club. captain MCC tours to New Zealand and Canada. For the last ten years Brian had been the representative of the In addition to his work at Radley, Dennis also became very Taunton Area Committee on the General Committee, where he involved with the management side of cricket and served for took his duties very seriously and his comments were always two years as President of the MCC and chaired the TCCB from well presented and his views well respected. 1994 until 1996, as well as being involved with a number of Brian was a willing volunteer when needed and served on other committees. the Club sub-committee, which oversaw the financing of the Dennis wrote two books on the game he loved-Cricket (Hart Somerset Pavilion. In addition to this for several years he was Davis, 1964) and Attacking Cricket (Pelham, 1965). Secretary of the Harry Burden Trust Fund until he handed over In 1995 Dennis was made a CBE in the 1995 New Year’s a little while ago as a result of his deteriorating health. Honours List for services to cricket and education, in addition to Brian also served as the secretary for Keith Parsons Benefit which he succeeded as Governor of I Zingari, a Year committee in 2004. position he held until 2015. One of the highlights while Brian was on the SCCC General When Dennis retired from Radley he and Diana moved back to Committee was meeting and arranging a two- day timetable Somerset from where he regularly visited the County Ground for Sir , who was a life-long hero, during his time and kept a keen eye on the progress of his former county as in Taunton as a representative of the Tourist Board. well as attending the Former Players’ Annual Dinner. Former SCCC President Roy Kerslake who knew Brian well and Dennis reached out and touched so many people during the worked alongside him while he was a member of the General course of his life and will be very sadly missed by all who were Committee said: “Brian was a fine ambassador for the Club fortunate enough to have known him. and for many years he and his wife Sally rarely missed a day of any home game and until last summer together they attended Former Somerset President Roy Kerslake, who captained the majority of the Club’s away Championship and 50 over the county in 1968 has fond memories of Dennis, who was matches. responsible for him meeting his wife Lynn during the MCC tour to Canada. “He was very popular with opposition committees. He was also popular with members for whom he always had time for a chat “Dennis was the perfect gentleman in all that he did, both on and took on board their comments. and off the field. He had a great gift as a speaker and you never tired of listening to him.” “Brian was a kind and considerate man -one of natures true gentlemen - who will be sadly missed by everyone at the Club The former President added: “Dennis was one of those people who knew him.” who had the respect of everyone whatever he did, he just had that gift of a personality. You couldn’t meet a nicer person, you Brian is pictured with Sir Garfield Sobers. really couldn’t.” Vivian Brewer Dennis Silk is survived by his wife Diana, four children and 11 Somerset County Cricket Club grand children. lost a life long supporter and Brian Daw former general committee member when Vivian (Viv) Brian Daw a life long supporter Brewer passed away in of Somerset Cricket who was Musgrove Park Hospital on 22nd passionate about the Club died July 2019 at the age of 85. at home on March 6th 2019 at the age of 66. Born in Stogumber on 7th January 1934, Viv moved to the Brian was born at Musgrove White Horse public house in Park Hospital and attended Richard Huish Grammar School in the village during the Second Taunton. World War. He was educated at Upon leaving school Brian joined the South West Electricity Huish Grammar School in Taunton and travelled there daily by Board where he worked for over 30 years. steam train. Brian was always interested in numbers and early on in his time When he left school Viv went to work for his father in the with SWEB he trained to be an accountant at Newport College garage business in the village until 1952 when he joined the in South Wales. RAF for his National Service, much of which was spent in Egypt 100 Somerset County Cricket Club SCB

during the Suez Crisis. progress of the Academy players all the way through to the He returned to the village to work for his father and was later development of the Cooper Associates County Ground. joined by his brother Clive, latterly forming a very successful “Charles was of the opinion that Somerset was the best electrical business under the name of W.A.Brewer and Sons. club in the country, and he made it his mission to convince In 1962 he married Mary and moved into the house that they everyone that he met that this was the case. He took his role had built adjoining the Post Office in Crowcombe, which at the very seriously and took huge pride in how the County Club was time was the home and business of his mother. During their time there they had two children, Chris and Jayne. helping to develop the game from grass roots level through to the International arena. Somerset matches won’t be quite the In 1973 on his mother’s retirement Viv took over the running of same without him.” the Post Office. He joined the parish council and then in 1976 he became the ward member of the West Somerset District A memorial service was held in the King’s College Chapel in Council for Crowcombe and Stogumber and later went onto be Taunton that was attended by over 1200 people. elected as Chairman of the authority in both 1987 and 2000. Charles is survived by his wife Rebecca and their three children. Viv eventually retired from the council in 2008 having served the local authority for a total of 32 years. In later life he was Sheila Stedall awarded the title of Alderman for his services to the Council Sheila Stedall who was and the community. heavily involved with the initial Latterly Viv also acquired the Post Office at West Quantoxhead, establishment, and the running however when Mary passed away in 1986 he returned to of The Somerset Cricket concentrate on the business at Crowcombe. Museum for many years, passed A few months later Viv met Anita who became a very away on 17th October at the supportive friend that led to their marriage in 1988. age of 93. In later years Viv served as the Chairman of the Bridgwater and West Somerset Area Committee of Somerset CCC and his wife Sheila was born in Rainham in Anita undertook the post of Secretary Kent on 3rd June 1927 and in Charles Clark 1936 moved with her family to Purley. She enjoyed ice skating Charles Francis Burnett Clark, and ice dancing and as she grew who was the Chairman of Somerset County Cricket Club older went on to play tennis to a good level. from 2018-2019 passed away In 1947 she met her husband Tony and four years later the after a long illness on June 21st couple married. In 1955 their son Neil was born and the couple at the age of 59 years old. moved to live in Taunton, initially to Creech Castle then Corfe Charles was born and educated and eventually to Trull which became their family home. in Somerset and was a senior partner in Greenslade Taylor They always enjoyed cricket and later on her father also moved Hunt. He began serving on the to Taunton so he could be with the family. Committee in 2010 and became When the idea of creating the Somerset Cricket Museum was Chairman of the Club in January 2018. first proposed Tony was very much to the fore and became secretary of the initial committee and later the first curator. A life-long Somerset supporter, Charles, who was married to Rebecca Pow, the MP for Taunton Deane, commented that his Although Sheila had no official role she was always at Tony’s appointment to the role of Chairman was “a dream post”. During side and played a key part in helping the project come to that same speech he also recounted his first visit to Taunton to fruition. watch Somerset play. Sheila and Tony worked tirelessly in the initial stages to firstly “My father was an auctioneer in Taunton Market, and he create a building suitable to house the Somerset Cricket brought me across to my first ever game in July 1967,” he said. Museum and then set about collecting items to display, all of “We were playing Pakistan that day. That year my Grandfather which was done at minimal cost. gave me my first ever Wisden and I have got every year since then.” Tony Stedall served as curator of the Somerset Cricket Charles was present at Lord’s on May 25th to see Somerset win Museum from 1989 until 2006, and Sheila was always there the Royal London Cup and went onto the pitch to congratulate with him supporting and also working in her own right. the team. Away from cricket, Sheila’s passion was for her garden and One of his final appearances at the Cooper Associates County it was with great reluctance that she finally moved out of Ground was on Friday May 31st when the players returned the house she loved in Trull into the Manor Nursing Home in to the ground to celebrate their one-day trophy success and Bishops Hull where she died. meet supporters. Somerset President, Brian Rose said: “I knew Charles for a long The whole of the Somerset cricketing community is indebted time, and he was a Somerset man through and through. He to Sheila Stedall for all she did to ensure it’s heritage is retained took a huge interest in every element of the Club, from the for future generations to enjoy. The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 101 Somerset County Cricket Club 2020 1st XI Fixtures

Date Days Home Away Ground Comp Tue April 07 3 Somerset Cardiff MCCU CACG UNI Sun April 12 4 Somerset Warwickshire CACG CC 1 Sun April 19 4 Surrey Somerset Kia Oval CC 1 Sat April 25 4 Somerset Hampshire CACG CC 1 Fri May 01 4 Gloucestershire Somerset Bristol CC 1 Fri May 08 4 Somerset Northamptonshire CACG CC 1 Fri May 15 4 Lancashire Somerset Old Trafford CC 1 Fri May 22 4 Warwickshire Somerset Edgbaston CC 1 Fri May 22 4 England Lions West Indies CACG TOM 4 Fri May 29 1 Somerset Gloucestershire CACG T20 F Sun May 31 1 Essex Eagles Somerset Chelmsford T20 Wed June 03 1 Sussex Sharks Somerset Hove T20 F Fri June 05 1 Somerset Surrey CACG T20 F Sun June 07 1 Somerset Essex Eagles CACG T20 Fri June 12 1 Glamorgan Somerset Cardiff T20 F Sun June 14 4 Somerset Gloucestershire CACG CC 1 Thu June 18 1 Hampshire Somerset Ageas Bowl T20 F Fri June 19 1 Surrey Somerset Kia Oval T20 F Sun June 21 1 Somerset Middlesex CACG T20 Tue June 23 1 Somerset Hampshire CACG T20 Fri June 26 1 Somerset Kent Spitfires CACG T20 F Sun June 28 4 Kent Somerset Canterbury CC 1 Fri July 03 1 Kent Spitfires Somerset Canterbury T20 F Sun July 05 4 Essex Somerset Chelmsford CC 1 Fri July 10 1 Somerset Glamorgan CACG T20 F

102 SomersetSomerset County County Cricket Cricket Club Club SCCC SCCC 2019-2020

Date Days Home Away Ground Comp Sun July 12 1 Gloucestershire Somerset Bristol T20 Wed July 15 1 Cornwall Somerset Truro NC Fri July 17 1 Devon Somerset TBC NC Mon July 20 1 Warwickshire Somerset TBC 50L Sun July 26 1 Surrey Somerset Guildford 50L Tue July 28 1 Somerset Glamorgan CACG 50L Thu July 30 1 Somerset Derbyshire CACG 50L F Sun August 02 1 Welsh Fire Southern Brave CACG W100 Sun August 02 1 Northamptonshire Somerset 50L Leicestershire Tue August 04 1 Somerset CACG 50L F Foxes Fri August 07 1 Notts Outlaws Somerset Trent Bridge 50L Sun August 09 1 Somerset Yorkshire Vikings CACG 50L Thu August 13 1 TBC TBC TBC 50L QF F* Sun August 16 1 TBC TBC TBC 50L SF Tue August 18 1 TBC TBC TBC T20 QF F* Wed August 19 1 TBC TBC TBC T20 QF F* Thu August 20 1 TBC TBC TBC T20 QF F* Fri August 21 1 TBC TBC TBC T20 QF F* Sun August 23 4 Somerset Essex CACG CC 1 Sat August 29 4 Somerset Yorkshire CACG CC 1 Sat September 05 1 TBC TBC Edgbaston T20 Finals F Mon September 4 Somerset Surrey CACG CC 1 14 50L Sat September 19 1 TBC TBC Trent Bridge F Final Tue September 22 4 Hampshire Somerset Ageas Bowl CC 1 F = Floodlight F* = Floodlight TBC

*Fixtures correct at the time of going to press. The The 2019 2019 Almanac Almanac and and Season Season Review Review 103 SCB Information: Useful Addresses & Telephone Numbers

• ECB Somerset & South West Academy Director: Steve Snell Somerset County Cricket Club, The Cooper Associates County Ground, St. James Street, Taunton TA1 1JT. Tel: 01823 352266 • Somerset Association of Cricket Officials, SACO Secretary: Stuart Allbut 62 Parkfield Road, Taunton, Somerset, TAI 4SD. E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 01823 279918 / 07970 345 671 • Somerset Schools Cricket Secretary: Chris Twort 4 Turner Court, Priory Road, Wells, Somerset, BA5 1SU. Tel: 01458 837575 / 07885 213953 • Somerset Schools Chairman: Andy Curtis 11 Lethbridge Park, Bishops Lydeard, Taunton, TA4 3QU. Tel: 01823 430877

LEAGUE CONTACTS • Monmouth Scientific Someret League: Ray Hancock: [email protected] • Sports Bristol & District League: Martin Berrill Tony Hitch: [email protected] • West Somerset League: Bob Bowyer: [email protected] • West of England Premier League: Clive Copp: [email protected] • North Somerset Sunday League: Martin Peters: [email protected] • Mid Wessex League (Adult & Junior): Robin Barker: [email protected] • Taunton & District Youth League: Amanda Counsell: [email protected] • Bath & District Youth League: Jon Flagg: [email protected] • North Somerset Youth League: Stephen Croucher: [email protected] • Bristol Youth Cricket League: Jim Donaldson: [email protected] Winter Carvery EVERY SUNDAY 12-2pm

The Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton

1 course 13.50 2 courses 19.50 3 courses 24.50

[email protected] 01823 425301 The 2019 Almanac and Season Review 105 MMXIX