Somerset County Cricket Club

Somerset County Cricket Club is a county cricket club with headquarters at the County Cricket Ground, Taunton. First-class games are also played at Bath. Former grounds include Weston-super-Mare, Frome, Glastonbury, Wells and the Imperial Tobacco ground in south Bristol.

Related Topics:
County - Cricket - County Cricket Ground - Taunton - Bath - Weston-super-Mare - Frome - Glastonbury - Wells - Bristol

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Somerset were the first of the "new" counties to have enough fixtures against the established county teams to be considered as part of the County Championship, joining in 1891. In their second season, 1892, they finished third, but it was to be 66 years before they finished as high again. Bottom of the table a record 12 times (plus one shared wooden spoon), they enjoyed over many decades a reputation for cheerful inconsistency. Until the Second World War, the team regularly comprised a number of more or less talented amateurs and just a handful of professionals.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Famous names from the pre-First World War period included the England players Sammy Woods, Lionel Palairet and Leonard Braund, and the fast bowler Tom Richardson also played for the county after his retirement from Surrey. Between the wars, the west Somerset farmer Jack White played for England as an off-spinning all-rounder with some success; lesser international careers were enjoyed by the hard-hitting batsman Harold Gimblett, whose entry into first-class cricket was the stuff of legends, and by Arthur Wellard, fast bowler and a mighty smiter of sixes. The briefest Test match career of them all was "enjoyed" by Jack MacBryan, whose only game for England was the rain-ruined match against the South Africans in 1924, in which he neither batted nor fielded.

Related Topics:
Sammy Woods - Lionel Palairet - Leonard Braund - Tom Richardson - Surrey - Jack White - Off-spin - All-rounder - Harold Gimblett - Arthur Wellard - Test match - Jack MacBryan - The South Africans

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In postwar cricket, the happy-go-lucky Somerset attitude was no longer sustainable, and the side finished bottom of the Championship for four consecutive seasons from 1952. With the strong possibility of going out of business, drastic change was inevitable. Somerset recruited heavily from other countries, taking Colin McCool and Bill Alley from Australia, and from other counties. In 1958, the side again finished third, and this was repeated in 1963 and 1966.

Related Topics:
Colin McCool - Bill Alley

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Though three- and four-day success continues to elude the county, Somerset finally found the makings of a successful one-day team under the combative, inspirational captaincy of Yorkshireman Brian Close. A trio of world class stars, Viv Richards, Joel 'Big Bird' Garner and England's finest all-rounder since the war Ian Botham made the team, for the first time in its long history, a formidable trophy winning proposition.

Related Topics:
Brian Close - Viv Richards - Joel 'Big Bird' Garner - All-rounder - Ian Botham

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Under the captaincy of left handed opener Brian Rose, Somerset won their first ever silverware, taking the Gillette Cup and the Sunday League in 1979. The same captain won the renamed NatWest Trophy in 1983 although his reputation was somewhat tarnished by a controversial declaration in a one day Benson and Hedges zonal match against Worcestershire the following year to ensure qualification by run rate for the quarter final.

Related Topics:
Brian Rose - Gillette Cup - Sunday League - NatWest Trophy - Worcestershire

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

New captain Peter Roebuck caused huge controversy in the county when New Zealander Martin Crowe was preferred as overseas pro. Viv Richards and Joel Garner were sacked, despite proving themselves two of the most successful overseas players of modern times, and Ian Botham resigned in protest and moved to Worcestershire.

Related Topics:
Peter Roebuck - Martin Crowe - Worcestershire

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Success has been elusive in recent years, although New Zealand born Andy Caddick and opener Marcus Trescothick have proved major pillars of the England test team and overseas stars such as Jamie Cox have given sterling service for the club. But in July 2005 as perhaps a portent of better times to come the county was the surprise winner of the third Twenty20 Cup, beating Lancashire in the final at The Oval.

Related Topics:
Andy Caddick - Marcus Trescothick - England test team - Jamie Cox - Twenty20 Cup - Lancashire - The Oval

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~