If you haven’t read the Somerset Cricketers series yet, you have missed a treat. The prequel to the existing four volumes, Somerset Cricketers 1876-1890: The Rise to First-Class Status by Stephen Hill and Barry Phillips, is published later this month. If you haven’t ordered a copy of this limited signed edition the details of how to do so are at the foot of this article.
I’ve been lucky enough to get a sneak peek at parts of the book, if you enjoyed the characters from the County’s past documented in the previous books you are going to love this one. Steve Hill has been kind enough to give up some of his valuable time to write this wide-ranging look at Somerset cricket, past, present and, in the case of today’s game, immediate future. Here are his thoughts.
Let me declare my hand. I’m an incurable optimist. Since 1963, when I began watching Somerset, I’ve started each season believing that this is the year when, at long last, we’ll land the County Championship. I go into each match convinced that we’ll win it. I’m not sure the word ‘supporter’ adequately describes my relationship with Somerset cricket. I think of it as more akin to marriage. What began as a passion or obsession develops over the years into something so deep-rooted that it’s impossible to imagine life without someone or something that’s part of you. You take them as they are – in sickness and in health, in good times and bad – and you accept their foibles: they’re essentially the same one you first fell in love with. Over the last six years, it’s seemed even more like a marriage as I’ve immersed myself in writing the series of volumes on Somerset Cricketers. My wife was certainly of the view that she took second fiddle for the duration!
As my co-writer, Barry Phillips, and I found out during our research, the DNA of Somerset cricket hasn’t changed much in 145 years. They played like a one-day side, long before limited-overs cricket was conceived. From the outset, Somerset have conjured up the likes of Herbie Hewett, Sam Woods, Harold Gimblett, Arthur Wellard or Ian Botham. Dull cricket is anathema to the fans.
To my mind, Somerset have been the leading county for a couple of years now. Prior to that, they were there or thereabouts but they’d have required a bit of good fortune to have landed the County Championship. Conversely, over the last two seasons they were dogged by bad luck in the final match, defeated by the conditions rather than the opposition. Twice, Essex struck lucky. I like everything about the set-up at Taunton. There’s been an incredible production line of talent and that requires vision and commitment. There’s a real team spirit, and, in Tom Abell, the side has an outstanding leader. He was an inspired and inspiring choice. It’s not just that he takes responsibility with bat and ball and as a voluble and athletic fielder, but it’s the thoughtful things he does, too. Like handing the ball to Tom Lammonby as if to say: relax about your batting problems, Tom, because you’re a decent bowler, too; there’s more than one way to contribute. What better way to build up the confidence of a man who’s suffered a poor run of batting form? Craig Overton is a fantastic, charismatic all-rounder. If I were Joe Root, I’d be wanting to build the England team around him and Ben Stokes, certainly in English conditions. And I wouldn’t swap Steve Davies for any other keeper. Jack Leach would be worth his place in any side, of course. James Hildreth’s still a class act. Josh Davey’s an unsung hero ….. and so it goes on. I love the fact that they play with attacking intent. I understand the vulnerabilities. They play a risky game, motoring along at four-an-over, confident that at least one batsman is going to step up to the plate, particularly after the shine’s gone off the ball. We have a mouth-watering number of promising young batsmen and, yes, the coaching staff will be aware that, in truth, we have a dearth of genuine openers and a surfeit of middle-order batsmen. I don’t envy Jason Kerr and the others the difficult decisions they have to make.
I’m sure everyone knows that we lack a limpet-like batsman. Too much responsibility falls on Tom Abell to provide the glue at the top of the order. No doubt the club will have considered bringing in a grafter. Being a Cornishman and having a track record, Jake Libby would have been a perfect fit. I was disappointed we didn’t bring him back into the West Country fold, but we’ve already seen what happens when one of the up-and-coming stars can’t be guaranteed a regular place. I certainly wouldn’t want to lose any of Tom Banton, Tom Lammonby, George Bartlett or Lewis Goldsworthy. Lewis was a revelation to me, demonstrating once more that the coaching staff know far more than any of the armchair pundits. I watched that pull shot where he was in position early and the ball went to the boundary like a bullet fired from a gun and I thought: this young man has class. The Middlesex fielders seemed to be taken aback by it, too. Moments like that and Tom Banton’s catch put doubt in opponents’ minds. What about Tom B? I love the way he bats in the same ‘rangy’, ‘reachy’ way Kevin Pietersen did. It means he sometimes leaves a gap between bat and pad, which makes him vulnerable, as he demonstrated with his golden duck against Middlesex, but in the right hands – and I believe his are in the right hands – he’s surely going to rediscover his form. I’ve no doubt he’s learning something new with every success and failure and gleaning regular advice from the elder statesmen around him. The same goes for Tom L. Both of them are struggling in varying degrees from having been sussed by opposing teams. It happens to many players after their honeymoon period. Tom B will be back dominating bowlers in due course, but I wonder if he might be well served coming in in the middle order when the red ball is doing less. Would trying Lewis Goldsworthy at the top of the order alongside Tom L be worth risking? I ask that in the manner of a tentative question from someone who doesn’t know all the facts, rather than an unqualified pundit venturing a strident opinion. That right-left, short-tall combination can unsettle bowlers and I liked the look of Lewis’s technique and shot variety. Tom L looks as if he needs further help in dealing with the well-directed bouncer, but I like how he generally moves forward or back decisively, and I like the way he gathers his thoughts between each delivery. He’s making strides in knowing when not to play a shot, particularly when he’s planted his front foot forward.
The bowling still looks balanced, though I mourn the loss of Jamie Overton. I like Marchant de Lange’s approach to the game but, as well as bringing genuine pace, Jamie brought his skills as a batsman and fielder, too. As I’ve already said, Somerset have a jewel in Craig Overton. He really is an extraordinary talent: a force of nature on the cricket field, a man who can take a game by the scruff of its neck. Lewis Gregory has a happy knack of taking wickets and swings the ball like a boomerang in the right conditions. Josh Davy is worth his weight in gold and everyone knows how good a left-arm spinner Jack Leach is. What’s really impressed me, watching Jack this season, is the thought that goes into his bowling: not just knowing when to attack and when to defend, but also thinking about the bowler at the other end. There was one match – I can’t remember which one – where he was taking an inordinate amount of time between each delivery, not just wresting control from the batsmen, dictating the pace, but also allowing the quickies ample time to draw breath so that they could retain the stamina for an extra over or two. I liked that. I also look forward to someone like Ned Leonard, who seems like a great prospect, breaking into the first team at some point in the not-too-distant future.
What of Somerset’s chances in the match against Hampshire? To be honest, the last round of matches proved so unpredictable that I hesitate to venture a firm opinion beyond the fact that, as with every match, I expect Somerset to win! Last week’s events were bizarre. At one point it looked as if (with the exception of Kent, who were pitted against fellow strugglers, Glamorgan) all the lowly sides might topple all the high-fliers. Then some sort of normality descended, but you have to feel for Northants. Imagine how gutted we’d have all felt if Somerset had fallen one run short. That was cruel. Just two more runs and Northants would have been 16 points better off and Yorkshire 16 points in arrears.
At the start of the season, I said that Hampshire were the team likely to join us in the top two, so that gaining two wins against them to carry forward to the next phase would be our key aim. I thought that Hampshire, Essex and Somerset looked the most balanced sides in the competition as a whole. I’m not so sure now. Hampshire have faltered. Gloucestershire have surprised me with their resilience and the much-vaunted Surrey batting line-up has finally woken up from its slumbers.
So, how to approach things this time around? I’d happily accept, of course, whatever the management decide to do, because I have absolute faith in them. Assuming Lewis Gregory comes back in place of Jack Brooks, who should play at the Ageas Bowl? Surely Lewis Goldsworthy stays. Do you drop either of the Toms? I wouldn’t. I’d hang onto Tom L because he brings a different dimension to the bowling attack, too. What about Tom B? Will Hampshire prepare a decent batting track to ensure they don’t lose against Somerset? After their collapse last week, they probably will. So I’d keep Tom B and hope he finally makes hay. An hour or so at the crease and he could turn the game. I’ve already mentioned the thought of flipping the order and giving Tom B the chance to take the Hampshire bowling attack apart with a worn ball and asking Lewis Goldsworthy to open, but I’ll leave that for others to mull over. Including the extra batsman would mean that Marchant de Lange is on the sidelines. Between them, the bowlers selected (including a clutch of genuine all-rounders in that lot) are capable of taking the required twenty wickets and making enough runs to ensure victory. I’m grateful that I don’t have to make the various calls. I’ll leave that to those who know best. I’m optimistic – as I invariably am – that we’ll win. I’m also pretty confident that we’ll encounter the odd setback – as we invariably do – over the four days.
If you’re interested in finding out more, getting hold of a copy of this new book or any of its predecessors, your best bet is to email Barry at [email protected]. But “1876-1890” is going to be a collector’s item with only 110 signed copies being published so if I were you I’d email Barry today.
