West country riches

Somerset & Gloucestershire head to Finals Day

It has been a glorious 48-hours for local cricket. Come Saturday, the M5 will be jam-packed in a way usually reserved for mid-summer changeover day as thousands of travellers bashing B5 7QU into the Sat Nav. West country accents will bounce off Birmingham New Street’s low ceilings, the station morphing into an echo-chamber of Wurzel excitement. The cider will, inevitably, run dry at Edgbaston.

While Cider Press’s main concern is the exploits of Somerset, it would be rude not to begin with talk of the Glosters. Perhaps it is a case of age bringing on some mellowing, but it was simply wonderful to see our local rivals flit Warwickshire aside with such ease on Friday night. There has been much pain up in Bristol in recent times, it was nice to see some temporary relief.

Gloucestershire teased their opponents, setting a gettable score. But with the ball and in the field, they were near faultless. That has been David Payne’s default setting for several years now. So good is he at defending, his teammates would back him to protect a nest of eggs from a flock of ravenous crows using only a matchstick.

The remaining parts of Gloucestershire’s bowling quintet weren’t bad either. It is rare to see just five bowlers used in modern T20, but when each knows their role and delivers, why turn to more?Ollie Price and Josh Shaw were just too good.

Some might take Gloucestershire lightly come Finals Day, what with their recent struggles on and off the field. That would be foolish because, in the same time it takes to grow a baby, Mark Alleyne has already turned them into a magnificent white-ball unit. Who’d have thunk it, eh?! These pages have previously eulogised about Gloucestershire’s qualities, and this is a gentle reminder: a lack of star dust is not, despite perceptions, necessarily a weakness.

Most glorious on Friday night though, was the passion, the pure, unadulterated euphoria flowing freely from those in situ in the Hollies. It was not, one suspects, the only thing free flowing during the evening. They had travelled in number from Bristol, from Gloucester, from all around the county, to support their boys. They were rewarded handsomely.

The following is not intended as a dig at franchise cricket, which has many virtues and enhances the global game in so many ways. It is simply a fact. What these pop-up teams lack, and will always lack, is real history and heart. There are man-made watering holes dug by JCBs, and there are natural reservoirs. Where do you prefer to drink?

No-one graduates through the academy or plays youth cricket for a franchise. They are not institutions that seep through the very soul of a community, a region. Defeat might bring a little disappointment, while victory some joy.  But for the majority, nothing will ever match the highs and lows that are intrinsically tied with supporting a local team.

The players feel that too, none more so perhaps than Payne and James Bracey who punched with gusto as they soaked up the applause. With a ball left, and - barring snookers - the match finished, Gloucestershire skipper Jack Taylor could barely hide his grin. He was bloody chuffed, and rightly so.

There were similar feelings for those who had, 24-hours prior, journeyed to Northampton. The road for a strong contingent of Somerset fans was long, wet and filled with anticipation. No slight on Northants, but the expectation was that they would be knocked out.  Defending champions, a team that can omit half-a-dozen players who would walk into most other sides, versus a team besieged by injury and absence.

The loss of leading run-scorer Matthew Breetzke on South Africa ‘A’ duty will have been particularly keenly felt, while the locals were still rouge in cheeks over the injury Ravi Bopara picked up during the Cayman Islands T10.

But this is T20. Anything can happen - particularly when David Willey is involved. And the fact that nothing did really happen, upset wise anyway, is credit to Lewis Gregory etc. al.

The evening commenced with the roll-off-the-tongue question ‘can Somerset make it back-to-back-to-back-to-back Finals Day appearances?’ It ended with an affirmative ‘yes’.

Travelling to Edgbaston with Somerset will be the lucky penguin dropped at Taunton by a young supporter, along with a home-made bracelet for her favourite player, Ben Green. Naturally, Greener, being the upstanding citizen he is, wore it without hesitation, bringing tears of happiness to the fan. That, in a nutshell, is county cricket.

What of the performance? Tom Banton is back batting at elite levels, but then we’ve known that for a few months now.  There is a fluidity to him when on song, and the 515 runs Banton has in the tournament to date is not far shy of his best return. His 2019 exploits earned him an international cap or three, and, even with England’s white ball depth, he cannot be far from returning. The only surprise was that Banton did not quite nail the 43rd ball of his knock and was caught on the boundary. Three figures beckoned with both hands.  

TKC, Gregory - where did that switch-scoop six come from?! - and Sean Dickson were superb with bat, while Craig Overton did Craig Overton things with the ball. Since 2021, Overton has taken 50 T20 wickets for Somerset at 21.16. His economy-rate? Just 7.55, and he claims a victim every 16.8 balls. Those figures are exceptional before you factor in that most of his overs come up top. Oh, and Overton has also held 41 catches. England’s loss is very much Somerset’s gain.

Speaking of England, how sad is it to see the country’s premier white-ball final stuffed between a couple of bi-lateral T20s? Very, very, sad. Sad for the players, sad for the supporters and sad for county cricket. Many top talents will be missing, including Riley Meredith on Australia duty.

Surprising? Absolutely not. And despite that, Saturday will be, as always, a magnificent occasion. Remember this: county is king, and the king is very much still drawing regular breath.

P.s. beating Gloucestershire in the Final? Yes, please.