Oh dear. If I was distraught after losing the County Championship, I was turning the air blue at the TV on Saturday. From a position of strength and with the batsmen ready to inflict real damage on Warwickshire, Somerset lost their last 7 wickets for 20-odd runs to be shot out for 199.
It was sparked by a desperately bad run out of Hildreth by Compton though it ought to be acknowledged that the pair had been sprinting themselves into the ground with a clever display of running between the wickets, turning ones into twos. One sharply taken single too many precipitated the collapse that would ensure no silverware ended up at Taunton in 2011.
Perhaps the most galling aspect, doubtlessly for the players and management as well as for despairing fans, was the fact that despite this disasterous collapse, Somerset were still in the game up until the penultimate over of the match.
Mark Turner’s last over for Somerset turned out to be vintage, car-crash television which I watched with my future in-laws whilst biting my lip after each half tracker was belted by Ian bell to the fence, anxiously trying not to scream abuse at the beleaguered player.
It seemed an odd selection given Somerset were not renewing Turner’s contract and he was soon to join Derbyshire. Willoughby, admittedly not the most economic of one-day bowlers but certainly not bereft of nous, would have surely made a better bet.
That over by Turner which went for 20 was dug in short when the situation cried out for full and straight. Pressure does funny things but with Ian Bell failing to be there at the end, a last over chase of 10 runs would have made for cracking viewing.
If only…well, the best season in Somerset’s history, despite not winning anything, is now over. It might sound odd that. Surely it was actually a terrible failure to come so close three times and end up with nothing?
Not a chance. The squad played aggressive cricket all summer, missed out on two trophies by the smallest margin it is possible to lose by so a hearty dose of sympathy ought to be on offer.
The 2011 squad stands to be much the same with that triple-trophy gazumping surely a massive incentive to break their trophy hiatus next year.
