Somerset’s Alive!

Somerset CCC’s T20 Blast run brings ‘euphoria and positivity’ to region

‘Players and staff relish the emotional connectivity with fans’

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Somerset County Cricket Club have been blazing a trail in the Vitality T20 Blast this season, breaking records in the process as they smashed their way to the Finals Day at Edgbaston.

The success of the team has brought happiness and pride to cricket fans all across the South West and they are hoping to go one step further than losing in the semi-finals, like they did last year.

Having won the title in 2005 and been runners-up a record-breaking four times, Somerset are hoping to turn on the gas against Surrey before a potential final against current T20 Blast holders, Hampshire, or Essex who the ‘Blackbirds’ beat during the group phase.

Somerset CCC Director of Cricket, Andy Hurry, has told Somerset’s Alive! about how the club has connected with the region during their run to the Finals Day and how so many people have invested in the way the team has played to get there.

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Hurry said: “It’s fantastic isn’t it! The connection the club has got with the local community and the community across the South West, I think everyone is enjoying the ride at the moment and enjoying the good feeling that cricket has given the whole community.”

Once again, sport can bring harmony to a number of people and Hurry was quick to recognise that, saying: “One thing that sport does is that it has the opportunity to bring people together.”

The current Ashes series, in which England are clawing their way back against test champions Australia, has brought a huge buzz to the sport and Hurry believes that this is helping the domestic game.

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Hurry continued: “There has been lots of conversations about cricket, lots of viewpoints and debates around The Ashes and there’s no doubt that has been an incredibly exciting series that has kept us right on the edge of our seats.

“On the back of that, going on concurrently, has been the T20 Blast and we have been on an amazing run, setting a new record of victories within that competition and playing some really exciting and dynamic cricket and one thing I love about Somerset County Cricket Club is the connection it has with not only Taunton and Somerset but across the whole South West community.”

Hurry went on to explain, saying: “It is like an extended family in that people live through the highs and the lows of winning, losing, dominating parts of the game and getting dominated by other teams in parts of games – people really live it.

“People talk about it all the time and has a view and an opinion because they really care about it.

“When the team does well, everybody is on the same wave and enjoying the euphoria of the positivity that sport can give everybody and it is fantastic to be involved with and there is no doubt that players and the staff here at the club really relish that emotional connectivity that cricket has within the community.”

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Turning his attention to the Finals Day, Hurry said that Somerset need to continue with the belief they have gained during the T20 competition so far, where they created a new record for number of wins before the knockout stages.

Hurry said: “Momentum in sport is a really important thing and the momentum we got from the Championship game at Middlesex going into the T20 definitely put everyone into a positive mindset to start that T20 campaign off in and then, obviously, winning games of cricket builds more and more confidence and more belief and the style in which you win a cricket game gives you even more confidence.

“There were a couple of examples through the group stage of the T20 Blast where we were under a lot of pressure where we were behind the eight ball but found a way to win and again, that gives another layer of confidence and belief.

“We had a very challenging game against Essex, in the middle of the T20 Blast and had another positive outcome against Notts in the group stage – the confidence and belief does rub off.”

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Hurry believes that the England’s test team’s approach to the game, the much lauded ‘Bazball’, is rubbing off with the county teams.

He told Somerset’s Alive!: “The way England are playing their test cricket I suggest is having some sort of influence on domestic Championship cricket but we have to play to the strengths we have and we are always looking to put the opposition under pressure, whether that is us as a batting team trying to put the pressure back on the bowlers or when we have the ball in the hand, trying to get the ball in really challenging areas to force the opposition to do something different.”

There is a lot of positivity surrounding Somerset CCC at the moment and after weeks of packed out crowds, Hurry acklnowledges that the teams connection to the region couldn’t be stronger.

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He said: “I think cricket at a whole is in a really good space and people in the South West, Somerset and Taunton are really riding that wave of Ashes cricket, the performances in the Championship and, obviously, the performances in the T20 Blast.”

With Finals Day in mind, Hurry said that there are a couple of important notes to take from previous performances and the strength of character used so far as the foundation to success.

He concluded: “We have to take the confidence from the group stages and quarter final and the individual performances and the collective performance.

“It is about recognising the ability to dominate teams and to bounce back when under pressure from opposition teams.”

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