By Grockle
September 25 2023

With one4 day game to go in the domestic season and nothing to play for other than a minor place change it may be time for an assessment of what we have and what we don't have with eyes on 2024.  Comments below are more than welcome

The 2023 Blast Champions end the season as a middle order Premier League Championship side with a large demand for its white ball players by the August stuff and a mediocre performance in the 50 over county competition given the drain by the 'franchise's for our players.  But where are we in terms of Championship objectives, strengths and weaknesses?

Somerset came into the 2023 season without any of their veteran triumvirate after the retirement of James Hildreth at the end of the 2022 season.  Trescothick, Trego and Hildreth were no more and it was time to ring the changes.  The entry of major players were to do that with Sean Dickson, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Cameron Bancroft taking up county colours and Matt Henry taking over from the Aussie batsman after the first month.  Peter Siddle was also returning to continue his work with Craig Overton who seemed to be out of the English eyeline for a while and therefore might be with the county for a prolonged period.  Jack Leach was also going to be about for the first part of the season so we had hopes of putting our red ball miseries behind us with a reset batting line-up including the up and coming Lewis Goldsworthy, James Rew, George Bartlett joining Tom Banton and Tom Lammonby fighting for front end red ball places.

Bowling wise we had a real 'international' attack with Scotland's Josh Davey finishing off the front end.  Sonny Baker was going to be out for most of the season with a re-occurance of the back injury but we were hoping for progress from Kasey Aldridge, Ned Leonard and Ben Green while Alfire Ogborne, JT Langridge and the Thomas brothers were on the edges and looking promising after appearances in the first and second teams.

The club stated that their first objective was the Championship - the elusive trophy.  They had signed people to that end and their focus was on it.  So off we went!!  The weather in late March and early April made the friendlies a bit of a non-event.  They also played havoc with a poorly prepared surface which was an embarassment during the early games with too much water in front of the CA pavilion and not enough grass on one side of the MT version.  Many were not sure our first game would be allowed to play on the surface but we survived that ignominy except for the first day of the season when play was called off 90 minutes before it was supposed to start.

Sean Dickson was installed with Tom Lammonby at the front of the innings with Cameron Bancroft coming in at 4 after Abell and before TKC at 5.  Rew took 6 with Gregory at 7, COve at 8, Davey 9 Siddle 10 and Jack 11.  It looked good but we thought it might take a bit of time to 'bed in'.  It didn't, The front was still fragile, Bancroft was underwhelming in the order and therefore TKC was out in the middle far too early with too much to do of a 'red ball' nature.  The only real batting success was the phenomenal early form of our young keeper who just could not stop making runs but usually with the tail.  We still left a lot for the bowling to do with too few runs in the first innings to work with far too often. 

At the end of April, the Bancroft experiment had not really worked and he went on his way in early May.  By then we'd drawn a rain affected game with Warwickshire, lost to Notts away, drawn a home fixture with Lancs including a hundred from James Rew at 19.  A home draw with Northants was followed by the same result in the return fixture with Lancs which was when we welcomed Matt Henry to the line-up.  He looked good immediately

But our new batting line-up wasn't pulling up any trees, George Bartlett came in and produced a century against Middlesex to bring us a win by an innings and then some. But the same issues were there - opening partnership fragility against the new ball and the middle order being put in front of pretty fresh new ball attacks on a regular basis.  We were probably already 'middle table' CC1 fodder - nothing looked all that different as Dickson struggled, Lammonby could not really get started and if he did he then went cheaply the moment he relaxed and usually below the half century. George was not consistent but then again he wasn't alone.  Tom Abell was trying to hold the top 5 together but he usually could only do that when the keeper came in.  James just kept being a red ball master, turning 50s in to hundreds almost every time and pulling the side back into games.  But on his own he couldn't win us games, just keep us in long enough for the bowling to get us to the final day and much needed draws.  We had a considerable amount to do by the end of phase 1 of the long format competition.

In between the glory that was the Blast, where all the pieces dropped into place and our white ball emphasis made us pretty much unbeatable, we had the odd CC game.  Craig Overton worked manfully with tendonitis and probably played in pain more than once.  The hamstring issue of last season had Josh in erratic form but Matt Henry was a real find and even when we lost Jack Leach  early for the season, we came up with a new spinner in Shoaib Bashir who stepped in and held up his end from the Essex game onwards, though we did not win that one.  By that time we had lost Peter Siddle to a hand injury that would eventually send him home and had started to ask Kasey Aldridge to step up 'to the plate' which he did, though more with the bat than the ball to be fair.

We got the middle order together with the bat against Notts with centuries from Bartlett and Rew and a bowling masterclass from Henry and Davey producing a nearly 400 run victory we desperately needed. However, consistency except for the man with the gloves was just not there.  What is more, the club priorities became pretty clear when we went into the next CC game versus Hampshire resting nearly all our main white ball Blast players for the up and coming Quarter Final at home v Notts.  Jack Brooks, Alfie Ogborne, Shoaib Bashir, Dom Bess (on loan) Kasey Aldridge plus bowling (slow at that) from Tom Lammonby and Andrew Umeed showed how much we prioritised the Championship.  A double century from our batting guy (again a reminder, he's 19) kept us in a game we almost won!  But the draw was more than was expected.  Lewis Goldsworthy was by this time out of the picture as a bat in the four day due to a difficult rib injury, Tom Banton was not being considered (we'd even used Steve Davis in a couple of early ones to see if that would provide stabillity) and we still had the same problem with bowlers falling by the wayside as we went on.

We managed a 9 wicket win in a very low scoring game at Northamptonshire. 8 from Overton and 70 odd from Dickson were the difference.  Surrey were less impressed and pushed us aside pretty easily by 10 wickets at the Oval.  Then the squad moved on to other things and we went into the 50 over for August as a different unit with Sean as skipper. 

We were not in the relegation section of the 4 day league when it resumed but we weren't going to push those at the top.  An erratic season had seen us do enough to survive but mostly because there were worse sides than us, not because we seemed to be improving in the batting stakes.  Even with the first batsman to 1000 first class in the season in James Rew during his first full season.  He was brilliant but partners were few and far between and never the same person twice.

After August the world returned to domestic cricket.  Matt Henry had left with our thanks and Neil Wagner had replaced him for the last three games.  COve was broken beyond 2023 repair, Josh Davey was struggling, Kasey Aldridge was no better, Jack Brooks was bowling out his contract before retirement (as announced after the Hampshire game) and doing that really well.  We had young injuries in our bowling back line.  The good news was that Lewis Goldsworthy had worked through his injury and was back to full fitness and Andy Umeed had been phenomenal in the 50 over games in the role we signed him for.  Solid boss batsman.  Meanwhile George had seen the writing on the wall and signed for Northants in 2024 - good luck to the man there is a very good batsman in there and he probably only needs a change to find it on a more regular basis - a kind of Eddie Byrom move.

We went to Hampshire with a limited bowling attack but the hope of a more solid batting order.  The questions of what the selectors had in mind continued when they picked Umeed (our specialist opener) but played him at 4 and went with the underperforming opening pair once again. Tom Banton did not get a look in because of a cited 'lack of long format form'.  Ben Green was favoured in the line-up. Lewis Gregory was in but struggled and the junior Lewis was not considered either.  Curiouser and curioser.  The weird thing was that TKC finally got his act together and produced a sensible and stable red ball innings.  It wasn't enough but it was a step in the right direction.  We lost by 185 runs after another very frugal first innings with only Umeed scoring much to write home about.

So on to Kent at Taunton with little to write home about and the need for bonus points to make us mathematically safe.  Kent seemed demoralised and the weather was never going to make the game more than a 3 day affair at best.  A weak Kent bowling attack and a Somerset batting line-up that had to be re-organised because of Dickson's parental duty absence.  Would Umeed open?  Nope Tom Abell  moved up but at least Lewis Goldsworthy came in at 3.  Tom Banton was in at 7...ish.   We batted first and we batted well.  The skipper didn't stay long but long enough and then Tom Lammonby get into his stride - full flowing and that same batsman we saw in 2020, reaching a good three figures.  Lewis Goldsworthy also showed what we had been missing with a hard worked century and a decent partnership with first Andy Umeed and then TKC (who smacked a 30 ball 60 before the rain and light said enough).  400 plus and loads of batting points before the bowlers got something out of the place and skittled them out for under the follow on score, put them back in but without time to do it twice.  The attack did well though it lookied fragile with Tom Abell leading the second innings attack as Lewis Gregory flagged again and Josh looked like he might have a twinge.  A draw but with lots of bonus points (7).  Safe but nothing really moved forward in our quest for that Championship line-up.

So where are we?  We have the makings of a batting line-up.  Is it a four day one?  Well on its day it can be, if it is in the right order and hits its 'straps' early.  Our red ball men Lewis Goldsworthy, James Rew and Andrew Umeed have had a go but probably only one of them is in the right place.  James may have to come up the order from 5 and Andy may have to open though they do seem to have a fear of him with the new ball (though who else has played it well). With Tom Abell they are probably four of our best top 6.  Sean Dickson is a conundrum - a more thoughtful white ball player who settles into his role rather than tries to bludgeon himself forward but who has yet to settle into a space in the red ball version of the game for us.  Is he an opener?  Results tend to say no but we keep insisting on playing him there even though he has been more successful in other formats in the middle order. 

So is our choice and insistence on Tom Lammonby as the number 2 going to continue?  Well he has been in that position for most of 2 seasons now but still hasn't made it his own.  The century last week has not cemented that place but at least should have improved his confidence that he can play there.  George Bartlett jumped to Northants before he was pushed because we didn't have faith in his ability to produce runs, even though he had produced more than the man we do have faith in.  What of Tom Banton who certainly worked at his red ball batting for most of an early 2022 season, hit a century in his last outing and hasn't been given a look in since, even though he does open for us in our trophy winning T20 side.  What of him?  Is there a role for him in our 4 day setup?  Does he need to go elsewhere to find a seat?

TKC seems to be looking more stable further down the order, though that may be because he simply comes in later given our penchant for being 50 for 3 or more.  He has picked up a glance from the England 50 over selectors as a late injury/rest replacement but he will want to be considered.  Is he top six? Really?  Competition is a good thing but how do we keep them all hungry but committed while creating a far more stable front 5?  Maybe moving Rew up but sharing the glove duties is a way to do it?  Do we need another batsman? Is Umeed, Lammonby, Dickson, Abell, Rew, Goldsworthy, Banton, TKC (in no particular order) our stable for a front order in the 2024 Championship?

Bowling wise we have other issues.  Our young crop of bowlers is either injured or hasn't come through the season looking all that exciting.  Baker and Ogborne have had almost no season.  Leonard and Langridge have not exactly been knocking down stumps with any regularity in their appearances.  The slightly older Aldridge has not pushed on in the way that was hoped, a number of people have mentioned he seems to have gone backwards from the spells of penetration he was showing at the end of the 2022 season.  He has been more significant as a tail end batsman than a destructive bowler in 2023.  Ben Green had an excellent T20 with the ball but has had limited time in the longer format but he may well be ahead of his younger team mate now in consideration.   Our older and first team go to bowlers have all been struggling with injury.  Overton's on going tendonitis has hampered him and his consistency has been really good taking it into account.  When he's been there he's been excellent but we have had to rest him and now he has back issues.  Josh Davey has been fighting a lack of fitness all season - these hamstrings are a worry going forward.   A full involvement of Lewis Gregory for a whole season seems to be a non starter these days.  He has clearly struggled in the later games or when the load we have asked him tro carry has been considerable.  Jack Leach has been out for 85% of the season and Shoaib Bashir needs to be mentioned as the man who came in and carried that particular load.  He has things to learn but he has certainly not been a problem in the spiin department.

We need some bowling resources.  Matt Henry was the difference between a bad year and an OK year in the bowling department. A brilliant signing in many ways - can we have himi back?   Neil Wagner has had only three games to show anything and it isn't enough. 

It seems clear that we cannot rely on a season of Overton, Davey, Leach and one other main man on a regular basis any more, we have to manage what we have.  It is unlikely that our Academy will provide replacements so we may have to invest in the domestic market and pick good internationals who can give us more than a handful of games at the front or back end of the season.  This may mean we have to use our funds for that and work with the batting line-up we have.

Some planning, training and intelligent signing is needed.  We can't keep going for seamers over 35 in the hope they have a couple of season left in them.  We need to invest long term in wicket takers to shoulder the burden and we need them for the majority of a season.. We also need batsmen who can get us past 300 consistently not over 400 a couple of times and under 200 for the rest of the season.  An opening partnership is always the key in both disciplines and if we can get that right we may just be able to go one better than second.  But it's like platting fog and neither are easy to find or grow.