Somerset County Cricket Club are an English cricket club based in Taunton, Somerset. The club was founded in 1875 after a match between "Gentlemen of Somerset" and "Gentlemen of Devon" in Sidmouth, Devon. [1] Somerset played their first undisputed first-class cricket match in 1882 against Lancashire. After missing the first season of the official County Championship, Somerset was admitted for the second in 1891, and have participated in the competition ever since. [2] The club have played one-day cricket since its introduction to the English game in 1963, winning their first trophy in the 1979 Gillette Cup. [3] All players who have played in 100 first-class or List A cricket matches are listed below. Only four players have made over 100 appearances in Twenty20 cricket for Somerset, James Hildreth currently holds the record for the most matches in the format for the club, having made 205 appearances. [4]
Brian Langford holds the record for the greatest number of first-class appearances for Somerset. Between 1953 and 1974 the right-arm off break bowler played 504 times for the club. Only three other players have made more than 400 appearances for Somerset, and no-one has reached the milestone since Langford. [5] Jack White, one of the three, is the club's leading wicket-taker in first-class cricket, claiming 2,165 dismissals for the county between 1909 and 1937. [6] Harold Gimblett's tally of 21,142 first-class runs is the most by a Somerset cricketer, over 1,000 more than the next, Marcus Trescothick. [7]
Englishmen Peter Denning and Graham Rose, jointly hold the record for most List A appearances for Somerset, while Marcus Trescothick holds the record for the most runs in one-day cricket for Somerset, with 7,374 from his twenty-one years with the county. [8] Barbadian Hallam Moseley ranks as the top wicket-taker, claiming 309 wickets in one-day cricket, nine more than England Test cricketer Ian Botham. [9]
Ian Terence Botham, Baron Botham, is an English cricket commentator, member of the House of Lords, a former cricketer who has been chairman of Durham County Cricket Club since 2017 and charity fundraiser. Hailed as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game, Botham represented England in both Test and One-Day International cricket.
Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards is an Antiguan retired cricketer who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991. Batting generally at number three in a dominant West Indies side, Richards is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Richards helped win his team both the 1975 Cricket World Cup and the 1979 Cricket World Cup.
Marcus Edward Trescothick is an English former cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club, and represented England in 76 Test matches and 123 One Day Internationals. He was Somerset captain from 2010 to 2016 and temporary England captain for several Tests and ODIs. Since retirement he has commentated and coached at both county and international level.
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Somerset. Founded in 1875, Somerset was initially regarded as a minor county until official first-class status was acquired in 1895. Somerset has competed in the County Championship since 1891 and has subsequently played in every top-level domestic cricket competition in England. The club's limited overs team was formerly named the Somerset Sabres, but is now known only as Somerset.
Neil Alan Mallender is a former English cricketer. Born in Kirk Sandall, Yorkshire, Mallender was a right-arm fast-medium bowler and a right-hand lower order batsman who improved as his career progressed. He played first-class cricket in England for Northamptonshire and for Somerset (1987–1994). He also played for Otago, captaining the side in 1990–91 and 1991–92.
The County Ground, known for sponsorship reasons as Cooper Associates County Ground, is a cricket ground in Taunton, Somerset. It is the home of Somerset County Cricket Club, who have played there since 1882. The ground, which is located between Priory Bridge Road and St James Street, has a capacity of 8,500. The ground was originally built as part of a sports centre by Taunton Athletic Club in 1881, and became the home of the previously nomadic Somerset County Cricket Club soon after. Having leased the ground for ten years, the club bought the ground in 1896, under the guidance of club secretary Henry Murray-Anderdon. The ground ends are the River End to the north and the Marcus Trescothick Pavilion End to the south.
Mark Nicholas Lathwell is a former English cricketer who played in two Test matches in 1993. Lathwell played the entirety of his first-class cricket career for Somerset County Cricket Club.
James Charles Hildreth is a former English professional cricketer who played for Somerset County Cricket Club. He attended Millfield School, Somerset. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler. Hildreth represented England at all youth levels including the 2003–04 Under-19 World cup held in Bangladesh. He made his first-class debut in 2003 and became a regular member of the side from the start of the 2004 season. The James Hildreth Stand was opened by him at Somerset County Cricket Ground on 21 September 2022.
Graham Iefvion Burgess is a former first-class cricketer who made over 450 appearances for Somerset County Cricket Club between 1966 and 1980. A right-arm medium pace bowler and a right-handed lower middle-order hitter, Burgess is described by Cricinfo as "a good old-fashioned county professional". After his retirement from professional cricket, Burgess qualified as a first-class umpire, and stood in over 500 county cricket matches between 1990 and 2008, when he retired. He also umpired a number of international matches, including Youth Test matches, Youth One Day Internationals and Women's One Day Internationals.
Keith Francis Jennings played first-class and List A cricket for Somerset County Cricket Club from 1975 to 1981. He was a right-handed lower-order batsman and a right-arm medium pace bowler.
Somerset County Cricket Club competed in four domestic competitions during the 2009 English cricket season: the first division of the County Championship, the Friends Provident Trophy, the first division of the NatWest Pro40 League and the Twenty20 Cup. Through their performance in the Twenty20 Cup, the team qualified for the Champions League Twenty20. They enjoyed a successful season, but fell short of winning any competitions, prompting Director of Cricket Brian Rose to say "We've had enough of being cricket's nearly men."
The 2010 season saw Somerset County Cricket Club competing in three domestic competitions; the first division of the County Championship, the Clydesdale Bank 40 and the Friends Provident t20. They finished as runners-up in both the County Championship and the Friends Provident t20, and reached the final in the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition.
The 1979 Gillette Cup Final was a cricket match between Somerset County Cricket Club and Northamptonshire County Cricket Club played on 8 September 1979 at Lord's in London. It was the seventeenth final of the Gillette Cup, which had been the first English domestic knock-out competition between first-class sides. Northamptonshire had won the competition in 1976; Somerset were playing their second consecutive final, having lost to Sussex in 1978.
The 2011 season saw Somerset County Cricket Club competing in three domestic competitions; the first division of the County Championship in which despite being within a shout of winning the Championship with two games to go a lack of consistency cost them and they finished 4th, and reached the finals of both one day domestic competitions the Clydesdale Bank 40 and the Friends Life t20. While in international competitions they failed to make it past the group stage in the Caribbean Twenty20 but impressed in the Champions League Twenty20 reaching the semi-finals.
Somerset County Cricket Club competed in four competitions in the 1979 season: the first-class County Championship; and three limited overs competitions — the Gillette Cup, the John Player League and the Benson & Hedges Cup. The county fared well in the limited-overs competitions, winning both the Gillette Cup and the John Player League, but were ejected from the Benson & Hedges Cup when the TCCB ruled they had brought the game into disrepute after a declaration during a match against Worcestershire.
The 2005 Twenty20 Cup Final was a cricket match between Somerset County Cricket Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club played on 30 July 2005 at The Oval in London. It was the third final of the Twenty20 Cup, which was the first domestic Twenty20 competition between first-class sides. It was the first occasion on which either side had reached the final; Lancashire had reached the semi-finals in 2004, but for Somerset it was the first time they had progressed further than the group stage of the competition.
The 1978 Gillette Cup Final was a cricket match between Somerset County Cricket Club and Sussex County Cricket Club played on 2 September 1978 at Lord's in London. It was the sixteenth final of the Gillette Cup, which had been the first domestic tournament to pit first-class cricket sides against each other in a knock-out competition. This was Sussex's sixth appearance in the final, which they had previously won twice, while Somerset had lost in their only previous final.
The 2010 Twenty20 Cup Final, known for sponsorship purposes as the 2010 Friends Provident t20 Final, was a 20 overs-per-side cricket match between Hampshire County Cricket Club and Somerset County Cricket Club played on 14 August 2010 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. It was the eighth final of the Twenty20 Cup.