Somerset Left Jet-lagged

The counties have been stunned by the success of the Twenty20 competition. At Somerset they have been inundated with unusual complaints 'I had to queue for my pint and my pie' or 'someone's sitting in my favorite seat'. Those are the sort of complaints that the counties can handle.

Already some county officials, so taken aback by the hordes, have been suggesting an overhaul of the domestic season so that more of these games can swell the coffers: maybe a two league system that could enable a minimum of eight games per county. This is precipitate. We should not lose sight that the longer one-day game is the nursery for international cricket and that however successful Twenty20 becomes it is international cricket and a successful England side that pays the bills.

The crowds flocked in (almost 5,000 of them) but I doubt that many of them went home happy. Twenty20 cricket will prosper only if the cricket is of high quality and competitive. No matter what the format a one-sided contest can be dull and tedious.

And it was horribly one-sided yesterday. Somerset were awful, jet-lagged, it seems, after their day-trip to Northampton on Friday. Gloucestershire won by 10 wickets with 9.4 overs to spare. Their target was a paltry 120 and Ian Harvey kept peppering the roof of the Ian Botham stand with sixes, whose velocity would have impressed Botham himself. Harvey sped to 75 from 34 balls. Many more games like this and the punters will feel short-changed.

We have established already that 150 is the par score in Twenty20; add a quotient for Taunton and 170 is acceptable. Somerset stuttered to 119 and that required a ninth-wicket partnership of 33 between Steffan Jones and Wes Durston. Martyn Ball with his off-spinners produced the most economical figures of the competition in his four overs, one for 11. At the time Somerset were concerned about batting out the overs.

The fourth over was a key one. It began with a six from Rob Turner to take the score to 32 for one. At the end of it Somerset were 33 for four. Turner was bowled, trying something ambitious, Keith Dutch edged to slip and Keith Parsons ran himself out. Once Jamie Cox, who has been in prime form, and Ian Blackwell, who hasn't, departed, Somerset were only scrambling for respectability. They never achieved it.

Gloucestershire remain the most niggardly of sides. No one has scored 140 against them yet. They remain unbeaten and Trent Bridge-bound on 19 July when the destination of the cup will be decided.

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