Somerset would be hard-pressed to have scripted a better send-off for outgoing head coach Jeff Richardson than the massive 226-run victory performed at this year’s Cup Match spectacular.
The result, which marked the 42nd win for the west end club, was Richardson’s seventh against zero defeats since taking over the reins in 2012, the year Somerset reclaimed the sport’s holy grail.
After this year’s cricket season, Richardson is set to turn over the reins to Janeiro Tucker, who has enjoyed a significant share of Cup Match success as a player.
Tucker stands as the event’s leading run scorer, has the highest individual score [186] and has recorded the most centuries [four] among other notable classic achievements.
TNN’s Trevor Lindsay was able to chat with the pair of Cup Match legends at the end of play on Friday regarding the impending passing of the torch, with Richardson noting that he will be available to lend his expertise to his successor.
“What I will say to you now is that I am not going away entirely,” explained Richardson, also a former player in the midsummer classic. “I’m going to be there for Janeiro whenever he needs me.
“I will always be there for this team.”
Asked if he believed himself ready to step into the massive shoes to be left by Richardson, Tucker was modest in his reply despite his boasting the moniker ‘Mr Cup Match’.
“I believe I’m ready, but I also have a lot of support,” said Tucker, who left Southampton Rangers in 2023 to tutor under Richardson further west. “It’s not just me.
“If I need any advice Jeff is always there and one thing about me is that I’m never afraid to ask for advice. I don’t know everything. As a young coach, I’m still learning and I want to learn more.”
Asked if he at all feared taking over away from the friendly confines at Somerset, Tucker admitted it would likely prove a difficult task, with proper, preparation key to any success, factors he would look to employ.
“Going down to St George’s is a difficult task any day,” he said. “But if you put your plan together and prepare early you give yourself a good chance of succeeding.”
Despite St George’s having been humbled yet again this year, Tucker fully expects the St George’s faithful to enter 2025 with the usual bluster.
“I don’t think you can ever silence St George’s,” said Tucker with a chuckle. “We’ve beaten them for the last 12, 13 years and every year they still think that they’re going to come and beat us.”
Chiming in on the topic Richardson noted his admiration regarding his archrival’s willingness to set a new foundation based on youth, even as he viewed them as vastly inferior opponents with much to learn.
“I applaud St George’s for the selections they have made,” said Richardson. “But to think that because you’ve made so many changes you’re going to come out and beat an experienced team that has been dominant the past 12 years is laughable.
“To believe in the fact that we would have to lay down and let them go out and do whatever they please that was never going to happen with me and Janeiro at the helm at this point.”
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