Somerset Cricket Club’s head coach Jeff Richardson has expressed confidence in his team’s ability to defend the Cup Match trophy once again this year.
Even as St.George’s comes into this year’s match with renewed hope, largely based on the impending inclusion of English professional player Delray Rawlins, Richardson has a firm belief in his side’s ability to prevail.
And having held the cup the past decade without much challenge from the east enders, with last year’s 10-wicket demolition job at the west end a testament to Somerset’s recent domination of the classic, few would question such optimism on the part of the coach and Somerset supporters.
“We are looking quite nice, I’m very pleased with where we’re at,” Richardson told TNN’s Trevor Lindsay.
“We haven’t been able to get together as much as I would have liked, for a number of reasons.
“We have a few Bay players who have been involved in the first county game, so they’ve had to make the time to train for their club.
“I appreciate that they are getting good workouts at their club with Gus Logie and we will be ready.” Despite having had their way with matters on the field for several years Richardson was yet cautious in is optimism, wary of St George’s as a real threat, particularly playing at home, where they are able to prepare a wicket they would believe to be to their benefit.
“We are taking nothing for granted, ” said Richardson. “As I’ve said before one of the biggest challenges is to make sure guys are not complacent and it’s up to our coaching staff and management staff to make sure that our guys are tuned in and focused on what has to be done.
“St George’s have invested in some youngsters over the years and one of the things I’ve said to Clay is about rebuilding.
“Another thing he has to consider is whether he’s able to rebuild and remain competitive and if he believes he’s able to put together a competitive team while rebuilding that’s up to them to decide.”
A youngster making a bid for inclusion in the Somerset team is Jermel Proctor, who has performed well for the league team this season after spending considerable time going to school while playing in England. Said Richardson:
“We have a few builders that have been performing well for league teams and are challenging for positions including young Walker from Bay who took six wickets recently, so it’s going to be interesting to see what happens with our selection.”
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