Ian Shepherd: Six needed and that could be the winning hit it is it's six for Lewis Gregory and Somerset have won by six wickets. Tremendous win for Somerset chasing down 194 to win with Will Sleed leading the way. and another pre-season done and dusted. What are your thoughts on the pre-season and looking forward to 2026? Yeah it's been good obviously, ⁓ the weather's been pretty good around here. It's obviously been a bit cold and a bit windy but managed to spend some good time out in the middle here and obviously A rearranged trip to Desert Springs was obviously a good time for us to get out on grass and ⁓ just good to get back together as a group and sort of get used to seeing each other again. Obviously a lot of the boys are away this winter so getting used to being back together as a group and seeing how everyone's gone and yeah just get that team building going again. You mentioned a of the lads were away this winter. This was a rare one for you where you stayed at home, no franchises or anything. ⁓ What did you spend the winter doing? Well started the winter, got married so that was ⁓ a different thing. You obviously don't do that very often. So yeah, to get married and then I had an operation on two hernias that sort of prevented me from going to South Korea after Christmas. I wasn't quite ready for that. So was obviously a winter at home and then just focusing on rehab, getting ready for the start of the summer and making sure that I'm sort of in the best possible shape to be able to kick the ground running sort of on Friday now. You said it, the walkers and talkers that sort of rest me at your peril kind of message to the guys. I mean, what is your sort of philosophy on that? And has the club kind of changed its philosophy on rest and rotation? I think it's going to vary from person to person. quite like to bowl quite a lot. for me, it's for me. I want to sort of play cricket and I actually bowl better when I bowl a decent amount. sometimes I'm probably a little bit undercooked coming to the summer, but I feel like I'm in a space where I'm probably undercooked, but I know I can perform and then I get better as the summer goes on and my body gets used to bowling and I tend to bowl better when I bowl more. And whereas other guys, they do need that week off just to sort of rest and recover. Looking at the schedule this year, we've obviously got three games in a week off so it actually suits our schedule a little bit that we can We might not have to rest as much as you think so that's their first bit and we'll only sort of pick and choose one with the team that we need for that first game and And those games coming up after that. Some good runs for you in the preseason game over the last few days. You're looking forward to contributing more with the bat this year? Yeah, that's something that I've sort of said openly I want to contribute more with the bat. feel like I've done alright the last couple years without sort of getting that big big score and But knowing coming down where I am, those big scores aren't always going to be there and thereabouts, but it's having match-winning competitions with the bat and I want to do that more and that's sort one of the goals, of making sure that's sort of come that third in as I've contributed with the bat to make sure we win the game. ⁓ trying to work on that as much as I can. Obviously, sometimes it doesn't quite go your way, but yeah, spent a lot of time batting this winter just trying to work on a few things and hopefully the pace of it is this summer. You're very much the of senior man, the leader of the pack with its bowling attack. There's four young bowlers coming through, Kim Roberts, James. JT language now for you Ogbourne, looking forward to mentoring those guys through their season? No, yeah definitely. Not necessarily my role at the minute but obviously as a senior player you need to help those youngsters come through and these boys have got a lot of talent now it's just sort of fine-tuning them a little bit and making sure that when they do get the chance that they're ready to perform and they've all developed so much over the winter and there's always going to be more and more to come from especially the younger ones of those four and yeah we're looking forward to and what they can do come at some point in the summer and or even in the one-day cup. Brilliant, well thanks for your time Greg and I'll go out this season. Bexar, your second year playing for Somerset in Tier 1 Women's Cricket. You have a sort of reflect on how 2025 went and what goals you have for 2026. Yeah, it was a really good season for me. I think to have that kind of start in professional cricket was really, really exciting. As a team, I think the 50 over comp, we competed really well. The 2020s, we like what we wanted to be, but going into that season, I think we were in really strong place. So that's really exciting. New coach coming in over the winter in Aaron Osborne. She's talked about wanting to make braver players. that something you've taken on board as group? Yeah, yeah, she's been brilliant. She's instilled a lot of confidence into us as a group, I think. Coming out of last season, obviously, we were quite low in confidence, especially with the 220 stuff. But yeah, I think she's come in, she's made everyone smile a bit and made everyone a bit more confident, so that's good. Have you sort talked about your role then? Obviously top of the order, a bit with the gloves when required. Are you sort going to be sticking to that for 20-26? Yeah, yeah, I hope so. She's set out pretty clear. roles for everyone I think so it's been really good, it's been really clear. Hopefully we get the top of the order in both formats, see what I can do with the gloves we never know. Good stuff and just sort of as 2020 said, mean this is a, it is windy and freezing at the minute and you're very brave in your shorts there, must be freezing so we'll keep this quick but what is it like walking out here just sort of at Taunton? Yeah I think it's genuinely the best ground in the country. The atmosphere you get here especially with the women's stuff, the women's only game, the atmosphere is incredible and you just feel like everyone is behind you and you get people walking past you in the stands and just like that you're doing amazing you're doing so well like it's so supportive and yeah it's just a great place to be. Thanks for your time Bex and make it a world 2020. Thank you so much. Corny, obviously 2025 not a great year for yourself suffering that ACL injury up at Edgworth. Still, you're able to talk through your rehab and what you're for to get achieved in 2026? Yeah, definitely. mean, it's been a long and a bumpy road. Probably tougher than I would have ever expected. I think it's a greater mental battle than it is the physical battle. But I think we've made some really good progress, particularly since Christmas and really building towards the season. really excited to get back, feeling a lot more confident in the knee. There's still a little way to go, but yeah, feeling good. And I a new head coach is coming in there in Osborne. able to sort of let us know how she's changed things around in the leadership group? Yeah, definitely. She's so good to have around her experience within the game and just the way she communicates and the ideas she has. she's bringing an exciting way that we want to play the game. And I think it's kind of empowered us to take risk and, I don't know, get things wrong, but also with a view of learning and getting better. So it's really exciting and looking forward to. how we're going to go in the summer. you got any personal goals for 2026 that you're looking to achieve? Primarily get back on the pitch. I think is a good start, but also just really nail down my spot in the top order. I think I've got a lot to give. I didn't really show when I did play last year, so I think I'm excited by the opportunity and yeah, there's a lot of runs to be scored. Excellent. And are you fully fit now, Rory, to go to the next when the season starts in a few weeks? Not quite yet. We'll be missing the first chunk of the season I reckon but Yeah progress has been good. So maybe a little bit ahead of schedule at the minute Are you looking to be around the group then you're still in the environment? definitely I think being around the group is like so good for me personally just to feel part of the team as well because it can be so isolating when you're injured but also like Trying to give back to the team, you know, I might not be able to play I might not be able to score runs but I can still contribute in a positive way. yeah, looking forward to being around, know, asking questions, helping out where needed. Yeah, so it'll be good. You able to let us know what it was like playing out there as a professional subset quickly with the dragon on your chest in 2025, how did that feel? Yeah, it was so good to get out there. And I think there's so many passionate fans around here. And also it was so good to see so many young women and girls coming out to play. And I think that made it even better. going out there and you know this being our home ground where we belonged and these people are coming week in week out to come and watch us I think yeah you feel really proud of representing the club and the local community so really love it out there. Brilliant well I hope the rehab goes well I'm just looking forward to seeing you out on the pitch in a few weeks time and go well in 2026. you very much. you. I think we're still recording from MSO Woke to do any... There's pop in the corner there. Christ! That worked well didn't it? This is alright, we'll get 250 quid It's easy. Okay. Bloody good day to do the bloody pressure washing as well. Well at least they stopped this year. Well I'm taking all the nuts, the dark thing down in the car park. Right, think we're good. Let's go. Right, so if you love Somerset Women's Captain, we are including the tripod falling over in this. Obviously 2025 didn't go quite according to plan in the 20 overs. 50 overs was obviously a lot better season for yourselves. A lot of change over the winter. You know, just kind of sum up what's been going on over the winter both for yourselves and for the club. Yeah, I think it's been a busy winter. A few fresh faces, including a new head coach, which has been really exciting both from a team perspective and a personal perspective. The opportunity to work with someone of Erin's calibre has been really exciting. Yeah, she's changed the way that we go about things in terms of how we train, the way that we approach the game and yeah, I'm looking forward to see it hopefully come to fruition this summer. We've also got Matt Draculew who's taken over a slightly different role in the women's sector. Will you be to let us know what his new role will be? Yeah, he's kind of overseeing that, I guess, like the long-term strategy in a way. Yeah, a little bit of a director of cricket role, long-term vision. Yeah, I'm hoping that he's going to be able to kind of boost the recruitment side of things and really put some onus on the women's side of the game here. You know, the club have got a great reputation for attracting very good players on the men's side and hopefully we can build something here and we can do the same on the women's side. Looking back to the 2025 season, what's your kind of overall thoughts and emotions on that first year of the professional women's side? Yeah, look, I think it was firstly, really proud to represent Somerset in a professional era as someone that started here aged 12, 20 years on to be represented in the club and captain in the club. Really a proud moment for me. ⁓ Yeah, a of mixed bag in terms of results. I think that's what people look at, but I guess we've set the foundations for things to come. We've got a core group of players now that have got a bit more of experience from last year. The likes of Bex Rogers came into the professional game, Aaron Vukucic. Hopefully they'll be better for those experiences this year and hopefully be able to kind of dominate in Tier 1. We're asking a lot of young players to come into the professional game and kind of dominate and do a lot of the heavy lifts. lifting. We haven't got a lot of senior players so there's pressure on the young girls but hopefully we've equipped them well enough this winter and there's an opportunity in front of them that they want to grab with both hands. It's been a little bit of movement in and out with signings over the winter. Are able to talk us through some of the new faces that we're going to see this year? Yeah we've got Bea Willis. I'm sure she's going to burst on the scene. She's got a lot of energy, very expressive character. Yeah kind of really find her feet in the dressing room and obviously it'll be her first taste of professional cricket if she gets out. She's leg break bar. She's a seamer, got a bit of pace about her, like quite tall, like good attributes. She's actually in Australia at the moment with England in the 19s, so she's obviously highly regarded. Yeah, like if she gets her opportunity, think, you know, some of her fans will be excited to see someone bowl with pace. Got B Willis confused with Lola Harris, who definitely is a leg spinner. Tell us about Lola. Yeah, Lola, she was part of our squad last year. We didn't see an awful lot of her due to education commitments. But yeah, the way that she's come in this winter, she's now living in one of the flats at the ground, know, completely committed to cricket and her training. And I'm actually really excited to see Lola go out there this year. I think she's had a brilliant winter developed in a lot of different areas and I think she could have a really good summer. You sort of sum up your sort of goals for 2026 in sort of a one page, they call it, in managers. What do you be looking to do? We want to win games of cricket. There's no doubt about that. We want to be as competitive as we possibly can be. But I think we've got to stick to our guns. We've got clear sort template and framework for how we want to play the game and how we want to approach things. think the biggest challenge for us will be kind of sticking to those guns if it doesn't go to plan. Erin's been quite clear on the fact that she's okay for us to make mistakes and like she knows we're to get it wrong at times but trying to stick to that template and how we want to go about things I think that's the biggest thing for us especially in T20 cricket where you know if you lose momentum it can be a tough place to be. My biggest ask for the girls would be to try and stick with what what we've been practicing because you know if it doesn't happen this year like next year and the year after like we're going to build something for sure. Brilliant well thanks for time Sophie and go well in 2026. Cheers Shep. Cheers. Well, James Drew, it's been quite a busy winter for you. Your first franchise gig with the Char-Char Warriors, England Lions and Australia. England Lions one day series cancelled for the global conflict and now semi-professional darts champion on Friday night. How do you sort of to reflect on what you've been doing over the winter and what you're looking forward to in 2026? Yeah, it's been eventful. Probably my biggest achievement was the darts win with Gary Anderson on Friday night, like you mentioned. James, you acquired seven. Give me Yeah, had a lot of fun with the England Lions. It feels like a long time ago now, but yeah, we had a young team and played a challenging fixture against the Aussie A's, but I think we learned a lot from that. Something I'll take forward is that experience of playing in Australia and being out there when the Ashes was on, which was a good development for me and for the team to experience the media and the fans and how tough it is to play an Ashes series away from home, ⁓ which is hopefully something that we'll all experience at some point in the future. ⁓ The ILT20 was good fun with the Charger Warriors, like you mentioned. Didn't do quite as well as we'd have liked, but it was nice to play with Tom Abel and Tom Kehlek-Admoore. To have them guiding me through it was nice, because that was my first experience of a franchise competition. it's nice to play more T20 cricket. I really enjoy that format. And hopefully something I can do more for summer, this summer. Obviously with Sean Dixon's departure, there's a little gap there now. obviously came in finals day 2024 play that incredible not in partnership with Dico in that game against Surrey you're part of the team this year is that something you'll to be your main focus now getting in that t20 side and not having it affect your record game? Yeah I think my main focus is whatever format Somerset are playing at that point in time so at the moment I'm gonna be looking forward to the first block of County Championship cricket but when it comes to it that t20 side is what I want to be doing and want to be getting in that side and hopefully Challenging for a spot and if I do get a spot putting some good performances on the board and hoping to win some games for Somerset with the bat. As well as sort of challenging for a spot, you mentioned that you obviously spent a bit of time with the England squad at Trent Bridge last year. Have you had discussions about how you're going to see your route to get into the England side after the ashes? It's a little bit of a reset it feels and they're sort of towards county cricket now for any performances. How do you feel your best route is into wearing the Three Lions? Yeah, I've been asked this a couple of times earlier today. think for me it's trying not to think about the future and selections and things like that too much. think... I'm trying to focus on performances for Somerset and trying to play as well as I can at the start of the season. And if I get a few hundreds, hopefully we win a few championship games and that would be nice to be sat at the top of the county championship table going into the T20 blast. So for me, that's the most important thing, putting in performances that will win games for Somerset. But yeah, if something comes off that... towards the middle of the summer with England cricket then yeah that'd be nice but that's something that I'm not focusing on right now to be honest. So no discussions about maybe popping up a few places to open up or anything like that? No I'm going to stay at number four for the start of season which is where I finished last year so I think we're just looking at what's best for the team for the for the county championship team right now and I think having Abe's at number five is where he's done really well for us last year and when he played he scored a lot of runs so I think he's the main and keeping him at number five is crucial and if he wants to move up or move down it's up to him but I think yeah we'll let him do what he wants. He'll hopefully get us a few runs. stuff. You mentioned the championship of course starts here on Friday against Knotts. How's the squad shaping up for that game? Obviously you are. Yeah we've played some good cricket in the last week or so. We ⁓ played a two-day game at Desert Springs against Yorkshire. Yorkshire and there some good performances there and then coming back here we played a two day inter squad game and Glamorgan last ⁓ over the weekend so yeah we shaping up well we had a nice 100 from Lammers and 80 odd from Abe so yeah we're looking good the bowlers are all ready as well and yeah I'm pretty happy with where we are. Good stuff. Why not see Thomas a little bit for his exams? But I Jason inferred that if he was available when exams permitted it, we might see him. But earlier, looking forward to sort donning whites with Thomas and batting out there in the championship. Yeah, that would be nice if we get a chance to play together. Like you said, he does have exams, so it's about when he's available and whether they pick him or not. So, yeah, I'm sure we might see a bit of him at the ground this season. But, yeah, it was nice to play with him last season in the Metro Bank. And we did have a few nice parts. partnerships together which was a lovely feeling so hopefully more of the same this year. Because you wouldn't have played a lot together would you? Not loads. age gap is four years so there was a little bit of club cricket, tiny bit of school cricket but to play eight Metro Bank games together last year was the most we've played together in a row so that was a really nice feeling and it's great to play in front of this crowd with your brother and with the whole team. It's such a close-knit group like I always say. So yeah, hopefully more of the same this year. Brilliant. Well, thanks for your time James. No worries at all. you. Lewis, thanks very much for joining me tonight. I've got to say throughout my life, I've always envied and wanted the life of a professional cricket, but watching you guys sat there freezing cold having your pictures taken today at media day in your T20 shirts, I was quite glad to be wrapped up warm. But how was media day for you today? I guess looking forward to it. Yeah, busy. I guess it's one of those times, I guess, every year when as soon as media day comes around, you know that the season's not too far away. yeah, it's another one ticked off, I guess, what is an ever-growing list. But yeah, I guess massively excited to get started on Friday. ⁓ I guess there's always that little bit of buzz around the ground and around sponsors and everyone about what this year could... ⁓ could entail and could bring, but massively excited looking ahead to Friday. Yeah, the reigning champions coming down to Taunton, not on Good Friday. All the squad in good shape, looking forward to it? Yeah, I think so. Obviously we've had a few guys depart at the end of last season and a couple of fresh faces and a few of the youngsters that have come off the academy and Josh Shaw. yeah, I guess it's a slightly a new look squad. couple of the youngsters really impressed with pre-season and be really excited to see how they go throughout the year and ⁓ I guess try to fight to get in the first team and nail down that spot. yeah, I think the guys are in great shape. Obviously our prep was changed a little bit with what's going on in the Middle East. yeah, Sarge and Jason, everyone behind the scenes got that trip to Spain sorted pretty quickly. on short notice where we've got a lot of sort of outdoor prepping before coming back to the freezing cold, which has been good. yeah, the lads look in really good order and hopefully we can put a good show on over the weekend. I'm pretty sure that Sunday's game against Glamorgan was the first ever in cricket history to be match abandoned because of the cold. It absolutely freezing up there on Sunday. Best of luck for Friday. I'm sure we'll chat about that more a bit later. Let's have a little look back at your career. mean, testimonial season this year, 2026. Looking forward to that. mean, it's obviously an honor to be to be given one of those. Yeah, I mean, I guess it means you're getting old, doesn't it? That's the problem with it. But yeah, it's massively exciting. It's a huge privilege, I guess, to be awarded a testimonial. I think we're going into my 16th season at the club, which, yeah, has flown by, to be honest. Still feel like that. that little kid that started all those years ago. But yeah, I guess to join the calibre of players that have been awarded one is pretty special. yeah, hopefully we can have a really good year on the pitch and off it and got some really good events planned, which yeah, hopefully as many people that support the club and will be able to get down and I guess support me throughout the year. Hopefully have a great time whilst doing that as well. yeah, it's been a lot of work for a few people trying to organise some stuff. yeah, it's been a good challenge so far and can't wait to get started on the 24th of April, I believe, at the County Ground. Yeah, opening dinner at the County Ground. All the details is lg24.co.uk. can click on the events and then go down to each flick through each event, individual event and ⁓ Book your tickets through an email there that it will send you to. Hopefully as many people can come out and support as possible. Looking forward to that. Looking forward to having you and the guys back down at South Devon as well on the 16th of June. I'm going to be one of those doing all that organisation over the next year. Hopefully make sure that goes smoothly. You mentioned there about being a bit long in the two, getting a testimonial. Marcus was around for so long he actually had two. Yeah, that is a kind of a I'm not sure I'll be here in another 10, 12 years, that's for sure. Well, you never say never, never say never. Big part SOMSET over the last two years has been the T20 side under your leadership. mean, we could spend hours looking at all the records and just how good you guys have been. mean, what do you think is the key to that behind the scenes? What are you, sort of you and Jason Sarge, sort of the values you're instilling into the guys, how you want them to play and sort of what players do you sort of look to bring in when you're looking, you know, around the world for overseas players? Yeah, it's, I mean, it's been one of them. I think it's been incredible. the last three years that the consistency I guess that we've shown in a format that is very difficult to be consistent in and we've obviously had some high quality players throughout the group which obviously makes life a lot easier for myself and Jace. We've got match winners throughout and I guess it's firstly trying to look at I guess our home ground, we play seven games at home, well there's six this year. ⁓ But it's, guess, trying to make that a sort of fortress taunton. If you can win 90 % of your games at home, you're going to be there where thereabouts to qualifying. And I think we've done that over last three years. We made Taunton a really difficult place for away teams to come and play. And ⁓ I guess our record has definitely shown that. And you're looking for guys that you believe can stand up under pressure. They can execute. when it really matters. And I guess with the overseas is kind of trying to add a little bit of flavor that we don't have in our local talent. So someone like Riz over the last two years, Riley Meredith has given us that injection of pace, can bowl up top through the middle and at the death. And yeah, we've got some incredibly talented local players to fit in and around it, which is... which has been really good. Obviously we've had a few guys leave at the end of the year that we need to kind of fill those roles. So we've obviously brought in Dan Sams this year, I guess to bat at seven and bowl some overs, which I've played with. Is that sort of a like for like for Greener then? Yeah, guess it's filling, it's trying to fill that hole that Greener's left. Greener's obviously slightly different to Samsey, but he's been incredibly good for us over the last four or five years. ⁓ He's one of those guys that he's obviously not going to, I guess, ⁓ things alight with how fast he bowls. But what he does do is he's incredibly accurate. He's got a great slower ball and has taken wickets for us and scored really important runs. And it's going to be a hard hole to fill. But I think Samsey is a high quality player that's done it all around the world and hopefully can be a really good addition for us to kind of fill that hole that Green has left. ⁓ But other than that, obviously we've lost Dicko, who's been again amazing for us for the last three years that he was at the club in T20 cricket. And we got some exciting young cricketers that I guess we needed to free up a little bit of space to try and get them some game time. And equally, I believe they're going to win matches for us as well. So yeah, it's a headache at times trying to squeeze everyone in. ⁓ That's a good problem to have. Yeah. I mean, I was just thinking now, I mean, so you mentioned sort of Dicko's moved off to pastures new, but you've got James Rue, Thomas Rue, and potentially Tom Lammerby all vying for that spot. know what mean? Yep. I know it's an incredible strength and depth in that squad really. And it's just a, just a mad problem to have really. Yeah. Yeah, it is. It's a good problem, but it does cause headaches at times. Obviously James Rue when he's come in, got opportunities, he's done really well. Ammers has shown us at times what he's capable of in T20 cricket as well. then you've got the talent of T Rue, what he's done this winter in under-19s cricket. And I mean, we know he's going to be a superstar. So yeah, he's going to be tough which way we go. ⁓ I guess obviously a little bit of cricket leading into the T20s. We'll see where guys are at form-wise. Yeah, it's going to be a tough one to pick that first blast game and see which way, guess which direction we go in. whoever gets the nod first up, I'm sure we'll do a great job. Well, I'm glad it's not a decision I to make. It's impossible. Let's talk about your sort of style of captaincy then. You've been doing the T20 job for a number of years, came in to do the four day stuff sort of more recently. What would you say your sort of style or philosophy is as a captain? Because from the outside you look sort of very relaxed. that how you want to sort of... Yeah, I think I'm a reasonably laid back guy. So I don't want to, I guess, go too far outside of my character and be something that I'm not. But yeah, ultimately, I've got massive belief in the lads that going out there to execute what they're trying to do. And on the most part, they do that. So makes my job very easy. ⁓ But yeah, I guess it's just you're just trying to affect games. You're trying to make calls at the right time that influence games and ⁓ I'd like to think I've got a relatively good cricket brain. I've been playing long enough now to understand the game and what each game at each certain stage probably requires and you get some right and you get some wrong. yeah, ultimately, it's I guess it's trying to empower the guys in the moment to go out and believe in themselves and execute what they're trying to do as best as they can. And yeah, I have full belief in everyone that goes out in the park to do that. And yeah, like I said, it makes my job easy at times. I mean, it certainly does look easy, but just going back to last season, the quarterfinal, the semi and the final, those are three incredible wins. mean, we were absolutely dead and buried against the Bears, whatever they're called now. Lancashire was a tough game and then a record chase against Hampshire, which you sort of put to bed very nicely. was does that kind of just that 18 or five that just kind of sum up your captaincy. No, just relax. I got this and just get it done. I guess that's a little bit more as me as a player, I guess that I want to be the guy that when required upon sort of stands up and does the job. And yeah, I guess big moments kind of brought out the best of me. And yeah, like you say, it's Yeah, we did it the hard way in those knockout fixtures, didn't we? We didn't make it easy for ourselves. and that's the beauty, I guess, of the squad that we've got is, I guess, when someone's needed to stick their hand up and do something, they've done that. And there's evidence that obviously like Dicko in that quarterfinal is potentially the best T20 innings I've ever seen. I remember sitting down on the sideline and we've not got a chance here. I've never heard Taunton that quiet on a T12. I think it was something stupid like 60 or three overs or whatever it was. was, yeah, that just doesn't happen. And he actually did it relatively easily in the end. He made it look very simple. And then you look at Pepsi in the semi-final, the knock to put a screw on the board and then the way the boys bowled as a collective unit was incredible and a big fixture. then, yeah, like you say, a record chase. at finals day in a final under pressure, Smedy's knock to take it deep and the guys obviously chipping in around him. But yeah, we've got a mightily impressive team and yeah, the way we've been, we expect a lot of ourselves now. How special was it to hit the winning runs as captain? Yeah, it's an amazing feeling. ⁓ I mean, I was quite happy to sit on the side watching Smedy and Dick Ogo about it, to be honest, but Yeah, when you get that opportunity, that you want to be the guy. I've been in that position before in finals and yeah, I was very much making sure and conscious of you don't want it to get down to that nervy last over where a couple of poles and a couple of good balls and you're under pressure. So I was going in trying to finish it that over and ⁓ yeah, thankfully I've got a few in my zone and managed to bang them out the park. Did you know I had the legs as soon as you hit it? Yeah. Yeah, I got enough of it. So I didn't flush it like the one before, but I knew that the bats that we've got now are so good that you get it anywhere near the middle that they travel out of the park. Yeah, I knew pretty, pretty soon that I had enough. Yeah, it was an amazing moment. Obviously, for Dicko, to be there with Dicko, I was good friends with him as well. So to be out there in the middle with him, his last game for the club, yeah, to have that moment with him was pretty special. Yeah, definitely. It's something I won't ever forget. I think I asked you on the annual dinner, which was more special 2025 or 2023? And then we went to Mamba's and I can't remember what you said. Which was more special for you? I mean, it's hard to separate. think I'd probably have to go for 23 purely out the fact that it had been so long since we'd got over the line. in the T20s. mean, I've been to God knows how many finals days and we hadn't managed to do it. So yeah, I think that and ultimately as well to the way in which we did that, we did it the hard way. We were probably under par in both semis and finals. Yeah, and bowl to bowl, I Surrey out and Essex out two brilliant teams in T20 cricket over the years for around 140. is an amazing achievement. think there was a ridiculous stat that year in 23 that we took something like 153 poles out of 170, which I mean is an incredible thing to do. So yeah, I'd probably have to go that one. Obviously the way it finished as well with that Pepsi, that one-handed screamer. And obviously being out there with all the boys and everyone just swarming each other was, yeah, was an amazing moment. Hopefully there's a lot more of them to come. Absolutely. Records are made to be broken and no side has ever successfully defended the blast. I don't see any reason why you guys can't do it this year. The squad's looking good. You've got, I say, everything's in place from previous years, so why not? Yeah, absolutely. It's a big goal of ours. We set out obviously in 24 to be the first team to do it and we unfortunately didn't really rock up in the final. which was a shame, but yeah, again, the consistency that we've shown over last three years, two wins and a loss in the final is incredible. Like you say, I don't see any reason why come, it was the middle of the season this year, isn't it? then. It's going to be warm at finals though. Yeah, it'll be nice instead of being wrapped up in jumpers. But yeah, it's one of those that I don't see why we can't be there. And then it's, again, it's who's got the composure and on the day to do the job. Um, we've got 14, 15 guys that you can pick from that. I believe we'll, be able to do a job on the big stage and yeah, hopefully we'll, we'll be there or thereabouts again. Just little things can sometimes decide, um, finals days. Um, I was quite surprised to hear that you, you guys decided to go back to the hotel between the first semi-final and, and the final. Can you just talk us through the decision-making process? Cause that to me is like a really, just an interesting little think outside the box, you know. A bit like when Marcus went down on his knees, someone's come up with an idea, can we do this? It's going to benefit us less, it. Do want to talk us through what happened there? Yeah. I mean, we tried to the learnings from the year before. think it's been something like the last five or six years, the team that have won the second game on finals, they have gone on to win the whole thing. It was something like five or six years in a row that had happened. And it becomes a really long day. ⁓ I guess going from the highs of winning a semi to sitting around for four or five hours watching ⁓ the other game go on, it mentally can drain you. ⁓ So we, yeah, I guess we tried to take learnings from the year before against Gloucester where guys were pretty cooked coming into a final, which is not what you want. Sarge and Jayce put a lot of work in behind the scenes to allow us to get out of the ground and go back to the hotel where some guys had a sleep. Some guys just went and grabbed a coffee. We bought a coffee machine with us. So some guys had a coffee. Tweds was our head barista. So he was making coffees. Physios were working on the boys and just trying to get away from, I guess, what was happening for the next three, four hours and kind of reset and recharge and then go back to the ground as if it's another day. Yeah, it seemed to work guys were where they needed to become final, which was which is what you're after. mean, it kind of begs belief it's taking somebody this long to work out that you should probably if you're bouncing off the walls in the dressing room, just go somewhere else. Yeah, It's incredibly hard to do with all the rules around the PMOA and betting and all that sort of stuff. They actually took a lot of work to be able to allow us to go back. We were only allowed to go back to the hotel. We weren't allowed to leave the hotel. So it did take quite a lot of work, I think, from Sarge behind the scenes to make that happen. Yeah, it's a tiring day. It's a long day. yeah, if guys can get back and have a little bit of chill out time, it seemed to work. Brilliant. Well, I've got to say, if other sides want to do it, I think you need to charge them some sort of copyright fee or something like that. Yeah, it certainly worked a treat. Turning the attention back to four day cricket then and then captaincy. Obviously two vastly different games, but do you try and keep the sort of same captaincy values and styles in the longer form of the game? Yeah. I think, like I said, you've got to be the person that you are. And I guess if you try to be something different, you'll get found out pretty quick. Yeah, it's one of them. I like to think that at times we're innovative and we're trying to think on our ⁓ to affect games. again, I've got an incredible bunch of guys behind me that are open to our different ideas and want to play the game in the way that I want it to be played. yeah, I guess my style stays pretty similar. It's obviously a slower pace game, which allows you to think a lot more and I guess bounce ideas off different people. Whereas in obviously T20 cricket, you ought to make pretty snap judgment calls and go with your gut a little bit more. But yeah, I guess the style stays pretty similar and yeah, I guess having that consistency hopefully helps guys go out there and execute. Was it a no brainer when Abe stood down that you thought... Yes and no. I'd love my time ⁓ doing the T20 stuff, I guess coming in for five, six weeks doing it and then obviously getting away and being able to sort of do your own thing and Abe's being charged. I guess it's a massive honour, isn't it, being asked to be club captain. And yeah, I guess ultimately it was what's best for the team. I guess equally it's probably brought out some of the best cricket in myself as well being in charge and I guess having a ⁓ little bit more responsibility in Red Bull cricket to get us out of trouble at times or kind of put the nail in the coffin at times. So yeah, it's probably been really good for me and hopefully I've done pretty well and the lads enjoy the way I want us to go about the game. Yeah, I don't think it was a yes straight away, but after a little bit of thought, was, yeah, it was something that I couldn't say no to. Something else that you didn't say no to was putting yourself up the order. Yeah. Josh Davey. I mean, that was a kind of a sort of a break the internet moment. Cricket trip was like, what's going on here? What's going on here? And just talk us through that one as well, because it kind of seemed like, you know, there's Tres hanging his boots up. that it's been a problem for some set finding a settled opening pair. Is it something that you sort of maybe thought, could I just do this now until I retire or? ⁓ No, no, that's not a job I Were you only ever going to it to stop that? Yeah, I think there was an element of obviously, like you say, we've struggled at the top for a number of years. I think Pepsi was obviously away, I believe. And was kind of one of them. actually had a grade two quad tear, I believe, when we first did it. So I wasn't bowling. And it was a little bit like I was hitting the ball really well with the bat. And it was kind of like, actually, if me and JD can, I guess, bat for a period of time and get that ball that little bit older and, I guess, allow the batters to, I guess, have be against a tighter bowling attack, an older ball, and actually they can have more chance of, I guess, churning out big scores, then I guess there was no harm in trying that. And JD obviously probably has one of the best defenses in the game. And he's, I guess, a much better batter than batting at nine and 10, which he has done for us for a long time. yeah, that was the thought process was trying to do something different. What the conventional route hadn't worked for a long time. So it was kind of, let's give this a crack and Yeah, I guess a couple of games it did work JD had a couple of games brilliant games where you got a 70 I think at Warwickshire Got a couple of thirties where it just obviously takes this thing out of the bowling attacks You brought the back of a run chase didn't you? No Sussex, I mean I've got a 90 against Sussex at home, yeah So yeah, was, I guess it worked for the period. I don't think it was ever gonna be a long-term thing. But yeah, guess there's also time. had Vorny opening for a lot of last year. I think he's going to be a bloody brilliant cricketer. It's just a very hard job to do, especially in 1920 when you've not fully, I guess, worked out your games. Yeah, a little bit of trying to get him out of the firing line as well. I guess we've seen how well he can do with the ball. And I'm sure in the coming years, we'll see how good a quality batter he is as well. Yeah, there's an element of that. never thought it would be a long term thing, thankfully. Yeah, it's one of those jobs. It was fun. Me and Sluggy had a great time together at the top. I think the first game we did, it was against Sussex. I remember the first innings walking out and they were all looking at us like, what the hell is going on here? yeah, my friends. remember the banner with the scorecard on the live stream with the... with the names, it sort of swapped from about three or four different people that got to you in there. We all had a clue what was going on. Poor old Polly was having kittens up in the score box. You mentioned Archie Bourne, let's talk about young players coming through then. ⁓ It's such a fantastic part of Somerset, the pathway and all the young lads going through. ⁓ How proud are you of that and how do you kind of sort of get those guys integrated in and like I said, when you do have someone like Archie, he has a bit of a bad trot. He can then you sort of drop him down to seven if you go up and open that sort of thing. How do you sort of manage that? Yeah, I mean, the pathway has been brilliant. It has to be. mean, I'm obviously really proud of it. I'm someone that's come through the pathway and the good thing is the vast majority and the nucleus of the team have come through the pathway. They're South West boys and love the club which is what I think makes us so successful. There was a genuine love for Somerset County Cricket Club. Yeah, Archies, like you say, it's one of them being, it's tough always to integrate them. The Archies come in as a young kid, pretty much fresh off the academy straight into the first team. Yeah, it's one of them. He's not had time to properly learn and work on his game and score runs in the second team and I guess know how to go about it. But what it will do is that exposure to first class cricket. It allows you to, I guess, to know what you got to deal with and work out a method to combat that. And like you say, it was really nice the fact that he bowls, be able to get him out of the firing line, but still be in the team and still very much influencing games at number seven. and with the ball in hand. Yeah, I expect the youngsters to have developed over the winter and from what I've seen they have. Yeah, hopefully there's a few of them that are ready to break in and when they do get an opportunity, I expect them to fly, which is really exciting. You mentioned Archie Vaughan sort of debuted autumn that September. Of course, his second game was that incredible win over Surrey in the championship when... There was not that game was just absolutely. Yeah. Can you can you confirm where you how far away from you're offering your hand to. To the sorry batters won over really. So I was I remember saying. To be fair, was leachy. I remember saying to leachy. I was just like, I think I think we're done here. And he basically begged me for one more over. I mean, it's just like me one more over. And think it was the, have even been the last ball of that over he got. I think he nicked off ⁓ Sibley. Cause they were, what were they, three down, think, about an hour ago. And yeah, I think pretty much it was, that was the last over and it might've been the last ball he nicked him off. And then I think Archie might've even got a wicket the next over. yeah, it's, his small margins, isn't it, this game. And yeah, that's, I mean, that's a win that will long stand in the memory of myself and guess the guys that were involved. It was incredible and obviously with what was going on in the table at the time. Yeah, unbelievable moments and yeah, it's mad to think that you're one ball away potentially from just shaking hands and you go on to win the game. it does prove that, yeah, I guess an hour is a lot of time and yeah, a lot can be done in that period. Is that going to affect how you sort of look at things going forward? on that last afternoon? Yes and no. think you've also got to be realistic depending on what surface you're on and whether that is at all possible. But yeah, like you say, we've got an incredible bowling attack. We've got the best spinner in the country. So you know that if there is a wicket where it exists, he can run through teams. Likewise with the seamers like Craig's. We'll see 500 odd poles now at nothing. We've got lot of experience. Miggy's been fantastic with us for a couple of years. ⁓ I guess it's one of them that you might hang on a little bit longer than you previously would just in case now. Well, Lewis, say it's been a busy day for you. It's been a busy day for myself as well. I won't keep you any longer, but just going to say best of luck Friday, best of luck for the rest of the season. Go well and have a great testimonial season. Legend. Thank you very much. Thanks mate. Cheers.