Winning is not everything

I support Somerset cricket club and have done since I was a kid.

Just over a week ago they were in the running to potentially win 3 trophies.

The weekend before last they lost in the final of the T20 competition.

During the week they lost their penultimate match in the County Championship which means they can no longer win that - a trophy they have never won.

The last trophy was the one day cup.

Due to the stupid way cricket is organised in England, the one day cup happens at the same time as the more glamourous and much more publicised Hundred competition. Somerset is full of players who are suited to the Hundred and so 11 players missed the one day cup to play in that instead. This meant that all through the one day cup they were effectively playing their second eleven (still good players though).

Again. the powers that be decided that rather than have the final at the end of those games they would delay the final until last weekend - over a month since the last game. This also meant that all the players who missed the games due to the Hundred were now available for selection.

Given this was Somerset’s last chance for a trophy it would have been easy for them to justify bringing some of their top players into the team for the final. However they didn’t do that.

They decided that it was more important that the players who got them there were the ones who played in the final. This gave particularly the young players recognition for their efforts and a chance to play in a final; an experience that may be of long term benefit to Somerset.

They lost their chance at a third trophy in a week - but they took the right decision, not the easy decision. They may have reduced their chance of winning but they did the right thing - and it is one of the reasons why I am proud to be a Somerset supporter.