It was an amazing season for Captain Cox and his team and all the players fully deserve the praise and prize money heaped upon them. If you have any loose change chaps, don't forget the Coach. For me, like all of you, it is very satisfying to both support and prepare a successful team. We have been very professional in our practice and preparation for all matches, which in itself doesn't guarantee success, but for sure it helps achieve it.

It isn't all serious work though, and humour is thriving in our dressing room. It is good for morale to see Robert Turner, a very well educated and intelligent Cambridge graduate, solve his early season batting problem by ensuring he actually got his specially made contact lenses in the correct eyes! Worse than that, to see him hit on the elbow keeping wicket against Essex and limping off is beyond explanation!

I have to compliment our opening bowling attack of Steffan Jones and Richard Johnson - alias the hairy Greek! They have taken 120 wickets between them, a high percentage of which have been taken here at Taunton, the best batting surface in the Country. They are both incredibly fit. Steffan achieved this by consuming copious quantities of legal supplements whilst the hairy Greek stands in front of a mirror applying Grecian 2000, admiring his body and planning what curry to eat later on.

Keith Dutch really is a chirpy cockney. He has put in some outstanding performances which he can recount ball-by-ball, as his roommate Mike Bums can testify. Bumsie threw away the shoes he wore when dropping Afridi early, who then went on to score 68 off 30 watch the Tourists, not Somerset. The Club, when setting its budget, knows what the fixed costs are in staging cricket. To defray those, we need to play matches. Whether our professionals are asked to balls, poverty stricken student Matt Wood, picked them up to wear and promptly dropped two catches against Northants, immediately blaming the shoes for it! I am unsure how to deal with that because it is not in the coaching manual.

At the heart of the team is Australian Captain Cox, and the gnarly old pro Peter Bowler, who pretends to be an Australian! The Captain led trom the front and was the only baisman to top 1000 runs for the season. Peter Bowler was easily our best one-thy batsman when many thought he shouldn't be in the one-day side. Well, he just loves a challenge!

Obviously my season as the Coach has been brilliant but reality has hit home on that what has been achieved in 2001 will be harder to follow in 2002. I can feel the Chief Executive sharpening the axe even now! My thanks then to all the non-playing staff for their support and help to the players, especially my backroom staff, Darren Veness (Physio), Andy Huny (Fitness) and the 2nd XI support from Julian Wyatt and Ross Dewar. Also to Phil Frost and his ground staff, thanks for their pitches and facilities. If we can keep that hose pipe out of his hands for the one-thy matches - no, we will never agree on that one!

Finally, to all of you, the members and supporters, without whom there would not be a Somerset County Cricket Club, a very big thankyou.

© Somerset CCC