Matt Bulbeck who was Somerset's leading wicket taker in the county championship in 2002 reflected on the season during a break in training at the County Ground.

He told me: "I've got very mixed feelings about this season. Obviously its been really hard to see ourselves relegated in both competitions and I am bitterly disappointed, but from a personal point of view I felt happy to get through the season without suffering any injury. For the last three years I have struggled and now I have proved to myself that I can do it."

During the 2002 season the Taunton born left armer bowled 504 overs and took 53 championship wickets at an average of just over 35 and scored 344 runs, as well as taking 16 NUL wickets.

He continued: "It was great to get fifty wickets, including a career best 6 for 93, but I'm still not quite right and feel that my best is yet to come over the next two to three years."

How did he feel about resuming training I asked. He told me: "I've had a good break and been away on holiday and now I feel ready to get back to it. Up until Christmas I shall be training four or five days a week and concentrating on my general fitness and strength levels and on my batting, which I would like to improve upon."

Was he disappointed not to be selected for the England Academy trip to Australia this winter. He told me: "Obviously I would have loved to have gone with the Academy, but I'm not at my best yet so it would have been frustrating to have gone and not been able to give my best. It is better for me to wait another year hopefully by which time I will be able to give it my best shot."

Looking towards 2003 he told me: "I shall be looking to take more wickets and more cheaply next season, and hopefully to scoring more runs and developing myself as an all rounder."

He concluded: "I'm already looking forward to next season and I think that we are definitely good enough to get back up into the first division."

© SOMERSET