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150th Opening Dinner a Resounding Success
The Opening Dinner of Somerset’s 150th Anniversary took place in the Colin Atkinson Pavilion at the Cooper Associates County Ground on Friday evening and what a highly enjoyable and memorable occasion it turned out to be.
Over 150 Members, guests and former players gathered to celebrate the start of this special year for the Club which was first established way back in August 1875 at Sidmouth in Devon.
Vice Chair, Richard Brice, who is co-ordinating the SCCC 150 celebrations, welcomed guests to the evening before they took part in a Somerset themed Head and Tails competition.
Guests then sat down to enjoy the starter, after which players who appeared in the losing Lord’s finals in 1967 and 1978 took part in a Q&A.
Peter Robinson, who played in 1967 against Kent, recounted the fantastic atmosphere there was at Lord’s and revealed that each of the Somerset players received a bonus of £15 each for reaching the final!
Vic Marks, who played in the 1978 final against Sussex, recalled that the young Somerset side were slightly overawed by the occasion and that the experience had made the team more determined for the following season.
Following the main course, three members of the 1979 Somerset team who won the Gillette Cup at Lord’s followed by the John Player League Cup at Trent Bridge the following day were invited to the stage.
Brian Rose, who led the County to five one-day trophies in as many seasons said that to be the first ever Somerset Captain to win a trophy was something he’d always dreamt about and that lifting the Gillette Cup in 1979 was  the highlight for him.
Vic Marks ad Derek Taylor both talked about being part of the Glory Years team and Vic also reflected that a number of the team members were local lads who had developed under the guidance of Brian Close.
The focus of attention then turned to the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy success in 2001 which Jamie Cox, Keith Parsons and Rob Turner all remembered fondly.
Keith said that the 12 or 13 players were all mates and enjoyed each other’s company both on and off the field, and that many of them still meet up regularly.
Jamie talked about the 2001 semi-final success against Warwickshire, which was due to a crucial partnership between Rob Turner and Keith Dutch, while in the final Keith Parsons was the hero with the bat for Somerset.
Keith then focused on the 2005 Twenty20 Cup success and how Graeme Smith was a major influence in the short time that he was with the Club.
Tom Abell then talked about how special it was to stand on the balcony at Lord’s holding the Royal London One-Day Cup aloft in 2019 before Lewis Gregory, who led Somerset to Vitality Blast glory in 2023, said that following the defeat in the final the previous year Somerset had come back bigger, better and stronger.
The resounding message from everyone who was interviewed was that Somerset is the best supported Club in the country and that the loyal Members and supporters will travel anywhere to watch their team play.
The draw for the raffle took place before Somerset Chair, Sir Michael Barber rounded off the evening by reflecting on the Club’s achievements over the last 150 years and looked forward to a new era with the introduction of a fully professional women’s team in 2025.
Finally, Sir Michael said that the aim of the SCCC Board is to ensure that there will be a Club competing at the highest level for many generations to come.
