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Andy Hurry’s Season Review
The season of 2024 was probably the biggest roller-coaster ride that I have ever been on since being associated with this Club.
The euphoria and crescendo of emotion from the County Championship match against Surrey was something that I have never experienced across any format with Somerset including being at Lord’s in 2001, 2019 and the Vitality Blast win at Edgbaston in 2023.
The home Surrey Championship result was an amazing and truly emotional experience that saw a group of people produce a show of real quality that reflects what Somerset County Cricket Club stands for. It was an amazing game of cricket, a true spectacle that will live with me forever.
The rumour is that at the start of the 60th over, during which we took the crucial fourth wicket, we were contemplating shaking hands at the end of that over. When we took the wicket, that changed the mindset and we said ‘we are going to win this game of cricket and going to stay out there’.
It went right to the very end with Surrey playing their best game to try to reduce the number of overs they had to face, and we managed to get that last wicket.
The scenes at the end of that game were just incredible and had to be seen to be believed. If you weren’t here, you missed one of the great days of the last two decades.
However, the disappointment and frustration of being so close and yet so far from winning three trophies this year inspires me and others to continue to motivate and challenge our people, players and staff to get to that Holy Grail and bring that golden chalice home and win our first ever County Championship.
While we have had success in white ball cricket, the game against Surrey and all of the emotion that was wrapped up in taking that last wicket typifies the hunger and desire we have to win the County Championship.
During that key period of the season we beat Surrey again in the Vitality Blast semi-final. However, we then lost to Gloucestershire in the final. Fair play to Gloucester, they had a great run into the last stages of the competition and out played us on the day.
We will take a number of lessons from our Vitality Blast campaign this year, and we have got some areas to develop from that experience. We were very disappointed because our aim was to become the first team to retain that trophy.
To have got so close and not put in a performance that reflected our capability was hugely disappointing. Again, I see that as the fuel for us to go harder next year and become more competitive and even more ruthless. That’s the exciting part of the frustration.
I was so proud of the players and the staff who have been on a journey in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.
The leadership both on and off the pitch and the togetherness to get that momentum and see it all the way through to the final was a great reflection of all the hard work that so many people have put in, and the lessons that have been taken over the last few years.
It’s great to see that next generation of future Somerset players and England stars out there representing the County in another final.
The start of it all was us winning the Second XI T20 Final, with another great mixture of players who have come through our Academy and players who are currently sitting outside First XI cricket. They collectively showed the impact that they can have. Having nailed the group stage, they showed all their talent during finals day and won a final in a comprehensive manor.
Without a doubt they were the best team on the day and it was a pleasure to be there to watch us demonstrate the depth of the talent that is coming through.
As Director of Cricket that’s the most exciting thing because although it’s about today it’s also about tomorrow and future years.
We have a number of players who started their Academy journey many years ago and then became young professionals who saw their journey unfold in Second Team cricket and in time phased opportunities within the First XI. They earned the right to be established First XI players, and have now become senior role models driving the narrative around cricket in the South West and as a result are inspiring the quality within our region. These are players who have gone on to play international cricket for England and in this modern world lit up franchise cricket competitions as well.
I am really proud that our ambition is always to go into the final stages of any competition in a position to win them. The reality of 2024 is that we went into the final phases of all three competitions with an opportunity to win all of them.
We won the Second XI T20, we got through to two finals and up until the penultimate game were right in the hunt for the County Championship. We ruffled a few feathers, scared Surrey, and that’s a good marker to put down for 2025.
However, we are not about being runners up, we want to be serial winners, and that’s where we have started our season’s preparations from this year. We will take the learnings from 2024, understand what enables us to do what we do well and where we need to improve to get ourselves across that line in 2025.
