)}})
“Playing for Somerset is amazing!” – JT looks back on first pro year
2025 was an important year for JT Langridge.
The left-arm seamer joined the Somerset Pathway at Under 10 level and became a part of the SCCC Academy in the Autumn of 2022.
He appeared for Somerset in the 2023 National County fixtures against Devon and Cornwall before making his List A debut in August of that year against Sussex in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.
However, he missed the 2024 campaign through injury.
Despite his lack of game time last year, JT was offered a first professional contract in the October.
How did it feel to sign a contract after such a frustrating season?
“I had no idea what to expect,” he said. “I’d gone a whole year not knowing whether I was going to have a contract at the end of it. I was so grateful to get one. When I bowled my first ball in the nets over the winter, I realised just how much I’d missed it. When you’re away from the game for a while, you can forget how much you love it. Getting back into it was amazing.
“It’s been great. When you’re working your way through the Academy, the goal is to be a professional cricketer, and you have expectations of what it will be like. In many ways, it’s been different to what I was expecting, but it’s been truly brilliant and I’m so grateful to have been given this opportunity.
“It was definitely everything that I hoped it would be, and I want to spend the next 15 years being a professional cricketer! You get the satisfaction of enjoying everything that you’ve worked so hard for, and you want to strive to get to the next level.
“It’s such a great group. The camaraderie is incredible. We’re a team on the field and we’re all friends off it. It’s great to be able to say that I go to work, if you can call it that, every day with a bunch of blokes who I like spending time with. To be able to play cricket every day, and do it with this group, is amazing really.”
What was the highlight of his first year as a professional?
“Going out there and playing for Somerset is amazing, but playing in front of the home fans is incredible. The atmosphere is amazing compared to anywhere else. It was great when I took a couple of wickets in 2023, but to take my first wickets as a professional felt great.
“The support we get from the local community is fantastic. Everyone seems to love their cricket and it’s really special to be recognised around the town and be able to share that love of the game with people.”
What does the future hold for JT?
“In 2026 I want to earn my opportunities and take them. I don’t expect to walk into the team but I’m going to do the best that I can and put the effort in. I’ll do my best for the Twos if I get the opportunity and if I get an opportunity for the First Team then I want to take that.
“I’d love to play some First XI cricket in red ball and white ball and I want to become someone who people think deserves to be in the team week in, week out.
“I want to go through the year injury free, bowl quick, take some wickets and have a good time.”
