This week Somerset played Hampshire at the County Ground in Taunton. An epic performance deserves to be immortalised in verse. Until such time as it is, this will have to do…
‘Twas the week of the final and though some protested,
TKC, Henry and Craig O were rested,
Leaving the likes of Bashir and James Rew,
To show to the faithful just what they could do.
‘Tis true that their start against Hampshire was poor,
(With forty one runs scored, those out numbered four!)
But though one or two, on a loss may have betted,
It soon became clear that we needn’t have fretted!
The fifth wicket fell with the score on just eighty –
The pressure on Aldridge it must have been weighty –
But with the aforementioned, cool headed, Rew
Together the pair put on one ninety two!
More then were added from the welcomed back Bess,
And Shoaib Bashir, with the bat, did impress
With the innings completed a glance at the board,
Showed us that five hundred runs had been scored.
The man known as ferret then with his first ball,
Took the first wicket of Hampshire’s to fall,
And fans of that county all started to wince
When Lammers, off Ogbourne, caught captain James Vince.
And though for a while they still had a shout
Of avoiding the follow on, Hants were all out
Twenty runs short of the total they’d needed,
And so to enforce it, Tom Abell proceeded
Two wickets fell ‘ere the end of day three,
And all who were watching they had to agree,
That now, with a wicket conducive to spin,
This was a game that the youngsters could win.
But though on the final day, wickets did fall,
The bowlers’ best efforts could not take them all,
But one thing is certain, yes one thing is clear,
They’re talented: Aldridge, Ogbourne and Bashir.
The match it thus ended, the result was a draw,
But those who spectated enjoyed what they saw,
Cos there’s no denying what everyone knows, the
Future of Somerset cricket is rosy!
Other ill-advised attempts at cricket verse:
To read ‘On passing a village cricket club at dusk one late November afternoon’ click here
To read ‘I’ve got a little CRICKET list’, click here
To read ‘How the Grinch stole from county cricket…or at least tried to’. click here
To read ‘My love is not a red, red rose , click here
To read ‘A Song for Brian’, click here
To read ‘How Covid-19 stole the the cricket season’, click here
To read ‘Eve of the RLODC limericks’ click here
To read ‘for the third time of asking, CRICKET’S COMING HOME…surely’, click here
To read ‘A Song for Ben Green’, click here
Other cricket prose:
To read ‘Sharing the important things: introducing your grandchild to cricket’, click here
To read ‘Cigarettes, Singles, and Sipping Tea with Ian Botham: Signs of a Well Spent Youth!’, click here
To read ‘Bazball, Bazchess, Bazlife’, click here
To read ‘Lewis Calpaldi – Retired Hurt?’, click here
To read ‘Online criticism: it’s just not cricket’, click here
To read ‘Cricket: It’s All About Good Timing’, click here
To read ‘A Tale of Two Tons’, click here
To read ‘A Somerset Cricket Players Emporium’, click here
To read ‘A Cricket Taunt’, click here
To read ‘Scooby Doo and the Mystery of the Deseted Cricket Ground’, click here
To read ‘Brian and Stumpy visit The Repair Shop’, click here
To read ‘A Cricketing Christmas Carol’, click here
To read ‘At Season’s End’, click here
To read ‘A Historic Day’, click here
To read ‘Cricket – through thick and thin’, click here
To read ‘Stumpy – a legend reborn’, click here
To read ‘A Cricket Tea Kind of a Day’, click here
To read ‘A Day at the Cricket’, click here
To read ‘The Great Cricket Sell Off’, click here
To read ‘Life in the slow lane’, click here
To read ‘Frodo and the Format of Power’, click here
To read ‘If Only’, click here
To read ‘Somerset v Nottinghamshire T20 Quarter Final 2023’, click here
To read ‘Enough Said…’, the last section of which is cricket related, click here
A Jack Leach Trilogy:
To read ‘For when we can’t see why’, click here
To read ‘WWJD – What would Jack Do?’, click here
To read ‘On Playing a Blinder’, click here
To read ‘Coping with Disappointment’, click here
And now a couple of cricket blogs with a theological flavour
To read ‘Somerset CCC – Good for the soul’, click here
To read ‘Longing for the pavilion whilst enjoying a good innings’, click here
Some musings 