Always Look on the Bright Cider Life - The Somerset Cricket Podcast · The Somerset Cricket Podcast

Three Chocolate Desserts And Several Chicken Dinners

·1 hr 6 min·2 clips

It opens on Tom Cola-Cadmore's outrageous short third man catch and Somerset's Vitality Blast win over Essex. Ian Sheppard then brings in Dan Kingdom and the voice of cricket on BBC Radio Somerset, with the conversation starting on the eve of a new season, just over three days from the county championship season kicking off again in earnest. Dan has come via Munich. He jokes that his delayed flight gave him an extra day to ask people whether they knew Tom Cola-Cadmore, and reports that the answer was mostly no, though he did at least spot someone bowling at some stumps. That at least proves there is one cricket fan in Germany. From there the panel settles into the sort of Somerset chat the show does best, moving easily from travel mishaps to the realities of squad selection and the pressure of being ready when a place opens up. Tom Lammonby becomes the centre of gravity. They want to see him make the championship side, back the talent they think he has, and reward the move back toward proper red-ball cricket with results rather than just promise. The mood is practical and direct. They are clear that professional sport does not really allow players to pick and choose their role, so if an opening appears anywhere from one down to six, or at seven, the job is to take it. Lammonby's target is specific. The ideal season for him, they say, is a thousand County Championship runs or more, which would move him beyond the 951 he made last season and give Somerset a serious number three option. They also touch white-ball cricket. He is due to play 50-over cricket for Somerset for the first time, which should give him a bigger role and a clearer route into the side after limited opportunities in the Hundred last year. The stakes stay practical. The panel keeps circling back to the same theme: if Lammonby wants to be more than a talented name, this is the stretch where he needs to turn chances into runs and make the next decade look bigger. The ending turns outward. They look ahead to the Division One opener at 11am on Friday, joke about microphones and live streams, and note the BBC getting things sorted in time. The forecast helps. With sunshine promised, temperatures around 21 degrees, and reminders to bring sun cream and water, the episode closes on the simple feeling that Somerset cricket is almost back and everyone is ready for it.

As heard by us

Somerset pre-season cricket chat with banter, selection talk, and a clear focus on Tom Lammonby.

Somerset cricket podcast opens with Tom Cola-Cadmore's short third man catch and then settles into pre-season talk, with the county championship only three and a bit days away.

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Why you'd press play

When Somerset talk turns from Blast glory to Championship starting lines.

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