Somerset have foundations in place to dominate, says director of cricket Andy Hurry

He says the Royal London One-Day Cup victory over Hampshire at Lord’s will provide vital impetus to securing a successful long-term future

Andy Hurry believes the foundations are in place for Somerset’s first major trophy win since 2005 to signal the start of a new golden era for the club.

Since being appointed as director of cricket in the autumn of 2017, the 54-year-old, who also served the club as fitness instructor and later first-team coach, has overseen developments at all levels from age-group cricket upwards.

Now he insists last Saturday’s Royal London One-Day Cup victory over Hampshire at Lord’s will provide vital impetus to all the initiatives he has introduced with a view to securing a successful long-term future.

“Winning silverware is an important part of our strategy because it not only builds confidence among the senior players, but also fuels the enthusiasm of the talent coming through the ranks behind them,” he said.

“We have been striving to put in place layers to support what is happening now and build for the future. That starts with recruitment into our age-group teams and forging strong relationships with Devon and Cornwall cricket, as well as within Somerset.

“With our academy and second XI, we demand heavy runs from the batsmen, consistent wicket-taking from the bowlers and the right work ethic to create the competition for first team places essential for success.

“The ideal we are working towards is having a senior side composed entirely of players from the south west. That can’t happen overnight and over the next few years we will need to supplement our home-produced players with quality overseas signings.

“We also have to fill any department we find ourselves short in with the right recruits from within the domestic game. But I want to see an increasing number of our age group and academy players graduating into the first team.

“They need to see a clear pathway and that has been demonstrated by the roles Tom Banton and George Bartlett played in our Royal London Cup success.”

^{Somerset had last won the One-Day Cup in 2001.}

Hurry has also introduced changes to the coaching staff in support of head coach Jason Kerr and says that process is continuing.

“This season we have added a bowling coach in Stuart Barnes and a performance psychologist in Chris Bodman, who have both done a great job,” he said.

“At the moment they are employed on a consultancy basis, but I would like to see their roles developed as we move forward.

“You don’t ask someone to climb Mount Everest without the right ropes and equipment. It is the same in cricket and we aim to give our senior players all the support they need to win trophies.”

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Hurry has made no secret of the fact that he is targeting all three domestic competitions this summer.

Somerset lead the Specsavers County Championship and are confident of a strong challenge in the Vitality Blast later in the season.

There are six Championship first division games to be played before the T20 tournament begins in July, starting against Surrey at Guildford next Monday.

“The players have been given a few days off to freshen up following the busy build-up to the Lord’s final,” said Hurry. “They will report back later this week when all our focus will be on red-ball cricket and trying to build on our good start.”

Courtesy of the ECB Reporters Network