Bad day for Somerset but Cox still confident

There was no hiding the disappointment on the faces of the Somerset players after their eight-wicket defeat by Yorkshire in the quarter-finals of the Benson & Hedges Cup at Taunton on Wednesday.

Captain Jamie Cox said: "We are very disappointed. We expected to play a lot better than we did. We fell quite a few runs short of where we wanted to be. It was a competitive score if we had bowled well, but we bowled badly."

Marcus Trescothick, one of Somerset's two England stars, summed up the day's performance in one word - bad - before going on: "I had a bad day personally. We have to pick ourselves up and get on with the next game - and quickly."

The next first-team game is on Wednesday May 30th against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Skipper Cox said after the game: "Matt Bulbeck is close to being ready for first-team cricket, and before the team is selected Richard Johnson will undergo tests and will hopefully be fit to play."

Despite the defeat Cox said: "I am full of confidence that the players on the staff can do the job, but at the moment we're not performing."

Though it will be of little consolation to the players, by being knocked out of the Benson & Hedges Cup at this stage Somerset will now play a four-day game against Australia starting at the County Ground on July 13th.