Somerset beginning to get excited about championship title

Both Somerset Chief Executive Peter Anderson and Coach Kevin Shine were in buoyant mood at The County Ground on Monday morning, the day after seeing their team go to the top of the CricInfo Championship table after beating Glamorgan inside three days.

The Chief Executive told me "I was very pleased with the way that we played. On Friday we bowled well to get them out cheaply, and then amassed a big score to put them under pressure. Yesterday was a day of attrition in the field for us but we bowled them out. It was a good wicket, and we have Phil Frost to thank for that."

When I asked him about the atmosphere at the club with regard to being top of the table, he told me "We're all beginning to get a little bit excited about the possibilty of winning the championship," but went on "what we have to do now is to hold our nerve and not fade away which is what we've done in the past."

Coach Kevin Shine summed up the game against Glamorgan by saying "There was something for everyone in the match,it was a good hard game of cricketbut that's what First Division cricket is all about. The boys have had to fight hard to get that win. It was good disciplined team performance on a flat wicket, particularly yesterday to get them out."

How were Somerset going to approach the vital Championship game at Canterbury on Wednesday I asked him. He said "We will prepare and approach the game in exactly the same way as all of the others, we're on top and can compete with the best."

The coach confirmed that the team to play against Kent would be the same eleven that beat Lancashire at Old Trafford which means that Piran Holloway and Matt Bulbeck return in place of Marcus Trescothick and Andy Caddick who are back on England duty.