A FEW DRY sunny January days and Somerset cricket followers start looking ahead to the first match of the season which is against reigning champions Nottinghamshire at Taunton starting on Friday, 3rd April.

Believe it or not, that’s only just over 11 weeks away and given that the days are getting longer that time will fly by - just like it always does.

Fans will need no reminding that after several hair raising matches in the latter stages of the competition their beloved Somerset won the Vitality Blast T20 Cup for a record equalling third time, in the process setting a new record of 10 final appearances since the short form comp was introduced in 2003.

In the blue riband event- the LV County Championship, the only one of the three domestic trophies they are yet to win, after a poor start during which they looked like relegation candidates they were in strong contention until the last round of games.

In the Metro Bank One Day Cup, led by 21 year old James Rew, a predominantly young Somerset side again did well before losing out to eventual winners Worcestershire in the semi finals.

Somerset Women, in their first season as fully professional players, started and ended their 50 over campaign well and were in the end unlucky not to qualify for the latter stages, while in the Vitality Blast their young squad mostly struggled.

During the winter, former Australian all rounder Erin Osborne, who has appeared in 120 internationals, was appointed as women’s head coach, so it will be interesting to see how this impacts results in 2026.

Somerset Women get their season underway on Saturday, 11th April, with a 50 over home game against Yorkshire. The Men and Women’s both teams start their T20 campaign with a double header against Hampshire on Friday 22nd May.

There’s plenty to look forward to and the countdown has begun!