Cider Army: Ben Timpson

The latest Somerset supporter to share their views is Ben Timpson, a resident of Taunton but originally from Cornwall.

Ben tells us his thoughts on the season so far, his player of the season and whether he feels Somerset will lift a trophy in 2015.

You can follow Ben on Twitter: @bentimmo

• Who are Ya?

Ben Timpson, aged 28, originally from Cornwall but now living in Taunton. A baby daughter meant I didn’t get membership this year, and haven’t made it to the County Ground either!

• Cider boy since?

Only very recently really: I moved to Taunton in 2008, and got Twenty20 membership in 2009. The first Somerset match I saw was in 2008 though, a Twenty20 against Worcestershire. Langer was out first ball of the match, and then Tresco hit a 53-ball century. I’ve had Platinum membership most years since.

• Favourite Somerset player ever?

Despite only becoming a fan recently, I’m a bit of a cricket historian: reading about the exploits of Sammy Woods makes me wish I’d been able to see him play. Early in his career a dangerous fast bowler, particularly for Cambridge University, and then later a powerful batsman and adventurous captain for Somerset.

• Favourite Somerset game ever?

Trescothick’s 13-ball half-century was a wonder to behold, but I preferred Hildreth’s Twenty20 century against Glamorgan in 2012. On form, he is a beautiful batsman to watch, and proved that you don’t have to smash it to succeed in Twenty20.

• Favourite present Somerset player?

Alfonso Thomas: he just seems to love playing the game. Obviously his bowling is great, but also his leadership in one-day cricket.

• Favourite game of this season (any format) and why?

Having not been to the ground, I can’t really comment! However, following online, the Royal London match against Kent was nail-biting, particularly when Thomas and Groenewald seemed to be defying the odds.

• In one sentence how would you describe the 2014 season so far?

LVCC – Promising early on, but a lack of clinical cricket has seen it peter away towards the end of the season. Great to see Trescothick back in the runs, and such a good season for Lewis Gregory.

T20 – Disappointing: we ended up with a chance to qualify, but we rarely seemed to fire: lacking batting firepower in the middle order. Jos was a massive loss in this format.

Pro50 – Pretty similar to the T20 really: we never looked that good, but ended up only narrowly missing out on qualification. Again, good to see Gregory doing so well to pick up his first century for Somerset.

• Player of the season so far in 2014

I’ve mentioned him twice already: Lewis Gregory. It might well have been Craig Kieswetter if not for the injury which cut his season short, but Gregory is really growing into his potential this year: hopefully he can remain injury-free and continue to improve next year!

• Will Somerset win a trophy in 2015?

No, at least not with the current team. The young bowlers can hopefully continue to improve, but we lack a quality spinner. In one-day cricket we need a powerful middle-order batsman, and in both formats we need better leadership.

• Apart from Somerset which other sports and teams do you follow?

Being from Cornwall, I obviously support Manchester United! I also closely follow ice hockey, supporting the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL. I watch bits and pieces of international rugby without really knowing what’s going on and enjoy the Formula 1. There aren’t many sports I’d turn off!