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Preview 2014: Ronnie Prentice

Steve Jennings

We asked Somerset supporters to tell us about themselves and their love of the cider county. First up is Ronnie Prentice one of our Scottish supporters. Thanks to him for his contribution and if you are a fan and want to contribute too then please email us at The Incider and we’ll send you the form.

(1) Ronnie Prentice from Motherwell

  • Who are Ya?

Ronnie Prentice (51), I live in Motherwell, Scotland. Am a Championship member and get to 2 home CC games some one day stuff and all Somerset away games in the North of England each season. Even got to Lords away last season (what a game-go on Lewis!!!!!!)

  • Cider boy since?

1975 – was watching Gillette Cup v Derby at Taunton on TV and was hooked. Viv Richards was playing. Next year he became a superstar. Highlights 1979 and lows 1978. Biggest regret not making a bigger effort to come down in 80s and 90s to see them live.

  • Favourite Somerset player ever?

Has to be Viv Richards- simply transformed Somerset into winners and a team to be feared and it co-incided with me following scores all day. Great fan of Marcus Trescothick too. Great player and also a good guy as ambassador for the club.

  • Favourite Somerset game

I would say the 1978 semi-final of Gillette Cup v Essex just for sheer drama and excitement and we won.

  • Favourite present Somerset player?

Has to be Marcus Trescothick – Somerset through and through, good guy and superb player to watch in full flow.

  • In one sentence how would you describe the 2013 season?

Simply at times we were not good enough and lacked confidence until later in season.

  • Thoughts on the current squad

Batting is strong and should do okay if they have learned from last year. Bowling at senior level is a little over the hill (Kirby and Thomas) and we are relying on the Overtons, Meschede and Gregory to bowl teams out. I am quietly confident that they will do so though as the signs were there last year.

  • How will Somerset do in 2014?:

LVCC: A good start is imperative. Cricket is a confidence game and momentum is a big part of that. If we can get that early we should do better. We have talented players. An extra bowler in close season would have helped though.

T20:  For the first time in a while I think we are quite weak in this. If Kieswetter is with England at any point and no Buttler our firepower isn’t as strong as it was. A lot depends on what we do with second t20 overseas for me.

Pro50: I think we will be okay in this tournament. Whether we win it remains to be seen. We have batters (Petersen, Compton and Hildreth) who are capable of playing a patient innings to see out the 50 overs, and of course more explosive ones like Trego, Tres and Meschede. Bowling we have a lot of batters who can bowl so we have a variety. Again no reason why we shouldn’t perform well in this.

  • Key player for Somerset in 2014

Marcus Trescothick – if he gets back and firing the rest of the team will follow suit I think and make thing easier than last year (hopefully). Also as the captain the players all look up to him and to have bigger scores on the board and at the quick rate he scores them will give the bowlers more chance to win matches.

  • Young player to watch out for in 2014

Lewis Gregory for me. Showed at the back end of last year what a fine bowler he can be and he is rated as an even better batsman. If he is in the team on his bowling the the batting automatically becomes stronger and we are stronger and more dangerous as a result. Hope he can stay fit though, and that’s a worry. A good fielder too and brings exuberance to our side and born in the Somerset area.

  • Which player would you like to sign for Somerset (if money no object)

England qualified – Graham Onions, simply would bowl us to the CC without a doubt.

Overseas – Dale Steyn, we haven’t had a world class fast bowler at Taunton for far too long and I love watching him bowl.

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

Football and golf. I follow Motherwell FC in Scotland and have done for 40 years. Used to be home and away but just home now. In England I have a hankering for QPR so as can be seen I’m not used to much success. Time for that to change.