Let’s start with the current leaders and the most romantic tale of all – Somerset. One of only three counties never to have been crowned champions, this is the holy grail.
Think of Boston Red Sox’s ‘Curse of the Bambino’ 86-year wait between World Series titles, Hibernian’s 114-year yearning to win the Scottish Cup again, Mayo’s success in the All-Ireland Gaelic Football in July after 11 successive defeats in the final. Somerset’s quest for the County Championship is of a similar ilk.
They had that great team in the late 1970s and early 1980s of Ian Botham, Joel Garner and Viv Richards which amassed plenty of one-day glory, while in recent years, there has been T20 Blast success.
But the Championship – the standard bearer for the county game – has remained elusive, and in a cricket-mad town like Taunton, excitement is building once again.
Of course, they have been close before. Between 2001 and 2019, they finished runners-up on no fewer than six occasions in the title race.
Tom Abell, Lewis Gregory, Craig Overton and Jack Leach were all part of that last side to come second and they remain integral members of the team now.
Overton has had an outstanding season with ball and bat, but he is wise enough to know the pitfalls of looking too far ahead.
“There’s still a long way to go in this Championship and so much cricket to be played,” he told BBC Radio Somerset.
“We’ve just got to keep doing our thing, keep doing the basics and see where we are at the end of this game.”
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