by Richard Walsh (Journalist and Museum Trustee)
Whenever people talk about Somerset’s success in one day cricket most refer to the period in the club’s history known as the `Glory Years, when between 1979 and 1983 the team won five one day trophies- four of which came in finals at Lord’s.
Many folk overlook the fact that Somerset had played in two finals before they enjoyed success – in 1978 when they lost to Sussex in what was the precursor to their run of success, and in 1967 when they lost to Kent. The match against Kent in 1967 is often the forgotten final because it was only the fifth year of the Gillette Cup and one day cricket was very much still in its infancy.
This summer marks the 55th anniversary of the match against Kent and recently I was lucky enough to be able to spend time in the company of Somerset stalwarts Ken Palmer and Peter Robinson who were members of the team on that long ago early autumn day.
One day cricket was first introduced to the domestic calendar in 1963 when the Gillette Cup knock out competition started but Somerset had not fared so well in the early days as Ken Palmer explained: “When it was first introduced I couldn’t believe it because you could just go in and have a slog and then bowl your overs – none of us took it too seriously, that is until we realised that there was a Man of the Match Award that paid good money!”
On the other hand Peter Robinson, who joined Somerset from his home county in 1965, had been 12th man for Worcestershire when they lost the first ever one day final to Sussex in 1963. Robbo, as he is known. might have been 12th man again in 1967, but for an injury.
“Tony Clarkson who was the regular opener was injured in a car accident just before the Weston Festival so they pushed me up the order to open and in the championship game beforehand against Middlesex at Lord’s I scored 97 and that cemented me opening the batting for the final the next day.
In the semi final Somerset had beaten Lancashire at Old Trafford in a game that went into the second day- when Ken got Man of the Match for his three for 20 off 12 overs as the Red Rose county were dismissed for 110. In reply to the visitors total of 210.
By 1967 Gillette Cup matches had been reduced from 65 to 60 overs per side and after winning the toss and choosing to bat Kent had reached 129 for one and were coasting to a big total by the lunch break.
Ken said: “I didn’t bowl very well that morning and their two openers Luckhurst and Denness got on top of me and I couldn’t hold them- but I still managed to end with one for 37 from my 12 overs!
Robbo went on: “Then Bill Alley and Fred Rumsey pulled it back well after lunch. Colin Cowdrey, who had just been announced as the new England captain was clapped all the way to the wicket -but he didn’t last long as I caught him low down at mid wicket off the bowling of KP and they clapped him all the way back to the pavilion too!”
In the end Kent were bowled out for 193 in reply to which Somerset were dismissed for 161, of which Robbo hit 48.
“We should have won it really, but our big batters didn’t come off that day. I started well and I guess that after getting in like I did I should have stayed in and finished the job off. I think the turning point in our innings was when Mervyn Kitchen was out caught and bowled by Alan Dixon- that was a great catch. Merv drove one back and he caught it low one handed.”
Ken said: “Dicko was a good cricketer all round and every time he played against Somerset he seemed to produce something special.”
Robbo went on: “Terry Barwell and Budgie ( Graham Burgess) brought us back a little bit but by then the game was almost up really.”
Following the `Gillette Cup the Somerset players asked for more money for appearing in the final but were told that their contracts said they had to play in any game the club said.
“We all had a go about it and in the end they agreed to pay us an extra £15 – and that was taxable! I was only getting paid £575 a year then so anything extra was a help. You were also supposed to get more money when you got your cap, but I never did.”
To help to supplement their income from the final Fred Rumsey had put together souvenir brochure ‘Up from Somerset for the Cup,’ which was sold around the ground and outside at Lord’s.
Robbo said : We weren’t going to get much money for playing so he came up with the idea of producing the book. He did a lot of work on it and we all had £20 a piece from the sale of it. Fred had lots of ideas- I never thought that he got the credit for setting up the PCA.”
Lord’s had never seen the kind of support that Somerset had brought with them.
Ken said: “The crowd was fantastic and lots of them were there in their smocks and straw hats, pitchforks with barrels of cider there was all sorts, I don’t think Lord’s had ever seen anything like it. The Kent crowd had brought hops that they hung over the railings. People were sat on the grass as well- the crowd was huge and we all had the dabbles- don’t worry about that.”
Robbo said: “You got to the dressing room and you didn’t know if you were going to be batting or fielding and then you heard the Somerset fans chanting Bill Alley’s name out loud. You felt a bag of nerves really. Ken and Fred had both played in test matches but for most of the rest of us this was the biggest day of our cricketing lives. Walking out to bat at Lord’s is something that you never forget so it was just nice to get some runs at Lord’s. It’s a long walk back if you get a nought!”
Ken said: “When you walked out there you felt so much on edge because it was so vast and there was such a huge crowd- it was like those big football stadiums. There was lots of noise, there were farmers with their smocks and flagons of cider, I think that special trains had been laid on. ”We didn’t have a plan really we just turned up in the morning had a few catches and that was it and out we went. After the game some of us stayed the night but others went home.”
Robbo said: “ Back then I think that we were closer to the Somerset people because we used to go all round the county to Glastonbury, Weston, Yeovil, Street, Bristol Imperial and Bath to play games and also played benefit matches at lots of the smaller clubs, which has all changed now.”
He added: “Certainly the atmosphere was terrific. Since then I have been to a lot of finals with Somerset but I have never known a day quite like that one.”