The Somerset Women’s squad along with head coach Erin Osborne and the rest of the support staff paid a visit to the Somerset Cricket Museum on Tuesday 6th January 2026, lunchtime to catch up on the rich history of the county that they represent.
They were greeted by Mike Unwin, one of the museum trustees who talked briefly about the building that the SCM is housed in and how it came to be established in the first place. Mike then showed the squad around the museum pointing out some of the interesting items that are currently featured.
From the reaction of the players the visit was enjoyed by all, as locals Niamh Holland and Jess Hazell, who have both come up through the Somerset Pathway and made their professional debuts in 2025 explained.
Niamh, who led Somerset to T20 victory over Essex when she deputised for Sophie Luff said: “ It’s great to have the chance to come back into the museum. I have been here twice before when I was a lot younger and it’s really interesting to see just how much it’s evolved over a relatively short amount of time.
“I like to see the little touches that the museum makes- like the feature devoted to each of the away teams, that’s changed with each fixture- it’s really nice.
“Its great to see so much women’s cricket represented here and fingers crossed hopefully we’ll go well and there will be plenty more to add to the women’s cricket section!”
Wicket-keeper batter Jess Hazell said: “ The Somerset Cricket Museum is really impressive and there such a lot going on. Since I was last here so much has changed and it’s a really interesting place to be.
“They have done a refurb and it all looks really great, the new interactive boards are quite cool and there is a lot of stuff about women’s cricket which is great to see. To have the chance to come and find out about the history of Somerset through the ages is fascinating.
“I have come up through the pathway and played for Somerset Women before they became a professional side and it’s good to see that represented here as well and then now for the professional side.”
Jess added: “Somerset is my home and I love playing for the county and putting the Wyvern on Hopefully in years to come there will be a lot more trophies and items relating to Somerset Women go into the museum.”
Afterwards Mike Unwin said: “It was great to be able to welcome the whole of the women’s squad and show them some of the more interesting exhibits that we have.
Mike added: “It was a delight to welcome the Somerset Women’s squad to the museum and they all seemed to find it interesting. They were amused by the size of Joel Garner’s size 14 footprint and they were of course interested in the early history of women’s cricket in Somerset.”
Photograph and article – Credit Richard Walsh
You must be logged in to post a comment.