Frustration continues for Somerset after more final woe

Somerset crashed to their fifth consecutive limited-overs final defeat in the past three years as a young Surrey side coasted past a rain-revised target of 186 with 15 balls to spare.

After also missing out on last year’s LV= County Championship First Division title on the final day, Somerset have been landed with the unenviable tag of county cricket’s ‘bridesmaids’.

A clearly disheartened Trescothick recognised it was a status his side would have to live with as he was left searching for answers for his side’s latest trophy heartbreak.

Asked what he thought Somerset needed to do differently to secure an elusive title, he replied: “That’s the million dollar question. I’m out of ideas to try to improve. I’m out of answers.

“What more can you say to justify it or tell you what’s wrong? I don’t know if I’m honest.

“We’ve looked at different things but it’s not working out when we get to this point.

“It’s another kick in the teeth.

“We didn’t bat as well as we could do, whether that’s nerves I don’t know. It’s something we need to address and it needs some honest answers.

“I’m not going to reveal what’s been said (in the dressing room) but it will just be the same old cliched stuff that I can say here.”

Trescothick then apologised to the Somerset supporters who made the trek to Lord’s today.

“I apologise for putting everyone through this. We are playing great cricket for 99 per cent of the season and we all love coming to the big finals,” he added.

“We’ve got to do our best to keep fighting to get the right result.”

Somerset were immediately on the back foot after Trescothick, who defied an ankle injury to take his place, elected to bat first.

The decision was undermined as his side slipped to 79-5 before Jos Buttler, who made a late-night drive from England’s one-day international at Cardiff to be available, embarked on a one-man recovery mission.

Buttler hit 86 from 73 balls to help Somerset post 214 all out, but it proved too little as Surrey made light work of a chase that was reduced by a 90-minute rain delay.

Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown hit 78 from 62 balls, after he was dropped by Murali Kartik before his had scored, to set up a victory that capped a memorable season for his young side.

Surrey earned promotion back to the County Championship First Division after a long absence earlier in the week and, after losing just one match in the 40-over competition all season, Hamilton-Brown was left to reflect on the perfect end to the season.

“The way I see it, a lot of change has been made over the last three years at the club,” he said.

“They are changes that needed to be made and this is just a start of what I think we can achieve.

“It lets the guys know that what we are doing is right.”