Justin Langer's time as Somerset's captain came to a disappointing end as New South Wales sealed a Champions League semi-final place with a six-wicket victory. Simon Katich struck the winning runs with 49 balls to spare after Somerset had been restricted to a paltry 111 for seven.
Needing a huge win to have any chance of progress, Somerset came out swinging, but against the strongest bowling attack in the competition, that strategy quickly came unstuck. Stuart Clark, a peripheral figure in the last Ashes campaign, took the first three wickets to fall and but for a 37-run stand between Zander de Bruyn, who top scored with 23, and Omari Banks, Somerset's embarrassment would have been more acute. Another lively cameo from Wes Durston, who stepped in for Marcus Trescothick in the previous game, took them to three figures, but once David Warner hit 40 from 16 balls, the contest was effectively over.
"The conditions have been great, but we've come up against world-class opposition," said Langer. "Playing on this wicket with the pace and bounce, I think they'd have to go in as favourites. We tried to get off to a flying start in the Powerplay, but Brett Lee bowled brilliantly, and then they had Stuart Clark to come on. Then they had Nathan Hauritz, who's the current Australian spinner. They had all avenues covered."
Langer scoffed at suggestions that the English sides may have been fatigued after the county season. "I thought that was to our advantage actually. Somerset have no excuses for the way we've played. It was disappointing to lose Marcus Trescothick, who in a lot of ways is the heartbeat of our team. For him to go home was tough on the team, and tough on him. We came here on the back of a long season, and we should have had a lot of cricket-fitness. We just didn't play as well as we would have liked."
Just a month short of his 39th birthday, Langer will now assess fresh challenges. "I think that's probably my last game. There's certainly some sadness there but I know it's time to give it away. I've played for a long time now. It's been nice to finish in this tournament.
"I never thought I'd play county cricket after retiring from international cricket. It's been a great project at Somerset. Three years ago, we were bottom of the second division, and never dreamed of playing in a competition like this. It's great credit to [head coach] Andy Hurry and the coaching staff that we were able to turn it around and be on the big stage."
Needing a huge win to have any chance of progress, Somerset came out swinging, but against the strongest bowling attack in the competition, that strategy quickly came unstuck. Stuart Clark, a peripheral figure in the last Ashes campaign, took the first three wickets to fall and but for a 37-run stand between Zander de Bruyn, who top scored with 23, and Omari Banks, Somerset's embarrassment would have been more acute. Another lively cameo from Wes Durston, who stepped in for Marcus Trescothick in the previous game, took them to three figures, but once David Warner hit 40 from 16 balls, the contest was effectively over.
"The conditions have been great, but we've come up against world-class opposition," said Langer. "Playing on this wicket with the pace and bounce, I think they'd have to go in as favourites. We tried to get off to a flying start in the Powerplay, but Brett Lee bowled brilliantly, and then they had Stuart Clark to come on. Then they had Nathan Hauritz, who's the current Australian spinner. They had all avenues covered."
Langer scoffed at suggestions that the English sides may have been fatigued after the county season. "I thought that was to our advantage actually. Somerset have no excuses for the way we've played. It was disappointing to lose Marcus Trescothick, who in a lot of ways is the heartbeat of our team. For him to go home was tough on the team, and tough on him. We came here on the back of a long season, and we should have had a lot of cricket-fitness. We just didn't play as well as we would have liked."
Just a month short of his 39th birthday, Langer will now assess fresh challenges. "I think that's probably my last game. There's certainly some sadness there but I know it's time to give it away. I've played for a long time now. It's been nice to finish in this tournament.
"I never thought I'd play county cricket after retiring from international cricket. It's been a great project at Somerset. Three years ago, we were bottom of the second division, and never dreamed of playing in a competition like this. It's great credit to [head coach] Andy Hurry and the coaching staff that we were able to turn it around and be on the big stage."
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