Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 17, 2014

Somerset County Cricket Club's 2009 season saw the team compete in four English competitions: the first divisions of the County Championship and the NatWest Pro40 League, the Friends Provident Trophy, and the Twenty20 Cup. Somerset were in contention to win the County Championship until the last few weeks of the season, but the batting-friendly pitch at their home ground meant that they finished with too many draws to claim their first Championship title. Somerset were unbeaten in the group stage of the Friends Provident Trophy, but were eliminated in the first knock-out round, and finished runners-up by one point in the NatWest Pro40. In the Twenty20 Cup, Somerset finished as losing finalists, thus qualifying for the international Champions League Twenty20, where they were eliminated in the second group stage. Overall, Somerset had a successful season but fell short of winning any competitions, prompting their Director of Cricket Brian Rose to say "We've had enough of being cricket's nearly men." Marcus Trescothick (pictured) topped the national batting tables and was named by the Professional Cricketers' Association as Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player of the Year. (Full article...)

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