CRAIG KIESWETTER: Somerset supporters are just fantastic

By nbeck

This week we travelled up to Manchester to take on Lancashire in the quarter-final of the Twenty20 Cup, and to say we were all excited by the game would be a massive understatement.

As a club we are striving to become the best and most complete county in the whole country and this game offered us another brilliant opportunity for us to challenge ourselves against one of the best there is in England.

Lancashire present quite a challenge because they are one of the biggest clubs in the land with a tremendous amount of history. They also play the majority of their home games at Old Trafford which is a big Test arena and very different from playing at the County Ground.

Sadly for everybody our game on Tuesday evening was postponed by the heavy rain that just kept on falling in Manchester, which has also scuppered any chance of playing tonigh,

Luckily the players were able to stay and we are due to replay the game tomorrow but those who made the coach trip up with the Somerset Supporters Club went back home without seeing any cricket, which was pretty tough after travelling all that way.

One thing that has really impressed me ever since I started playing for Somerset is just how supportive and loyal the fans are. They are really great to play in front of and give the side a great lift.

For Somerset County Cricket Club to have had the opportunity to play in a second quarter-final this year is a fantastic achievement. Consistency in any competition is key to winning of trophies and silverware.

Yes, Lancashire will go into tomorrow night's fixture as the more consistent side but we go in as a team with a serious reputation.

I want to challenge myself against the best and I am 100 per cent sure that every other player in the team is the same. That is why we play.

We play to be the best and to challenge ourselves against the very best there is, and playing against teams like Lancashire is what makes us buzz.

Last week we had to settle for a draw from our championship game at Worcestershire that was ruined by the weather, which cost us getting on for a day and a half. However, we still managed to get 12 points from the game and stay in second place in that competition where we are bidding to make history by winning the title for the first time ever.

During the game at New Road our captain Justin Langer became Australia's highest first class run scorer, a record previously held by Sir Donald Bradman, one of the legends of the game, on his way to making 106.

This was a truly remarkable achievement and for a young player like myself it is a fantastic experience to play alongside Langer, who has helped me such a lot in the time that I have been at Somerset.

On Friday its back to Taunton and championship action again when we begin a four-day game against Nottinghamshire who are hot on our heels in the table, so we will be looking to notch up a win from this one if we possibly can.