Edness new Somerset skipper

Jacobi Robinson has been sacked as Somerset’s Cup Match captain and his future involvement at the club remains in doubt.

Earlier this week Somerset’s executive “officially” announced that the burly all-rounder had been stripped of the captaincy in favour of wicketkeeper Jekon Edness, whose uncle Andre Manders also captained Somerset in Cup Match.

While Somerset’s executive has given Edness a glowing endorsement, it has emerged that not everyone at the club has accepted his promotion with open arms.

“The players didn’t want Jekon to be the captain — they wanted Jacobi instead,” a club source told the Bermuda Sun. “But the executive made a decision and Jekon is captain of Somerset Cricket Club.

“He’s the captain of Somerset. He accepted the job and that is final. Now whether the guys play with him or not that’s a different matter.”

Swashbuckling

When asked whether Robinson would remain at Somerset or transfer to Rangers, the source said: “Jacobi hasn’t indicated anything yet.”

It is alleged that Robinson fell out favour with his superiors at Somerset through a combination of injury and his performances as a captain — particularly in Cup Match.

But it is a perceived “selfish ” approach to the game that appears to have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

The source said: “Jacobi is a swashbuckling type of player, either you get me or I get you. Many times the team would be in a precarious situation and in need of a captain’s innings and Jacobi would come in and bang the ball about and get out cheaply. Many felt he is not a team player.”

Robinson’s captaincy came under scrutiny in 2008 when he conceded a Cup Match draw with St. George’s under pressure.

Lamented

It was a decision he later regretted.

“In 2008, we as captains made a bad decision to abandon the game,” Robinson lamented when looking back at the match.

He also came under fire last year for publicly accusing club cricket chairman Charlotte Simons of stripping him of the captaincy and imposing a lengthy suspension for bailing out on his team-mates under the guise of a knee injury that required surgery.

Simons vehemently denied the claim while a club source said only the executive had the authority to appoint or relieve a captain of their duties.

The former national team player was subsequently replaced by Jordan DeSilva, who has since been appointed as Somerset’s vice-captain.

It has also been confirmed that Ricky Hoyt, grandson of West Indies legend Sir Everton Weeks, has been appointed as Somerset’s coach for the upcoming season. n