'There's a lot of pressure on my shoulders'

Much of Somerset’s Cup Match hopes rest on the broad shoulders of speed merchant Malachi Jones.

Jones reckons he is up to the task.

He said: “I just have to play my natural game and let the results speak for themselves. I think myself, Jacobi (Robinson) and Jordan’s (DeSilva) role is to try and get the top four or five batsmen out as early as possible and then come back to get the last couple of guys out at the end.

“There’s a lot of pressure on my shoulders, but I’m not really worried about the pressure side of things. I think it will be a shared responsibility between all the bowlers.”

With expectations of a Somerset win on home soil running high, Jones says he sees no reason why the hosts cannot achieve their primary objective against an “inexperienced” St. George’s team.

He said: “I think this is one of our best opportunities. I think we can win coming up against a young and inexperienced St. George’s team to say the least. If we can stick to our game plan I think we can win the cup — and it’s always good to win the cup back on your own field.”

Jones added: “St. George’s have a new captain (Oronde Bascome) who has all that past about his family on his mind and things of that nature. They had a number of experienced players step down last year and so he’s basically got only one or two players in the team to turn to that have played more than five Cup Matches.

Both ways

“I don’t see any reason why we cannot pull it off this year…I just hope the weather is good because we cannot afford any breaks.”

Jones believes the batting strip at Somerset will suit both seam and spin bowling.

He said: “I think there’s going to be something in it for all the bowlers. I think the wicket is going to play both ways personally. Early on you might get a little movement and bounce from the seam bowlers and Somerset’s wicket always seems to have a bit of turn in it anyway.”