About

Welcome to Cider Press, a place, a space, well, a website really, dedicated to all things Somerset County Cricket Club.

Having decided to give journalism a shot during lockdown (the original, 2020 version), I quickly realised that I was a decade, maybe even two, too late to properly get my teeth into county cricket coverage. I heard tales from those few still scribing of packed press boxes, of national titles carrying reports from half a dozen or more Championship games, of feasts and of fun.

But those days are gone. They are never coming back. I'd have more chance of making a One Day Cup century batting left handed than of getting anything published in print about the competition these days.

However, that doesn't mean the love for the domestic game has gone. The fire still burns bright in many. It just needs a home, somewhere for all that fuzzy warmth to be channelled. That is where Cider Press, and indeed the dozen plus cricketing websites that have been set up under the CounterPress umbrella, comes in.

Our aim is to bring you the most in-depth Somerset cricket coverage there is. Features, interviews, deep dives, comment pieces, columns, glances to the past etc.

We are a start-up but we will, I hope, evolve and grow. Think of this as our rookie year; we are on a summer contract and have exams to sit.

By the way, I'm Sam Dalling and I'm going (to attempt to) lead the project. You may, if you are a club live stream viewer, know my voice. Other Somerset loving journalists are joining in, too. At various points you'll read the words of Harry Everett (the most famous man at the CACG?!), Charlie Taylor, Annie Chave, Kit Harris and Vic Marks.

We'd love you to join us.