SOMERSET T20 captain Jim Allenby thinks both he and the team are “much more prepared” going into year’s competition than they were during last season’s disappointing campaign.

The Cidermen finished rock bottom of the South Group in 2016 after winning just three matches, but the 34-year-old is confident this year will be an improvement as he prepares to lead the side into their first match on Sunday.

“I feel a huge amount more prepared – we’ve found a good formula in the 50-over competition in recent years but our T20 last year was not good enough,” he said.

“I learned a lot last year about what the guys can and can’t do and their best roles in the side and, having further established that in the 50-over games earlier this season, I feel really happy and settled with the 12 or 13 players we are going to use initially.

“We’re getting better – we are not the finished article in T20 yet but we hope that by the end of this competition we will have managed to establish a gameplan, which we haven’t done for a few years.

“If we can nail that early on then results will follow - hopefully we can keep our momentum going and progress deep into the tournament.”

Somerset’s campaign begins at the Oval with a tricky tie against Surrey, which is followed by three more away fixtures – something Allenby is not overly concerned about.

“I have no issue with it,” he said.

“I look at the positives – it means we are going to be together a lot at the start of the competition, on the bus and in hotels, so we will have an opportunity to talk a lot about the game and prepare in a different way on matchdays as we don’t have our home ground available.

“I think it takes the pressure off, as things are out of our control and we just have to crack on with what’s in front of us. They are four really tough away games, but that will give us a chance to get our heads together and plan how we are going to play this format.

“It is fantastic to be starting away at Surrey,” he continued.

“Playing up there will be one of the toughest games, but we can go into it with a no fear approach and really attack them.

“They will probably see themselves as favourites, as they should be, so we have nothing to lose – we can try and be aggressive and set the tone for the tournament.”

Key to the team’s aggression will be Corey Anderson, the New Zealand international who has signed as the overseas player for the duration of the tournament.

Speaking about the new recruit, Allenby said: “Corey will bring something we haven’t had since Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard left – he’s a real finisher and a guy who can consistently clear the boundaries in the second half of the innings.

“We’ve got a lot of top order players who are high quality and learning those roles, but Corey is an international cricketer who has played all round the world in different competitions.

“I expect he will be able to help me out a lot with different methods – I’ve learned a lot from playing around the world and he’s played in a lot more than I have, so I will be using him to find out as much as possible about modern T20 ways, how New Zealand go about things and his experiences from the IPL.

“Above all, though, he’s a really exciting player who will hopefully play some big innings, finish innings’ off and get us those big scores that we’ve been short of in recent years.

“It’s also great that he’s here throughout the tournament - that was a sticking point for us with regard to overseas players. Having Chris Gayle here was fantastic, he brought a huge buzz to the place and played really well, but not having that continuity throughout the tournament made it tough to get a style of play in place.

“It would be nice to get a world superstar for a whole tournament but that isn’t possible anymore – what we have is a very fine player who can play all 14 group games and Finals Day, should we get there.”

Craig Overton is another who could become a key figure in this season’s T20 side, as the seamer enters the competition in fine form having taken nine wickets in the Championship victory over Yorkshire.

Having recently been called up to the England T20 squad and then denied a debut that had been promised, the 23-year-old will be keen to show what he can do in the Blast competition.

“I hope he has a point to prove because he’s a fine bowler who should be in England squads, if not now then in the very near future,” Allenby said.

“One of our roles as a club is to help get players selected for England, so we’ll be doing everything we can to help him get there by putting him under pressure in games and asking him to bowl tough overs – if he comes through that then it shows he is ready to go.

“Craig hasn’t played a lot of T20 for us in recent years, mainly due to the scheduling. He’s our main Championship bowler so we had to rest him from this competition when it was mixed in with four-day cricket, but now it is segregated we can try and get him in there and get his role established.

“He has been fantastic since coming back from being with England - he doesn’t let a lot affect him. He’s just a very good bowler who has decent perspective on where he’s at.

“Craig is still young – he’s probably got 10 more years at his peak, which he probably hasn’t even reached yet – and he realises that if he keeps bowling well he’ll get his chance.

“I don’t think he is someone who’s just looking to play one game for England – he is looking to play a lot of games.

“With that in mind, missing out on one match come the end of his career won’t be the be all and end all. He’s aiming for the Test side and the white ball squads – taking hundreds of Test wickets is something he’ll want to do.”

Though Allenby admits he has been a frustrated figure at times this season due to a lack of four-day appearances – the all-rounder’s first Championship game came in the win at Yorkshire and he confessed he’s “not a great watcher” – the captain is optimistic about his team’s chances in the Blast.

“My target in any team I’ve played in is to be better than the year before,” he said.

“Obviously that’s quite simple for us this year because we weren’t good last year, so I think if we make a quarter-final that’s progress.

“The target is to reach the knock-out stages. Once you get there anything can happen, and if we can get there it will be a successful season.”

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