THE summer of 2005 was a memorable one for English cricket. 

The Ashes were regained after 18 years of hurt, the public were gripped by cricket fever – no doubt helped by the ability to watch it unfold on terrestrial television – and, on a domestic level, the fledgling Twenty20 Cup was in its third season.

Somerset began the competition needing to improve having failed to progress past the group stage in each of their first two campaigns – perhaps not a surprise given how the format was seen by some of the players.

James Hildreth, then a promising young batsman beginning to make a name for himself, recalls: “When it started, T20 was seen as a bit gimmicky. There were nicknames on the back of shirts and no-one really seemed to know how to approach it, so batsmen just went out and tried to hit every ball for six.

“To begin with it wasn’t taken as seriously as the other formats – there was no real thought on how to build an innings.”

Carl Gazzard, Somerset’s hard-hitting young wicketkeeper of that era, goes further.

“The attitude was literally ‘this is a bit of a jolly’, certainly in the first year,” he said.

“Practice was a shambles - it was just having a laugh and going out to slog it - but it didn’t take long to catch on that this was going to be quite big. 

“When Leicestershire won it in the second year it was a bit of a wake-up call that, actually, this looks quite good and we could do something. In ‘05 we trained for it from the get go. We wanted to have a real go at the T20.”

That they did. Somerset recovered from defeat in the opening group match in Cardiff – Glamorgan won it by virtue of losing fewer wickets after the scores were tied – to overpower Worcestershire and Glamorgan, making over 200 on each occasion.

A final-ball victory at Northamptonshire followed and Somerset blasted their way into the final qualification place with a crushing victory over Gloucestershire, which featured what was then a competition record score of 228-5.

Somerset returned to Northampton for the quarter-final, where all-rounder Keith Parsons struck an unbeaten 38 – including the winning runs from the penultimate delivery - to follow up 3-24 with the ball.

“I didn’t stand out as someone who would have been naturally a big player in T20, but I managed to get through my overs reasonably quickly and batted OK in it,” Parsons recalls.

“I never hit too many sixes but found a way to score quicker than a run a ball and kept calm under pressure. I always enjoyed run chases, so to see us home was very satisfying.”

Somerset were now through to their first ever finals day, and were drawn to face defending champions Leicestershire in the semi-final at the Oval.

That match saw Gazzard come to the fore. A rapid 26 made from number eight, followed by two stumpings and an inspired run out, brought him the man of the match award just six weeks after the Cornishman had hit the winning runs against Australia in Taunton on another thrilling occasion that summer.

“They were amazing days, easily the highlights of my time at the club,” Gazzard said.

“I vividly remember Leicester having a big conference as to who was going to bowl the last over [in the semi-final].

“Dinesh Mongia and Darren Maddy were bowling when I came in – it was gripping, spinning, Maddy was bowling slower balls and it was really hard.

“For the last over they went back to Ottis Gibson because he’d bowled their last over throughout the tournament. I was watching the chat thinking ‘please not Maddy’, so when they went back to Gibson I was delighted.”

Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News:

SEMI-FINAL STAR: Carl Gazzard

Gazzard fired 16 from the final over to lift Somerset to 157-6, only for Leicestershire to race to 74-0 in reply – at which point the ‘keeper had a word in Ian Blackwell’s ear.

“He had bowled over the wicket for the whole tournament but they were playing him comfortably,” Gazzard said.

“I said to him ‘you’ve got to go round the wicket, it’s spinning’, so he did. They still tried to whack him and ended up chucking it away.”

Blackwell’s match-changing spell of 3-25 in four overs set up a tense finale, and Somerset held their nerve to win by just four runs and set up a final against a star-studded Lancashire.

The opposition side included Andrew Flintoff – at the height of his powers in that Ashes summer - alongside Australian stars Stuart Law and Andrew Symonds, with a young Jimmy Anderson thrown in for good measure.

“We fed off the underdog spirit massively – that was our main card,” Hildreth admitted.

“It meant we could go out there with a fearless, nothing to lose approach which I think really benefited us. The opposition teams had far more star names than us, but Graeme Smith calmed us all down and said ‘What have we got to worry about?’”

Smith’s impact cannot be overstated. Though still only 24 when he arrived in Taunton, he had been in charge of his native South Africa for two years by this point and took Somerset to a new level during his brief stay.

Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News:

IMPACT: Graeme Smith

Gazzard said of his skipper: “He was either the same age or younger than all of us, but I’d never come across anyone who had that aura about them – he was such an authoritative figure but was also your mate.

“He’d have a laugh and a joke and enjoy a few beers, but the second he stood up to talk he had that aura and people would listen. The respect he earned straight away was unreal. No chance would we have won it without him – he was the best I’ve ever played with.”

In the final, Smith was in imperious form with the bat after fine work with the ball had restricted Lancashire to 114-8.

“By the time we got to the final Smith was almost saying ‘leave it to me lads, I’ll sort this out’ – and he did,” Parsons said.

“On paper they were much better than us, but they didn’t play to their best and we got wickets early. When it came to batting, Smith took control.

“He gave us the belief. He was a great talker and motivator and just got us playing in the right way. Everyone contributed at various times during the year – even on finals day it was two or three different players who stood up and did it. It was a good all-round team display all year.”

Hildreth went out to join his skipper in the final with exactly 50 more runs needed to win.

“It was a pressure situation in a way, but Graeme was playing so well at the other end and just needed someone to stay with him,” he said.

“Fortunately I was able to do that – and I hit the winning runs with a clip through mid-wicket off Jimmy Anderson.”

Hildreth finished unbeaten on 16, with Smith on 64, as Somerset won by seven wickets and celebrated their first silverware since the C&G Trophy four years earlier – which Parsons had also played his part in winning.

“With the T20 there was more music and more media hype,” the all-rounder said.

“The other [50-over] ones were more traditional – we were still playing in whites in those finals. It was different, but they were all great occasions which I look back on fondly.”

While Parsons had experienced showpiece finals before, it was all new to a wide-eyed Hildreth.

“It was incredible for a youngster like me making my way into professional cricket,” he said.

“It was so unlike anything I’d experienced – Girls Aloud performed between matches – and it was a brilliant atmosphere.”

Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News:

POP-TASTIC: Girls Aloud perform at the Oval

Hildreth has, of course, experienced the other side of finals day. 

He is the only player from the class of 2005 who will be lining up again on Saturday, and was part of the Somerset sides who qualified in four successive years between 2009 and 2012 - only to come away empty handed on each occasion.

“We went into those feeling we should have won them, given some of the world-class players we had,” he said.

“For whatever reason that didn’t happen, but there are not many lads still playing for us who experienced that, which I think is a good thing.

“It does surprise me that we haven’t won anything since then [2005], as well as being very frustrating. We have played some quality cricket over the years but just haven’t been able to get over the line. I’m confident that can change on Saturday.”

If it does, the people of Taunton could again have the opportunity to take to the streets to greet the champions on an open top bus tour. 

“We’d seen some of the football sides doing it but it felt a bit strange for us,” Parsons, born and bred in Taunton, said.

“There were quite a few people who came out to see us, and it’s always nice to feel the support of the town behind you.”

Burnham and Highbridge Weekly News:

RECEPTION: Mayor Richard Lees gets his hands on the cup with Ian Blackwell (right)

Not all of the winners’ perks were so successful, however.

“We went up to Bristol City and were booed when we went on the pitch at half-time,” laughs Hildreth.

“I’m not sure we’ll try that again, but the bus was good fun!” 

Where are they now?

SOMERSET’S class of ‘05 contained a mixture of local lads and international stars.

Here is what the starting XI have been up to since that memorable final 13 years ago...

Graeme Smith - The influential South African never returned to Taunton, despite hopes to the contrary.

He captained his country until his retirement in 2014, scoring 9,265 Test runs at 48.25.

Since retiring, Smith has worked in the media.

Marcus Trescothick - Tresco remained part of Somerset’s T20 sides until 2015, leading them to three finals days as captain, but now focuses on the red ball.

Matt Wood - The batsman played for Nottinghamshire after leaving Taunton in 2007, and now works as Notts’ Elite Pathway Manager.

Ian Blackwell - ‘Blackie’ was a cult hero at Somerset but left to join Durham in 2008.

He later played for Warwickshire and remains on the circuit as a First Class umpire.

James Hildreth - The 34-year-old is still a vital figure in all formats - he has scored more runs in T20 cricket for Somerset than anyone else.

Keith Parsons - After retiring in 2008, Parsons returned to professional cricket to captain the Unicorns side in the CB40 from 2010 until 2013.

He remains on site at the County Ground, working at Somerset County Sports.

Wes Durston - It never quite happened for the local all-rounder at Somerset, though he later starred for the Unicorns and earned a contract at Derbyshire.

Seven successful seasons in the Midlands followed before he left in 2016 - Durston now coaches at Oakham School.

Carl Gazzard - The ‘keeper retired in 2009 at the age of 27, with Craig Kieswetter having taken the gloves and Jos Buttler emerging.

He currently works as a senior financial consultant at Cooper Associates.

Richard Johnson - The seamer spent one more season in Taunton before returning to Middlesex in 2006.

He retired the following year and is now Middlesex’s interim coach, until at least the end of the season.

Charl Langeveldt - The death bowling specialist later appeared in T20 sides at Derbyshire, Kent and Leicestershire.

Langeveldt was South Africa’s bowling coach until October 2017.

Andrew Caddick - ‘Caddy’ remained a Somerset stalwart until retiring aged 41 in 2009.

He still lives locally and retains his passion for flying helicopters.

Somerset T20 results 2005:

Mid/Wales/West Group:

Somerset 183 (Hildreth 46), Glamorgan 183-8

Somerset 210-6 (Wood 94), Worcs 195-5

Somerset 212-3 (Hildreth 71), Glamorgan 123 (Blackwell 4-26)

Northants 95-6, Somerset 97-5 (Parsons 32*)

Glos v Somerset (no result)

Somerset 189-5 (Smith 105), Northants 191-5)

Warks 172-8, Somerset 125

Somerset 228-5 (Smith 53), Glos 133 (Andrew 4-22)

Quarter-final - Northants 154-8 (Blackwell 3-16), Somerset 155-6 (Wood 58, Parsons 38*)

Semi-final - Somerset 157-9 (Wood 38), Leics 153-8 (Blackwell 3-25)

Final - Lancs 114-8 (Johnson 3-26, Caddick 2-21), Somerset 118-3 (Smith 64*)