Somerset County Cricket Club's 2009 season saw the team compete in four English competitions: the first divisions of the County Championship and the NatWest Pro40 League, the Friends Provident Trophy, and the Twenty20 Cup. Somerset were in contention to win the County Championship until the last few weeks of the season, but the batting-friendly pitch at their home ground meant that they finished with too many draws to claim their first Championship title. Somerset were unbeaten in the group stage of the Friends Provident Trophy, but were eliminated in the first knock-out round, and finished runners-up by one point in the NatWest Pro40. In the Twenty20 Cup, Somerset finished as losing finalists, thus qualifying for the international Champions League Twenty20, where they were eliminated in the second group stage. Overall, Somerset had a successful season but fell short of winning any competitions, prompting their Director of Cricket Brian Rose to say "We've had enough of being cricket's nearly men." Marcus Trescothick (pictured) topped the national batting tables and was named by the Professional Cricketers' Association as Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player of the Year.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerset_County_Cricket_Club_in_2009
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1453:
The Battle of Castillon, the last conflict of the Hundred Years' War, ended with the English losing all landholdings in France, except Calais. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Castillon
1863:
The New Zealand land wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Waikato
1918:
Russian Revolution: Bolsheviks executed Tsar Nicholas II and his family at Yekaterinburg. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_the_Romanov_family
1944:
Two ships laden with ammunition for World War II exploded at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California, killing 320 sailors and civilians, and injuring more than 400 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Chicago_disaster
1992:
Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Manchester Metrolink, a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Metrolink
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
disconsolate: 1. Cheerless, dreary. 2. Seemingly beyond consolation; inconsolable. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disconsolate
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
 We are not powerless. We have tremendous potential for good or ill. How we choose to use that power is up to us; but first we must choose to use it. We're told every day, "You can't change the world." But the world is changing every day. Only question is...who's doing it? You or somebody else? --J. Michael Straczynski https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._Michael_Straczynski
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