Wakely deflated after YB40 exit

Needing to win and have other results to go their way if a semi-final place was to be secured, Somerset’s defeat of Gloucestershire, 45 minutes after Northamptonshire had won in Birmingham, put the final nail in the proverbial coffin.

And Wakely, who led his side to eight wins from their 12 outings, was deflated in his post-match offering.

He said: “It’s a hard one. We’d just won the game and were singing the song but we weren’t really that interested because we were waiting for the other results.

“There were some mixed emotions. We’ve played some seriously good cricket this year and to only lose three games in the competition and not have a chance of qualifying is a bit of a shock.

“The format isn’t great, everyone knows that, and next year it’s going to change.”

But despite the outcome, he admitted to being ‘very proud’ with the strides forward taken by the team in the limited overs game.

He added: “From where we were last year, we were embarrassing really, to lose the first two games quite emphatically, we sat down and we wanted to improve.

“I’m very proud of where we’ve got to, there have been some fantastic individual performances but it’s where the whole club is, it’s a great position to be in.

“To come second in the group, we’d have taken that hands down.”