Somerset must develop 'mental robustness' - Kerr

Somerset lost their final four matches of 2024 in all competitions

Somerset need to develop a "mental robustness" for the closing stages of a season says head coach Jason Kerr, after they ended their 2024 campaign with four straight losses in all competitions.

Somerset started September in the running for three trophies, before losing the T20 Blast final to Gloucestershire, the One-Day Cup final to Glamorgan and their final two County Championship games as Surrey retained the title.

Defeat by Hampshire on Saturday in their last match of the season also saw them slip to third in the Division One table.

Kerr said the challenge of competing for three trophies in the final month eventually took its toll on the squad.

"It's incredibly demanding mentally, it's a hard thing to explain but you feel it within the group that people are mentally exhausted and that can be weeks ago," Kerr told BBC Radio Somerset.

"The intensity of the cricket that you're playing and what you're trying to do is not easy.

"It's a challenge that we relish and that will definitely be some of the learning, how you develop that mental robustness to ensure that you mentally are in the same place as you were in April and May come the end of the summer."

Somerset beat eventual champions Surrey in a thriller on 12 September to remain in the running for a first-ever County Championship title.

But a bruising defeat by West Country rivals Gloucestershire in the T20 Blast two days later - as the club failed to retain their 2023 title - was followed by a 168-run loss to Lancashire when they returned to white-ball cricket the following week to confirm Surrey as champions.

They then fell short in a rain-affected One-Day Cup, before defeat by Hampshire in their 14th day of play in 20 days.

Kerr said he was "incredibly proud" of the squad but "disappointment and frustration" were the overriding feelings.

"It's not a great season, it's a really good season. Great seasons are when you actually achieve things and ultimately win trophies and we haven't done that," Kerr said.

"The challenge for us as a group is the expectation is getting higher each year so you need to be able to manage that as well.

"There's a huge amount of emotion around the group, the club, disappointment, frustration, excitement and it's important we process those emotions and make sure we're learning from those experiences."