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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