Caddick awarded testimonial

Andrew Caddick takes the wicket of Neil McKenzie in the South Africa tour game

Andrew Caddick will mark his 21st year of cricket at Somerset with a testimonial season.

The 40-year-old former England fast bowler, who first appeared for the county in 1989, will host six fundraising events in the 2009 season.

Caddick, who has signed a one-year contract extension at Taunton, enjoyed a benefit season in 1999, but this extra reward is testament to his loyalty and enduring success at Somerset.

Caddick said: “It’s a real honour to be awarded a testimonial by the club and my focus of attention now is to make sure that I am fully fit and ready to go for the new season.

“Hopefully I can help the club to win the county championship for the first time.

“My winter training is right on schedule after two months off. I have started back now and will begin bowling again early in the New Year.

“My body is doing well and I am feeling very strong so I feel pretty good about things.

"The main thing is the performance on the park. 1999 was a good year for me and that was reflected in the support I had from the public. Hopefully 2009 will be a good year too.

"You can have six major events. Three of them will be in the Somerset area and three will be away.”

Caddick sends back Alec Stewart in the 1999 NatWest Trophy semi-final during a stellar season

Born in New Zealand, Caddick made his Test debut in the 1993 Ashes Test at Old Trafford, and went on to play 62 Tests for England, taking 234 wickets. He also played 54 one-day internationals.

Caddick has taken 865 first-class wickets for Somerset, sixth in the county’s all-time list.

His 9-32 against Lancashire at Taunton remains Somerset’s fourth-best innings analysis in first-class cricket.

Caddick’s hopes of leading Somerset to an inaugural LV County Championship in 2008 were scuppered by a series of back and neck problems, which limited him to 10 first-class matches and a single NatWest Pro40 game.

Somerset chief executive Richard Gould said: “Caddy is still going strong and one of our leading bowlers 10 years after his benefit back in 1999.

“He’s been a wonderful servant to the club and achieved a great deal for Somerset and a great example to all of the young cricketers who have grown up sharing a dressing room with him.”