Janeiro Tucker has been named officially as the new coach of Somerset Cricket Club.

Tucker, who has been assistant coach at the club for the past two seasons, takes over the reins from Jeff Richardson, who retired at the end of the 2024 season.

Known as “Mr Cup Match”, Tucker is the all-time leading scorer in the Annual Classic, hitting a century in his farewell match in 2016 and five hundreds overall. He was player-coach at Southampton Rangers before making the move to Somerset and also recently took charge of the under-19 national team.

Tucker’s appointment heralds a season of change at Somerset, with Norbert Simons fully in charge as chairman after the long-serving Mike Corday stepped away from a role they operated jointly in 2024.

Richard Scott, the club president, is hopeful that the new partnership at the top of the club will bring continued success.

“The communication has been great, which is an invaluable recipe for the seamless transition,” Scott said.

“They have met with the players, a meeting I had the privilege to be in attendance, and by all counts I would conclude the temperature of the meeting was indeed positive, robust and quite enthusiastic.

“Janeiro is no stranger to Somerset Cricket Club and we at 6 Cricket Lane are looking forward to him building on the foundation of success laid by his predecessor, and wish him every bit of success.”

The club honoured Richardson last Saturday with an appreciation night that was well-attended. The former Western Stars and Bermuda middle-order batter leaves an almost impeccable record in the Annual Classic since helping Somerset to regain Cup Match in 2012, signing off with a convincing 226-run victory last year.