Just a few of the things one might notice in venturing about Somerset Cricket Club, the site for this year's annual Cup Match classic, now just over a week away.

Yet all has not been so tranquil on the western front in the lead-up to the big day.

The recent resignation of Bernard Brangman as chairman of the selection committee and a string of poor results by the league side after a flourishing start to the season has caused a few ripples.

Brangman made the decision to step down after he was openly snubbed by team members and club president Colin Smith's calling of a squad meeting in his absence.

And it's further understood that during the meeting, Brangman's leadership position with regard to team selection was openly questioned, this despite the fact that Somerset stood undefeated at the time and were among the Premier League leaders.

This all proved too much for Brangman to swallow, especially after a tumultuous period last year in the build-up to Cup Match. He came in for criticism regarding the club's decision to award the captaincy to Albert Steede, thus robbing Somerset native Dexter Basden, a move he claims was unduly influenced by the president.

When contacted Brangman was at first reluctant to speak on the issue, noting that he had been kept in the dark and referred inquiries to Smith.

"It's getting up to Cup Match and I don't want to make any statements, because I don't want to cause any problems with the Cup Match,'' said Brangman, who took over the role from Shaun Roberts last year. "But let me say this much...if you want some information I would suggest you call the president, because they had a (team) meeting to which I was not invited, but the president did attend.

"Of course I felt slighted. We had played three games and won three and they're calling a meeting regarding me.'' Meanwhile, Smith refused to be drawn on the issue of Brangman, terming the situation a "club matter''.

"I can't get into that,'' said Smith, set to preside over his second Cup Match as president and now having added the title acting chairman of selectors. "That's something that is solely for the club.

"If he thinks that that's what happened then that's on him. I can only say that those matters lie within the club right now.'' Returned to his role as a regular club member, Brangman said he believed Somerset had a good chance of defeating St. George's, provided the correct side was chosen.

"I feel that right now there are quite a few players out there that play for Somerset, that are in very good form,'' said Brangman, once a fine early order bat for the west enders. "And I feel to myself that if they select a team on its merit, with the thought that we must bowl (St. George's) out and make runs, we have the players to be able to perform that function and win Cup Match. It's up to the selectors.'' However, his tone changed when it was mentioned how Smith had stated his desire for more homegrown players to be considered.

"I could understand him saying that, but when you really look at it...don't you think he's, maybe, pre-empting the selection committee?'' inquired Brangman. "You can look at last year, when he made a similarly (intrusive) statement about a change in the captaincy, because when he came on TV talking about the change in the captaincy it was without any consultation with me, I knew nothing about it.

"So some people had the idea that he decided the captain had to be changed, which was not so. Yet he was the one who came out and made that statement before a captain had even been picked, hence I was put at a disadvantage, and right now he's put the selection committee at a disadvantage again.

"What happens if only one player from Somerset plays? What will he say then? "The best thing he could have done was to keep quiet, pick the team and we'll just have to accept it and be satisfied with it. Often we have something we want to say, but sometimes it's better to keep quiet and not say anything.'' Somerset will host their final trial match on Saturday, with the team due to be picked that same night.

Dexter Basden: missed out on Somerset captaincy.