Scott Morton has stepped down as head coach of Somerset Trojans for health reasons.

Somerset Cricket Club president Richard Scott was informed of Morton’s decision at the weekend.

“I spoke to coach Morton and he expressed his concern with being able to continue and his situation is medical-related, so he has resigned from his coaching duties,” Scott told The Royal Gazette.

“Of course the downside is we are losing Scott’s services as our head coach but his personal issue definitely needs to take precedence. We at Somerset fully support whatever he needs to do to get back on track and certainly wish him all the best with his recovery.”

Morton ended a three-year break from coaching when agreeing to a three-year deal with Somerset last July after predecessor Jomar Wilkinson was relieved of his duties after only one season in the job.

The coach had enjoyed considerable success with PHC Zebras, whom he led to seven titles, including back-to-back Premier Division championships, before stepping down in 2019, and expectations have increased at Somerset this season after Morton guided the club to victory in the Dudley Eve Trophy.

“Coach Morty came and we had success winning the Dudley Eve Trophy so we were looking forward to some good things happening as a result of having him on board,” Scott said. “Everybody knows Scott has a loaded resumé when it comes to coaching so we were excited.”

Assistant coach Jensen Rogers has been at the helm since January in Morton’s absence and will remain there at least until the end of the season, with Scott confident the transition will go smoothly.

“We’ve had challenges of late but like any other team we have highs and lows,” he said.

“We have a great young team and that was one of the reasons why we were looking forward to Scott’s involvement, but coach Jensen has been right there all season so him taking over for the remainder of the season should be a smooth transition.

“The coaching staff meet regularly outside of their training time and coach Morty confirmed that he will still be very much in contact with the coaching staff at Somerset.”

Somerset have struggled since lifting the Dudley Eve Trophy and are still not safe from Premier Division relegation with two matches remaining in the season, but they boosted their chances of survival courtesy of a hard-fought 2-1 win over -Dandy Town at Goose Gosling Field on Sunday.

“It was great to see is us get the three points,” Scott said. “I think one of the things we are seeing is the character of the team and that when the going gets tough they are able as a young unit to put their head down and grind out the result.

“A lot of times when you are going through a rebuilding stage the ideal situation would be that you have a mixture of youth and experience but sometimes you go through those patches where you don’t have that luxury.

“The great thing is that we have a bit of experience, we have a few older players who have been playing for quite a number of years, but we also have the bulk of the team as youth players who will develop and really get a handle on the intensity of the Premier Division. We are looking good and the future is bright, we are happy with the way that things are going.”