Somerset coach Kevin Shine has described the run out by Simon Francis yesterday as the `Champagne Moment' of the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy semi final match against Kent.

He told me: "That was the turning point of the match for us, because we knew that the only way that we were going to win was to bowl them out. Up until that point they still looked like they were going to beat us, but that run out by Simon gave the boys the adrenalin rush to lift their game and get the result that we wanted."

He continued: "It was quite an amazing piece of fielding by Simon. He was off balance and jack-knifed on the ground the wrong way up when he threw it back at the stumps, but he hit them and we got the run out."

The Somerset coach paid tribute to the young fast bowler who joined the club from Hampshire after being released by the south coast county at the end of last season.

He told me: "Simon is a very fit young player who has worked hard at his game during the winter, and I knew that he wouldn't let us down when he went out onto the field to replace Richard Johnson when he limped off with cramp."

"During the nets in the winter evenings the players worked on a routine that involved them diving onto a mat fielding a ball and throwing it from the ground, which is almost exactly what Simon did yesterday, and he did it perfectly!"

Simon Francis told me: "I just knew that I would have to go out there to field when Richard came off. The atmosphere was electric and I felt nervous. When the ball came towards me I tried to field it and threw it back off the ground and got the run out."

No doubt that 'Champagne Moment' will remain with Simon for the rest of his life, and for those who were at the ground yesterday he will always be remembered as 'the man who made the run out'.

© SOMERSET