JACK Blackwell, who plays his club cricket for Taunton Deane and attends Taunton School, has joined the Somerset Academy.

The right arm bowler and right handed batter, who celebrated his 17th birthday in February, explained how he got into cricket in the first place,

“My Mum took me along to Taunton Deane Cricket Club when I was four or five and I have played there ever since. Last summer I also played for Deane Seconds and hopefully will get to play a lot more this coming season.”

“I’m an explosive cricketer and as a batter I hit the ball hard and hit big, and bowling wise I wouldn’t say I bowl quick but I have got quite good skills and do a bit with the ball. At school I bat at number 6 or 7 and for the Somerset age groups I bat 8, 9 or 10.

“I have been involved with the Somerset Pathway from the start and played up through the age groups and came onto the Somerset Academy in January which is really good.”

Jack enjoyed a good season in 2025. “I played a lot of games for the Under 16s in the summer and did quite well and I also had a good season playing for Taunton Deane. I scored quite a few runs and took wickets as well.

“My best innings last summer was in the Baker Cup and I hit 60 off something like 30 balls at Taunton Vale which I was pretty happy about.

“My best bowling was for Somerset Under 16s against Devon in a three-day game when I took four wickets in the first innings and got some more in the second.

“I have played in a couple of three dayers before this one for the Under 18s against Worcestershire and also Warwickshire. It’s a long game and you have to concentrate for a long time so it’s a challenge but it’s good fun and very different to t20 or 50 over games.”

What does it mean to Jack to join the Academy? “Coming onto the Somerset Academy is almost like the start of everything for me. This has been my main aim for a long time and I have done it, so now it’s about pushing harder to get as far as I can go with my cricket.

“I know that its going to be hard work on the Academy doing three or four sessions a week and at the moment I’m trying to balance other sports like hockey, but now I want to try and play as much cricket as possible to get better. When I finish at Taunton School in the summer of 2027, hopefully I will get a Somerset contract.”

What about this coming season? “This season I want to definitely play for Somerset Under 18s and maybe get a few opportunities to play some games for Somerset Seconds and try and do as well as I can.

“In five years time I”d definitely like to be playing regularly for Somerset, and that’s my aim. It’s great to have this opportunity to work with so many good coaches and with Lewis Gregory. I have also done some work with Craig Overton and Josh Davey and I’m learning as much as I can from them all.” Jack added: “These are exiting times for me.”