IT was a memorable day at the County Ground last Wednesday when Somerset, against all odds, beat the kings of world cricket, the Australians, by four wickets.

It will be remembered for years to come by those privileged enough to be there and must surely rank as one of Somerset's best ever one-day victories in their long and colourful history.

Lets also congratulate Test cricket's minnows, Bangladesh, who beat the Aussies as well. New Zealand, Pakistan, India and the West Indies all had to start somewhere, and this will benefit Bangladesh and cricket itself.

Despite four successive defeats the England- Australia five-match Test series will be as competitive as ever.

It's sad that the current one-day internationals are not being shown on terrestrial TV. Despite big income from Sky TV this will work to the detriment of cricket in the long run.

While basking in the euphoria of beating the Aussies let's get back to the nitty gritty of all the domestic competitions. Somerset are struggling in the championship and the one-day league.

We have the friendliest bowling attack in the country, key bowlers injured with inexperienced youngsters thrown in at the deep

end and established county players under-achieving.

There's plenty of cricket left in the season, so let's hope our Test stars, Graeme Smith and Sanath Jayasuriya, will be here long enough to contribute to a long overdue turnaround and start winning games.

ALAN FOYLE Belgrave Place, Taunton.