Jimmy Cook returns to the Bath cricket festival today for the first time since his days as a Somerset player.

Hampshire's first-team coach achieved legendary status in Somerset after arriving at Taunton from Transvaal for his first season of county cricket in 1989.

Cook, 49, scored 28 first-class centuries and seven Sunday League tons during the three years he spent opening the batting for Somerset

When he left in 1991 he had scored 7,604 runs at 72.

Ian Botham only managed 1,082 more runs for Somerset and only Viv Richards scored as many Sunday League tons.

To put those figures in perspective, Botham and Richards were both at Somerset for 12 years.

Cook, who played three Tests for South Africa, was named as Wisden's Cricketer of the Year in 1990 and in his last season he scored a double century against Sri Lanka at the age of 38.

He said: "They were three of the best cricketing years of my life. I thoroughly enjoyed it there and played a couple of times at Bath during the festival.

"It will be slightly different to playing there as a Somerset man but I'm really looking forward to going back there with Hampshire, seeing the people there and putting one over my old club.

"I've stayed in touch with quite a few of the members and people on the committee and have many pleasant memories of Bath - it's a beautiful city.

"Half of the ground is part of a rugby field so it's bumpy to field on and the guys will have to look out for that but generally the wicket was pretty good to bat on.

"It was a bit slow and low as most club grounds are but there were always lots of runs to be had when I played there and there is no reason to think it should be any different this time."

Cook scored more than 2,000 first-class runs in each of his three seasons at Somerset. Two of his championship hundreds were scored at Bath, including an unbeaten 107 when Hampshire last played at the Recreation Ground in 1991.

"In 1989 I reached 1,000 runs there so I have happy memories," he added.

"Having said that I can remember John Stephenson getting 200 for Essex against us there and I also remember Courtney Walsh taking 7-19 there for Gloucestershire against us so there are also rewards to be had for the bowlers."

Somerset enjoyed what many consider to be their finest season last year.

Led by Aussie Jamie Cox, they finished as championship runners-up and won the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy.

Cook added: "Jamie Cox has made a tremendous difference. They needed someone to be strong and tough at the club and he's provided runs, leadership and a hardness that was missing from the Somerset team in the years that I was there.

"We were a decent team and got on well together but lacked the will to win that Jamie Cox has instilled into them."

Somerset are three places below third-placed Hampshire and recorded their only championship win of the season against champions Yorkshire.

"They're a side we respect after their achievements last year and I think they'd be right up there this year if they'd played as many games," added Cook.

"They're obviously weaker without Andrew Caddick and Marcus Trescothick but they played very few games last year, it's certainly not going to be an easy game just because they're not playing.

"To win a four-day game against Somerset would set us up for the second half of the season.

"We've done okay this year. We've only lost the one game against Leicestershire but we've drawn four out of six and to get a high finish we're going to have to start winning games."