January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Cann and Borden are the star performers for St. George's
Cann and Borden are the star performers for St. George's
Lionel Cann
Batting: 99
Saved the match for his team with a tremendous innings that deserved to bring him a first Cup Match century.
When Cann arrived at the wicket on Thursday evening the cup looked to be heading west with St. George's reeling on 51 for 5.
By the time he departed - in agonizing fashion to a contentious umpiring decision for 99 - they were back in the game.
But he played sensibly to weather the storm on day one and then broke the shackles with a superb display of controlled aggression on Friday, reserving the most severe punishment for his friend Del Hollis, who went for 22 off one over. Cann's positivity at the wicket may have saved St George's from defeat, but as a skipper, he failed to show the same aggressive intent. With the game potentially there for the taking on the final day, he drew the ire of the crowd by opting to block out for a draw.
Delyone Borden
Batting: 2 and 3
Bowling: 37 overs for 144 runs and 8 wickets
Before the game St. George's skipper Lionel Cann highlighted Borden as his key player and a potential match winner.
And so it proved, with the majority of Somerset's top order failing to cope with his sharply turning off-breaks.
He took six wickets in the second innings to curtail the west enders electric early run-rate and only Janeiro Tucker, who eventually hit him out of the attack - smashing 22 from one over - could handle his turn and bounce,
With the bat, Borden was ineffectual as an opener, but would earn his place in any team as a bowler alone.
Charlie Marshall
Batting: 38 and 18*
There were no fireworks from Marshall this year, but it was a solid, professional display.
Drawing on all his experience, the 47-year-old patiently batted St. George's back into the match on day one.
Along with Lionel Cann, he rescued St. George's first innings, dropping anchor and preserving his wicket, while his skipper tore the Somerset attack apart from the other end.
In the second innings, clearly under orders to block for a draw, he did exactly what he was asked to do. It was hardly inspiring stuff for the crowd to watch, but his defence was so solid that Somerset gave up any hope of getting he or Clay Smith out with 12 overs to go.
Marshall also took two catches, which tied him with Amon Hunt for the most in Cup Match history with 25. He looked sharp between the wickets and was as fit as anyone out there.
At this rate there is no reason to believe that he won't go and break Alec 'Cocky' Steede's record and play into his fifties.
Greg Foggo
Bowling: 25 overs for 109 runs and four wickets
Bowled exceptionally well in the second innings, keeping the ball right in the block hole and making it difficult for Somerset to accelerate as their strategy demanded. Along with Borden he pegged back the early onslaught as the west enders desperately tried to set a winning target and leave themselves enough time to bowl St. George's out again.
Probably deserved better than his match figures of 4 for 109 from 25 overs.
He wasn't selected to do anything with the bat and he didn't.
Nonetheless, he'll be more than satisfied with his Cup Match return.
Ryan Steede
Batting: 14
Bowling: 17.2 overs for 103 runs and five wickets.
The star for St. George's in the first-innings with 4 for 70, including the prize wicket of Janeiro Tucker.
He responded well after taking some punishment early on in the match to rip out the Somerset middle order.
Chris Douglas' early onslaught in the second-innings took the wind out of his sails slightly but again he responded, coming back to help wrap up the tail and taking the final Somerset wicket. He also had a useful 14 at the tail end of St. George's first innings.
Glenn Blakeney
Batting: 10 and 0
A thoroughly disappointing return to the Cup Match arena for the Bailey's Bay batsman.
Big things were expected from Blakeney, whose reputation as an 'explosive' batsman preceded him.
But he didn't deliver, falling lbw to Malachi Jones in the first-innings for 10 and then being bowled by Dion Stovell in the second for a duck.
After the game he told the Royal Gazette: "I'm very disappointed, but that's cricket."
Fiqre Crockwell
Batting: 6 and 15
Had a spectacular catch off the bat of Azeem Pitcher, which earned him the Safe Hands Award, but was another St. George's batsman who had a Cup Match to forget.
Crockwell lost his stumps to Somerset skipper Jacobi Robinson in both innings as St. George's top order collapsed. He's had a great season for PHC but had a bad day at the office here. His second innings total of 15 from 64 balls was something of a comeback after falling for six in the first-innings. And he was able, at least, to block Somerset out for a fairly significant portion of the 'run chase'.
Jason Anderson
Batting: 3 and 4
Anderson did not perform with the bat, but showed his worth behind the stumps for St. George's.
He stood up to the seamers and, memorably, had Jordan DeSilva stumped off the pace bowling of Greg Foggo.
DeSilva stood in disbelief for a few seconds after being given out, but he was miles out of his crease, and replays showed that Anderson had deliberately diverted the ball onto the stumps in one motion - a smart piece of keeping that typified a strong wicket-keeping performance.
Scores of 3 and 4 with the bat from an opener, though, were disappointing.
Clay Smith
Batting: 10 and 18*
Smith managed to go out on a high note, keeping the cup, but this was not one of his more memorable performances.
Somerset's bowlers had a bit more "substance" than Clay would admit in last Wednesday's Bermuda Sun and the St. George's batsmen hardly blew them away. Spectacularly bowled for 10 by Somerset colt Jordan DeSilva in the first-innings, he had little opportunity to impress in the second. With St. George's attempting to hold on for a draw, he did what was required and crawled along to 18 not out from 73 balls.
It was an innings that might have pleased his captain, but not the crowd. Clay has had some memorable innings in his Cup Match career but this wasn't one of them.
Tre Govia
Batting: 8
Bowling: Seven overs for 40 runs and one wicket.
Had little chance to impose himself on his first Cup Match after an injury restricted him to just one over in the first innings.
Second time out he bowled well, in combination with Borden, and took his first wicket - claiming the scalp of Sammy Robinson. It was a memorable moment for the 15-year-old leg-spinner, who had bowled a tidy spell.
He looked fairly composed with the bat, scoring eight in his one innings.
Arthur Pitcher
Batting: 8
Bowling: Five overs for 35 runs.
There's not too much to say about Pitcher's Cup Match. He bowled just five overs in the match, taking no wickets and going at more than a run-a-ball.
With the bat he had one innings and scored eight.
In fairness to Pitcher he didn't really have much of an opportunity to impress. With the bulk of the seam bowling done by Ryan Steede and Greg Foggo, he was reduced to a bit-part role. One wonders why pick him as part of the team if you were only going to let him bowl five overs out of 100?
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