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It's a headline to make Somerset fans weep.

Buried among the yellowing pages of Charlie Marshall's scrapbook is an old newspaper clipping from April 1980.

Then a talented 19-year-old with a stylish afro, Marshall is profiled as the Bermuda Sun Cricketer of the Week under the bold title -­ "I want to captain Somerset."

It is one of the few goals he never achieved in his glorious Cup Match career.

Three months later he rewrote the history books, making his debut in the blue and blue of St. George's.

He smashed a six off the last ball of the game, lifting the ball over the mid-wicket boundary at Wellington Oval to become the first colt ever to score a century in the history of the classic.

He's been breaking records and tormenting Somerset ever since.

But the St George's legend, who finally announced his retirement on Friday with tears in his eyes and a chorus of 'we love you Charlie' ringing in his ears, admits the course of his career and the recent history of the Cup Match classic could have been very different.

"I tried out twice for Somerset. I could easily have ended up playing for them.

"I think if I'd gone up there I would have captained them and had the same opportunities as I did in St. George's. I've always worked hard on my game, that's been the main thing," said Marshall, whose uncle Burt Philpott was a selector for the west enders.

Almost 30 years later it's hard to imagine Marshall as anything other than a dyed in wool St. Georgian.

After 27 matches he has scored more runs and taken more catches than any other player in the history of the game. As well as that debut century he has a top score of 134 and has been out in the 90s twice.

There's been some memorable game-changing catches too. Marshall fondly remembers a diving catch to dismiss Somerset danger man Colin Blades in 1982 and swing the momentum in St. George's favour.

He's played with some of the greats of the game including Clarence Parfitt, Noel Gibbons, Arnold Manders, Lionel Thomas and Adrian King.

On the opposite side he had fierce but friendly rivalries with the likes of Randy Horton, Blades, El James and Winston Coe Trott - the bowler he least liked to face.

A golden duck on Friday was far from a fitting end to such a distinguished career.

But Marshall, who went out a winner as St George's held on to the cup, insists he has no regrets.

"The ball was there to hit and I gambled. I was trying to win the match. The young boy Stovell took an excellent catch.

"I was disappointed when I walked off the field but Oronde Bascome reminded me that Ganguly and Dravid both got ducks in their final Tests so that made me feel a little better... I'm proud of my Cup Match career."

It was a stark contrast from his debut in 1980 - a game he remembers just as vividly.

With a crowd of 10,000 watching with baited breath, Robert 'Jumping Jack' Hinds raced into bowl the final ball of the match to Marshall, who was on 94 not out.

"It was a great moment - the last ball of the game. I took guard on off-stump and he bowled down leg.

"At that time it was so tense. Everybody knew that there was just one ball left to get the hundred.

"I took this wild swing and it sailed over mid-wicket for six."

History records that Marshall then embarked on a jubilant lap of honour as 'pandemonium' broke loose with the St George's faithful engulfing their new hero.

He's been a fans' favourite ever since.

The love and best wishes of the St. George's fans have kept him going through the hard times and kept him working to make the team year after year.

"I love Cup Match. I love entertaining my Bermudians. That's why I have been able to do it for so long.

"The month before Cup Match people would be coming up to me saying 'I want to see you retain the trophy', 'score some runs this year, Charlie' and that would always be my inspiration."

Marshall, who still trains every morning and keeps a spinning bike by his desk at the St. George's Community Club to help him stay fit, never imagined that he would play for three decades.

"I have to thank the Heavenly Father for keeping me healthy enough to play all these years," he says.

From beer to yoga

Times have changed since Marshall won that Bermuda Sun cricketer of the Week award.

Back then the prize for the weekly title was a case of beer. Nowadays it's all about special diets, yoga routines, pilates and ice baths.

But Marshall's training methods remain refreshingly old school - eat well, train hard and play good cricket.

"I've always worked hard to stay fit and to improve my cricket.

"We used to come to training fit and work on our basics - bowling, batting, fielding. Nowadays guys come to training to get fit.

"We always did that on our own. Wendell Smith and I would do laps of Wellington Oval at 5am. I did a lot of swimming too. The saltwater is better for your aches and pains than any ice bath."

Eating fresh fish and salads have also helped Marshall stay fitter than many cricketers half his age.

And though, as he approaches his 50th birthday, he believes there is enough young talent in the east for him to retire in peace, he does have his concerns about the competitiveness of the modern game.

"You used to have to play five trial games to make Cup Match. I remember watching May 24 in the morning and racing back to Wellington Oval to play the trial games the same day.

"You couldn't be standing watching the parade if you wanted to play Cup Match. It was that competitive back then. I'd love to see it get back to that."

One of the reasons he played till the ripe old age of 48 was to keep the level of competition high in the east.

"The younger players should have to work hard to get into the team. When I was coming up my inspiration was Eldon Raynor and Lionel Thomas. I knew how hard I had to work to get into that team."

Now he believes there is enough talent coming through for him to retire in peace. Potentially taking up a role as a selector.

But Somerset fans cannot rest easy yet.

The name Charles Marshall could be reappearing on the Cup Match scorecards very soon.

"I'm really concentrating right now on helping my son, Charles Marshall III, to make the best of his cricket career. He is vice captain of the Bermuda Under 13 team that is going to St. Kitts."

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