Somerset demolish St George’s to retain Cup Match title
Somerset 345/9 [declared] & 172/8 [declared]
St George’s 110 & 181
Somerset won by 226 runs
Somerset easily retained cricket’s holy grail as they defeated St George’s in this year’s Cup Match by 226 runs in front of a joyous home crowd at Somerset Cricket Club.
Like a supreme predator hunting wounded prey, the champions toyed with a youthfully inexperienced, over-matched St George’s before striking the killer blow more than an hour before the scheduled close of play.
Chief tormentor and key to the victory was Dion Stovell, who proved the adage that ‘bowlers win matches’. Stovell destroyed the opposition’s front line batsmen in both innings, returning match figures of 12 for 89, which earned him Man of the Match honours for the third consecutive year.
Stovell barely won the award over teammate Kamau Leverock, after the latter had produced a sparkling century during the first innings.
Coach Jeff Richardson lauded both players for their contributions to the team’s victory over the two days.
“Dion is Dion,” said Richardson a matter of factly. “We all know the quality and leadership that Dion brings to the team and it’s never a surprise when he produces as he did yesterday and today.
“Whether it’s with bat, ball or both Dion is just a special player.” The use of Leverock as an opening batsman in the position formerly occupied by stalwart Chris Douglas was a well-kept secret until Thursday morning, something Richardson noted as a deliberate ploy to both unnerve the east enders and disrupt strategy.
“It was not a matter of replacing Chris Douglas with Kamau Leverock,” explained Richardson. “It was a matter of making that change and being able to bring in two young colts, who deserved to play in the match.
“There were two or three options that we bandied about, but if anyone watched how Kamau batted in the final trial that was an audition for Cup Match. “We knew that St George’s would be somewhat shell-shocked seeing Kamau come out there because it nullified their opening with spin in Del — Delray Rawlins — whose balls turn into the left-hander.”
The day started with St George’s fighting to avoid the follow-on, which they only avoided via the generosity of Somerset after being dismissed for a first-innings total of 110, which was well short of the required 245 required to force Somerset back in.
And while many regarded the host’s decision to bat again as an economic decision rather than sporting — the thought being that they were simply prolonging the affair to accumulate more revenue — Richardson noted the move as one to better ensure the win.
“We had a 235-run lead and there are some demons in that pitch,” said Richardson. “Most people don’t understand the tactics of cricket.
“We didn’t want to bat last on the wicket and Stovell was turning the ball square.
“What we did know was that if one of their spinners got a line they could put us in a bit of bother.
“They have two left-arm spinners and most of our batsmen are right-handed and we did not want to take the chance with that.
“So we wanted to bat them out of the game and make them, at least show they were going to try to win it or show some fortitude to achieve a draw and we knew they could not do either one of them.”
Turning to bat for a second time St George’s were only modestly better than at first, losing wickets with regularity on a deteriorating pitch that profited Somerset’s slow bowling duo of Stovell and Derrick Brangman.
Only Jonte Smith, with a belligerently courageous knock of 46 at No 3 and Macai Simmons, who ground out a team-high 80 were able to resist, as Stovell took five for 62 and Brangman weighed in with four for 52.
“I fell short today, just as we as the team fell short,” admitted Simmons at the end of the match, even as he harboured hope for future success by his club. “It’s unfortunate, but our team’s young and we will get better.
“We have a good foundation and we just have to trust in the process and keep pushing on.”
Similarly disappointed was St George’s coach Clay Smith, who was left holding the short straw.
“It was a tough loss, obviously,” said Smith while watching Somerset and supporters revelling in triumph. “I can’t fault my team, the preparation was there.
“We did everything in terms of what we could do to prepare for the two days and the better team won. It’s as simple as that. “We are in a rebuilding stage. It was always going to be tough to beat these guys. Each year we come we come prepared to the best of our ability to give ourselves a chance to accomplish our goals and the day will come when we will win this cup back.”
Asked if a contributory factor to his side’s lack of success was a failure to adequately adapt to the strategic and technical demands of red-ball cricket versus white-ball cricket, where they have thrived as a club, Smith indicated such as a lesser factor. “That may have a little to do with it, but if you look around Somerset Cricket Club right now there are thousands and thousands of people and that’s the difference,” he said.
“Playing in front of thousands of people. Walking out into a whole different atmosphere than that which these players are used to and never played in front of before is a different level of pressure.
“That’s basically what it boils down to. Some people love the pressure, some people buckle under the pressure. Right now Somerset has a seasoned team. They stand up and know what it’s like to play in these conditions and have been successful. “We have a lot of new players coming in and we’re getting there slowly but surely. Whether I’ll be around to see it is not totally up to me.”
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