Article
Cup Match 2010: Somerset hold slight edge in experience department
Posted: 2010-07-27
Oronde Bascome: Captain of St. George's just like his father, uncle and grandfather before him
Former St. George’s captain Gregory (Brutus) Foggo will be a proud man on Thursday when his grandson Oronde Bascome leads the Cup Match champions onto the field at Somerset.
Understandably, the man who lost the cup to Somerset in 1979 on that very same field will be experiencing a lot of different emotions as he enjoys a feat never achieved in Cup Match before. Foggo is the first former captain to also have a son (Gregg), son-in-law (Herbie Bascome) and now grandson lead a Cup Match team. The Simmons family in Somerset was the only family previously to have a father, son and grandson lead a Cup match team. Warren Simmons was the father, Lloyd Simmons the son and Randy Horton the grandson, who ended a 20-year drought in 1979 when he led the Somerset team to victory over a less experienced St. George’s side led by Foggo who was playing in only his second Cup Match.
The retirement of veteran Charlie Marshall, whose Cup Match began 30 years ago this week at Wellington Oval with that unforgettable 100 not out, and the subsequent inclusion of three colts leaves St. George’s with a new-look and slightly less experienced team, something pundits feel could count against them…1979 all over again.
“That team they (Somerset) have is nothing compared to the team Somerset had back then, they had eight ICC players,” Foggo points out.
Foggo is backing his grandson to return the cup to the east end on Friday evening. And the man who says he hasn’t missed a Cup Match since he was six or seven years old will spend the two days watching intensely.
“I have confidence in him but I will be real nervous the day of the game,” admits Foggo who now hopes to be around long enough to see at least two more grandsons step onto the Cup Match stage. Onias and Okera, younger brothers of Oronde, played in the Colts Cup Match last weekend at Somerset when St. George’s won comfortably to retain the cup. The test for Oronde will be much different.
“He’s been skippering all his life,” said the grandfather of 11. “Clevie Wade was the same age (22) when he was captain in 1982 and South Africa’s captain (Graham Smith) was about 22. Oronde’s very knowledgeable of the game, he’s been around a long time.”
The retirement of the likes of Clay Smith in 2008 and Marshall last year means that two of the game’s top Cup Match performers have now been consigned to the archives. The current crop of players have a new fresh look about them, something very evident when one considers that half the players in both teams have been playing Cup Match four years or less. St.George’s have six players who have come in since 2006, including the captain and his vice captain Rodney Trott.
Somerset, too, have six players who have only been around since 2006, and two others (Jacobi Robinson and Stephen Outerbridge) who made their debuts in 2004. Former captains Lionel Cann of St. George’s and Somerset’s Janeiro Tucker are now two of the elder statesmen, having made their debuts in 1993 and 1996 respectively. But there is one player who has been around even longer…the ‘big man’ himself. Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock made his debut back in 1990 as a 19-year-old and Somerset are banking on their most experienced bowler to penetrate the St. George’s batting with his left arm spin. Last year Leverock was Somerset’s top bowler, taking four for 45 in the first innings and two for 54 in the second. He opened the bowling in both innings, sharing the new ball with Malachi Jones and then Jordan DeSilva.
Somerset’s success could depend on how well captain Jacobi Robinson uses his bowlers. Last year he opted for quantity over quality as he used eight bowlers in the first innings and 10 in the second, but main strike bowler Jordan DeSilva bowled only five overs in the match. This year their only change sees Kwame Tucker, a batsman-wicketkeeper, replacing Dion Stovell, an allrounder, so the challengers are one bowler less. Tucker is likely to concentrate on opening the batting in place of Stovell while Jekon Edness continues in his role as wicketkeeper.
“Jacobi had two years in a row in control of the game but wanted to keep batting,” Foggo recalls. “He should have declared long before he did. They don’t have the cup so they have to take risks.”
While Somerset have kept a settled side, the champions made five changes, recalling the in-form batsman Jason Anderson and OJ Pitcher and boldly introducing three colts in Rudell Pitcher, Mishael Paynter and Allan Douglas Jr., a batsman and two seam bowlers capable of contributing with the bat lower down the order.
Janeiro Tucker and Lionel Cann both feature quite prominently in the batting averages, with Tucker just 127 runs from Charlie Marshall’s record total of 1357. Marshall’s runs came in 43 knocks while Tucker’s 1230 came off just 23 innings, an indication of the impact he has made in the Classic. He was reminded that he scored two ducks last weekend in the final trial and then for his club against Somerset in the league on Sunday. His quick response: “It won’t happen next week!”
Both Tucker and Cann stroked centuries last year after falling for ducks in the first innings. Cann’s unbeaten 104 saved the champions from defeat and he now needs 100 more to become only the fifth player to reach 1,000 runs in Cup Match. Presently he is seventh on the all-time runs list with 900 from 24 innings.
Another player who could become the next ‘big thing’ in Cup Match is OJ Pitcher of St.George’s who returns to the team after two years out because of school commitments. His last two Cup Match appearances produced knocks of 98 in 2006 and 94 in 2007.
Teams (debut in brackets)
Somerset
Jacobi Robinson (2004)
Janeiro Tucker (1996)
Stephen Outerbridge (2004)
Dwayne Leverock (1990)
Malachi Jones (2006)
Deunte Darrell (2009)
Kwame Tucker (1998)
Chris Douglas (2008)
Jekon Edness (2006)
Jordan DeSilva (2008)
Joshua Gilbert (2009)
St. George’s
Oronde Bascome (2006)
Rodney Trott (2006)
Lionel Cann (1993)
Chris Foggo (1999)
Jason Anderson (2001)
OJ Pitcher (2000)
Delyone Borden (2003)
Mishael Paynter (colt)
Allan Douglas (colt)
Justin Pitcher (2009)
Rudell Pitcher (colt)
Enjoyed this post? Share it with others.
This article has been viewed 534 times.
