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Leverock will be a big miss, says skipper Robinson

Somerset spinner Dawyne Leverock, (above) celebrating catching St.George's batsman Justin Pitcher on day two of this year's Cup Match, has announced his retirement from the annual Classic.

Jacobi Robinson said Dwayne Leverock's decision to retire from Cup Match wouldn't end the spinner's association with the club.

The Somerset skipper paid tribute to a man he called 'a real people person, a crowd pleaser', and said he would be hugely missed.

Leverock took two wickets in this year's classic, and ended his Cup Match career with 44 victims, leaving him 16 among the all time top wicket takers.

The veteran spinner was also named the 2010 Safe Hands Award winner for the slip catch that ended St George's innings, the second time he has won the award.

"With Sluggo around he brings a wealth of experience, he's a motivator, a real people person," said Robinson.

"He's a crowd pleaser, and he's going to be (hugely) missed.

"He came to me and asked me 'do I want him to retire', and I said to him 'that's not my decision, it's yours, whatever you do we're going to support you'.

"He felt that it was his time to go, and I guess it hurt him more that he couldn't go out on a winning note, than him retiring.

"That shows that it's not all about himself, he wanted to go out on top, he wanted to leave Somerset with something, because they have given him the chance to play for Somerset for 15 years.

"He wanted to give something back to them before he left."

And Robinson revealed that Leverock's influence is likely to live on in the next generation of spinners, with the newly-retired veteran promising to come back and work with the likes of Joshua Gilbert, Deunte Darrell, Marcus Johnson, and Tamauri Tucker.

"We have loads of youth coming through. Yes, he (Sluggo) will be missed, but he said he would come up and put in some time, and help out whenever he can in the future. What you put back in, he'll reap the reward."

Robinson meanwhile has no interest in following Leverock into cheering his team on from the sidelines, and despite the question marks hanging over his captaincy feels he still has a lot to offer.

"People (are saying)...the talk is, I haven't won, should I even be captain," he said. "But I felt this year was my year, we came close two years in a row, and then this year (I felt) it was going to happen.

"It feels like things are conspiring against me.

"But all in all I'm very happy with the support I got from the team, guys felt like they wanted to play for me, and it showed. They came out, and wanted it just as much as I did.

"Sometimes it (quitting) crossed my mind, but I'm Somerset, I want to see us win, and I feel I am a big part of us winning, so I'm going to stick it out and keep trying."

Two days later and Robinson's views on the state of this year's game haven't changed, he is as convinced as ever that rain robbed his side of a first win since 2002.

"I'm upset, but Mother Nature, there is nothing you can do about it," he said.

"I felt that we had St George's on the ropes, the guys were up for the challenge, things had changed back to being in our favour, and once again the rain came. If the rain wouldn't have started I would have probably gone to 180, and said look 'it's either we win or we lose, let's just go for it, and leave it all out there'.

"I'm upset, because the octopus told me we were going to win. We should have had an octopus telling us if it was going to rain or be sunny."

n Yesterday's domestic cricket was largley washed out with only two games being played. St.George's faced Cleveland, while Willow Cuts were due to play Somerset.