Presidents XI, 272 for seven declared, beat Vice-President’s XI, 209 all out, by 63 runs.How much the St George’s selectors actually learned from the final trial match when it came to choosing their Cup Match side is open to debate, if anything it said more about the future than the present.Onais Bascome, the younger brother of skipper Oronde, for example, scored a truly impressive half-century in the Vice-President’s losing effort and was rewarded with a spot as a reserve for his efforts.He will be joined on the sidelines by Lateef Trott and Shae Pitcher, both of whom have performed well in the lead up to the Classic, and while Trott wasn’t at his best on Saturday, he and Pitcher are almost certain to feature in the not too distant future.Stefan Kelly and Justin Pitcher meanwhile both bowled with the pace and aggression they are known to be capable of, ending any debate about their inclusion, and in the end the only question was whether St George’s would opt for Damali Bell or George O’Brien.Bell got the nod because not only as a left-armer does he offer a different angle of attack, but because he is far fitter than O’Brien and better suited to two days of rigorous cricket.As it was there were very few, if any, surprises in the starting XI that the holders eventually selected, and only the omission of Chris Foggo is likely to raise any eyebrows. That though was seemingly always on the cards once he failed to turn up for the game at Wellington Oval.Foggo had been expected to make the final cut, with one selector saying on Saturday that ‘there is no doubt about Chris when he’s on the field, it’s getting him there that’s the problem’. In the end his failure to show cost him greatly and as well as solving the selectors’ wicketkeeping problem may well have led to the recall of Fiqre Crockwell, who was left out last year.Crockwell has been in fine form with the bat for St David’s this season, but has a poor record at Cup Match, something many suspected would count against him in the final reckoning.Jason Anderson meanwhile won the race to keep wicket this week, doing his cause no harm with a typically steady 65 in the final trial. Anderson’s slow scoring rate in overs cricket is well documented, but there can be no arguing with his ability in the longer form of the game and his will be a wicket that Somerset will have to work hard to get.The PHC skipper rode his luck at times on Saturday, he was dropped twice in the slips off the luckless David Lovell, but played some glorious shots off the front foot, and his defence is as solid as anyone’s, which it had to be with Justin Pitcher steaming in from the Scoreboard End.Pitcher roughed up Anderson’s opening partner Clay Darrell, hitting him in the ribs and on the thigh in an opening spell which saw him dispel any doubts about his sore shoulder. At the other end, Ryan Steede and Trott both made late bids for inclusion and might count themselves unlucky to be involved in a year when there is so much bowling available to the holders.There is no shortage of batsmen either, and in any other year Mishael Paynter’s 39 might have been enough to earn him another trip to Cup Match. Further down the order Delyone Borden was left unbeaten on 49, and Shae Pitcher added a robust 30 as the President’s XI declared on 272 for seven.In reply the Vice-President’s XI got off to a bad start with Kelly accounting for Regino Smith and Christian Burgess as their team slipped to 14 for three.Bascome and Allan Douglas Jnr then put on 97 for the fourth wicket, both made exactly 50 batting themselves into the squad in the process.The game then dragged on for far longer than it needed to, eventually finishing after 8pm when a less than impressed Kelly returned to remove Zeko Burgess.By that time any questions regarding selection had long since been answered, and the team, when it was eventually announced around midnight, was as many predicted at the beginning of the day.