Former St George’s captain Clevie Wade has some fond — and sad — memories of 1983.This year marks the 30th anniversary of his three-wicket victory in Somerset which took the cup back to St George’s following the team’s 1979 defeat. And while Wade will always remember the occasion with joy, he also suffered a great loss that year the sudden death of his father Cal months earlier at the young age of 53, the same age Clevie is now.During Saturday’s final trial match at Wellington Oval, Wade spoke about his three years as captain in ‘82, ‘83 and ‘84 when he recorded a loss, win and draw. It remains, he says, the highlight of his Cup Match career, though there is sadness that his father, who desperately wanted St. George’s to reclaim the cup, wasn’t alive to see it.“It would be the highlight of my career, captain at the age of 23,” Wade stated. “In my first year in ‘82 I went to Somerset without the cup and gambled and came out losers which we accepted. We went for the win and I accepted the defeat, but I did tell John (Somerset’s captain John Tucker) after the game that I congratulate him on a job well done but that I would be back.”Just like this year’s team is doing, St George’s went back as challengers with a young team hoping to gain revenge. “We went back to St George’s to regroup and came back in ‘83 with a young and inexperienced team — Lionel (Thomas) and Noel (Gibbons) were my senior players with a lot of youngsters — and we were determined to win the cup for St George’s,” said Wade.“The preparation was good leading up to Cup Match, training-wise, mental preparation and strategy and everything was in place.”And on a Cup Match that was affected by rain, St George’s capitalised after winning the toss and sending Somerset in to bat.“The night before it rained and it rained early in the morning so we knew it was going to be a sticky wicket,” said Wade, acknowledging it was a good toss to win.“It was a very good toss to win and we sent them in one time. It was a low scoring game and we had a first innings lead of 60-odd and then we bowled them out in the second innings and had a target of about 127 for victory and we lost seven wickets.“It was a good win, exciting and happy, but emotional also because I lost my father earlier that year. I was really down but the team rallied around and supported me 100 percent. It was something that he was looking forward to because ‘82 he was on the selection committee and he said to me after the loss ‘don’t worry about it son, next year we’ll get it back’. At the end he wasn’t there to see the victory.”Opposing captain John Tucker recalls the weather having a major impact on the match. “It was just a matter of who won the toss and we lost it and that’s the way the match turned out,” said Tucker, the father of current Somerset stalwart Janeiro Tucker.“It rained right up to Cup Match. I was disappointed we lost the toss and lost the game because the year before I won Cup Match. In 1982, Janeiro would have been about seven in 1982 so he doesn’t know much about, he was young then. I won in ‘79 under Randy Horton and under Joe Bailey also in ‘81.”Wade senior played three or four Cup Matches in the 1950s before his cricketing son was born. “I never saw him play but heard about it,” said Wade. “He was my mentor. 1984 was my last year as captain when I left and went to play for Western Stars and Wendell (Smith) took over.”This year also marks 30 years since renowned West Indian cricket commentator Tony Cozier came to Bermuda to cover his first Cup Match. Charlie Marshall was in his prime then as a fielder and Cozier praised the youngster’s fielding exploits in what was his third Cup Match. A victory made it a memorable visit for Cozier.Now St. George’s are pinning their hopes on another young captain, Oronde Bascome who is two years older than Wade was when he won the cup. Bascome has a victory under his belt (2011 in St. George’s) and Wade, who has been helping train the team, is confident the team is in good hands.“I feel Oronde can handle, it’s all about the preparation,” he stressed. “The last five weeks we have had some sold training and a lot of preparation with five trial matches and we’re ahead of the ball game. It’s up to them now to deliver.“I just hope the team rallies around Oronde and with the experienced Lionel Cann and Rodney Trott, hopefully we can get the job done. It’s not going to be easy because we don’t have the cup and we have to come with strategy and scenarios and we have to gamble. There are chances we have to take. I’ve been there the whole month of July, helping out Herbie (Bascome) and Charlie.”Wade was part of the cup-losing team of ‘79, having made his debut in ‘77 and then being dropped the next year. He was also a part of the losing team in 1981 at Wellington Oval, ironically the last time Somerset won in the East End under Bailey.“They (Somerset) are going to be tough, but we just have to be mentally strong,” said Wade. “We just have to stick to our game plan and work hard. It will be about who wants it the most on the two days.”Wade admits the dedication and passion for the game has changed from years ago, but Cup Match is still a special occasion, he says.“The work that myself, the Noels, Charlies, Allans, Wendells used to put in would include the extras like staying an hour and a half after training just to do some physical work,” he revealed.“Or meet as a group and go training on the beach leading up to Cup Match. Our fitness really helped us out, with Charlie in the covers and Wendell in slips. As all-rounders, me and Noel (Gibbons) had to be fit to bat and bowl. These youngsters have talent but talent will only take you so far.”