contender for the Cup Match MVP award.

But the dashing batsman doesn't think he is more deserving of the award than one of the St. George's colts, Herbie Bascome or Gary Brangman.

Only once in the 15 years the award has been in existence has a bowler -- Stan Smith in 1984 -- won the crown. And while his batting will make it hard for him to be overlooked, Blakeney feels recognition should go to the St. George's bowlers who did the necessary job of dismissing Somerset twice. "I feel the bowlers deserve it more than I do because we had to bowl them out,'' said Blakeney yesterday.

"Before Cup Match there was a lot of talk about these two guys being included in the team and I think they silenced the critics.'' Bascome and Brangman each claimed seven wickets in the match, Bascome taking four for 66 in the first innings and three for 33 in the second and Brangman five for 35 and two for 36 on a lively wicket.

Another contender for the award, which is expected to be announced this week, is allrounder Arnold Manders who scored 24 in the St. George's first innings, held four catches in the match and then claimed five wickets in the somerset second innings.

However, it was because of Blakeney's batting on a difficult wicket that made his knocks all the more outstanding. He failed by a total of 31 runs to become the first batsman in Cup Match history to score two centuries in the same match.

"It's didn't matter, I wasn't worried too much about my own performance, I just wanted to do well for the team,'' said the 24-year-old left-hander. "I didn't put any pressure on myself, I just wanted to take it as it comes. I have plenty of time for the century to come.'' Blakeney had the worst possible start to his Cup Match career in 1991, falling for a first ball (lbw) duck in his one and only innings and then being overlooked for the next three years before a recall in 1995.

However, in six innings since his recall Smith has scored 283 runs and if his enormous potential can be fulfilled he should soon be climbing up the list of leading all-time runmakers in Cup Match in the years to come.

In the first innings he smashed 10 fours and four sixes in his 79 before skying a catch to Richard Basden at mid-wicket.

In the second innings he and captain Clay Smith saw the team to victory with an unbroken third wicket stand of 146. Blakeney finished with 90 not out, this time hitting five sixes and seven fours.

"That was the only way to play on that wicket,'' said Blakeney of his aggressive approach.

"I think the wicket messed up Somerset mentally because the ball was hopping up. I had a few innings on that wicket and I didn't find it too bad, just the odd ball popping up.

"I didn't let that take over my mental part of the game. What I was going to do was take the same approach in the second innings, but when we lost Arnold (Manders) and Jason (Lewis), I decided to hang around. Clay wanted both of us to stay to the end.'' Blakeney had something else on his mind during Cup Match, as he and his wife Twynika celebrated the birth of a daughter on Wednesday night. "She was on my mind the whole time, yeah,'' he admitted.

Cup Match behind him, Blakeney has his sights set on another batting target this season, the 1,000-run mark. His two Cup Match knocks took his total for the season to 752 so he is well within reach.

"Everybody would love to finish with 1,000 runs or more and it's going pretty good so far, but I'm just going to take it one game at a time,'' he said cautiously.