Willow Cuts 186 (target reduced to 190) Guest player Arnold Manders produced the best allround performance of the season -- an unbeaten century and six wickets -- to lead Somerset Bridge to a four-run victory over champions Willow Cuts in the first round of the Western Counties Cup at White Hill Field on Saturday.

Needing 11 runs off the last over to hold onto the trophy, Cuts fell four short of their reduced target of 190 in 55 overs when Cordell Gilbert was caught behind by Kenneth Simmons off Perry Maybury with one ball remaining.

On the delivery before Gilbert hit a six off Maybury to keep Cuts in sight of victory in what turned out to be the longest match of the season.

Bridge didn't complete victory until 8.40 in bad light after Cuts, behind the run rate, declined to go off three times when bad light was offered by umpires Randy Butler and George Francis. Had they accepted they would have lost anyway, so the champions decided to take on the conditions -- and the odds -- before falling just short.

Set 208 to win in 60 overs, Cuts suffered a slow start when they lost Jermaine Warner in the second over and Dwight Basden in the eighth, with just 18 on the board.

Brothers Dexter and Richard Basden steadied things with a partnership of 66 for the third wicket in 20 overs.

The breakthrough signalled a collapse as Dexter's dismissal on 84 for 26 was followed by Gladwin Edness (0) and Richard Basden (36) -- all in the space of four overs as the score slumped to 93-5 after 32 overs.

Manders, whose century rescued Bridge from 92-6, was responsible for all three wickets, bowling the Basden brothers and having Edness, a double centurion against Bridge in last year's final, caught and bowled.

Vivian Simons and Rodney Fubler kept Cuts' hopes alive with a stand of 51 in 10 overs for the seventh wicket before Fubler went for 22 -- Manders' fourth victim.

And when Simons departed five runs later for 30, Cuts' last hopes went with him, although some determined batting in the tailend by Vance Gilbert, Dwayne Basden and Gilbert kept the game in the balance right to the end.

Manders finished with six for 52 from 21 unchanged overs while Francis Richardson took two for 23 and Perry Maybury two for 44.

Earlier Manders smashed 102 not out including five sixes and five fours to take Bridge past the 200 mark after Cuts had reduced them to 85-5 halfway through their 60 overs.

Manders, needing 12 off the last over of the innings for his century, reached the mark with 6,2,4,2 off Richard Basden as the 200 also came up.

Manders' Western Stars team-mate, Jeff Richardson, had rescued them from 25-2 after 12 overs by sharing in a stand of 52 with colt Jamie Cann for the third wicket. Cann scored just nine as Richardson dominated, eventually finishing with five fours.

Rodney Fubler was the best Cuts bowler, claiming three for 57 from 18 overs while Richard Basden and Kevin Fubler each had two for 37.

Bridge now take on Southampton Rangers in the second round on August 10.

ARNOLD MANDERS -- followed unbeaten century with six wickets.