St George’s, 188 all out & 148 for eight, beat Somerset, 97 all out & 238 all out, by two wicketsThe result many had expected, achieved in a thrilling fashion few could have predicted, St George’s won Cup Match yesterday by the skin of their teeth.Somerset meanwhile came within a whisker of pulling off a monumental shock and the distress and raw emotion seen on Joshua Gilbert’s face at the end said everything about how close they had come.Gilbert did more than most to make that happen, taking five wickets for less than 10 runs as St George’s nearly fell at the final hurdle. However, he also dropped Lionel Cann at point when the home side were 92 for seven, needing 148 to win, and a wicket then would most likely have won the game.As it was Cann went on to score an unbeaten 49, hitting the winning runs that saw the Classic finish in an outright victory for the first time since St George’s last won in 2006.With the ball in hand though Gilbert tied the home side in knots, and while he might feel only pain now, there is no doubt his, and Somerset’s time, will come.Seen as the weaker team, the West End side displayed a never-say-die spirit that saw them battle back from the brink several times over the course of two days, and with a couple of personel changes they will become strong enough to beat the champions.For now, however, the trophy remains in the East, which is fitting given that yesterday’s victory came in St George’s and was made in St David’s. That the holders are champions once again with a team in which Lionel Cann, Fiqre Crockwell and man of the match Stefan Kelly all played a big part, is no coincidence.While Cann hit the winning runs to see St George’s to their target of 148, keeping his head while all about him were losing theirs, the fact that his team were in a position to win at all was in large part down to Kelly and Crockwell.Kelly took 10 wickets over the course of two days, conceding just 99 runs in the process, while Crockwell’s half century at the start of yesterday’s dramatic run chase set the foundations for Cann’s heroics.Somerset meanwhile had no right to get as close to winning as they did at Wellington Oval, and while their wait for a triumph in the East now stretches into a third decade they will look back at two dropped catches and wonder what might have been.Defending 148 was always going to be tough, but on a wicket that had deteriorated steadily during the course of the match, it wasn’t an impossible task.Crockwell though seemed intent on making the run chase as easy as possible, and after passing 50, and with his side 72 for one, there seemed little doubt that St George’s would complete a comfortable victory, albeit later in the day than expected.Then Oronde Bascome charged Joshua Gilbert, missed the ball entirely, was stumped by Jekon Edness, and all hell broke loose.From 72 for one the holders slumped to 83 for six, with Gilbert taking five wickets as the demons that the pitch held raised their ugly heads. Crockwell (54) was Gilbert’s fifth victim, falling in much the same way as several as his team-mates, when a ball popped off a good length, caught his bat and looped into the waiting hands of Jekon Edness.In a game without a stand-out catch to seal the Safe Hands award, the four victims Edness had over the two days should be enough to win him that title for the year. It’s just a shame that the catch that would have meant the most yesterday was dropped.At 92 for seven Cann and Justin Pitcher were at the beginning of a 43-run partnership that ultimately put the game beyond Somerset. It should never have gotten going.Almost immediately after the dismissal of Delyone Borden, who was the seventh man out, Cann was dropped at point off the bowling of Malachi Jones, and that was the one and only chance he gave.Thereafter the ball disappeared to all parts of the ground, and out of it too on occasion, and it was off Jones that Cann hit a six and a four in consecutive balls to win the game.St George’s meanwhile might consider themselves lucky not to have let a match they should have won far earlier, and with far less tension, slip from their grasp, and the tactics employed in the field over the course of two days certainly merit further discussion.The holders had their foot on Somerset’s throat with an hour to play on the first day, and not only did they let them get up for a standing eight count, they then very nearly lost the fight –entirely.At that stage Somerset were on the ropes having had a day when one of the very few things they did right was to win the toss and elect to bat first on a wicket that was falling apart before a ball had been bowled.However, their complete collapse for 97 before lunch was less to do with the pitch, or dominant St George’s bowling, and more to do with awful shots and irresponsible batting.While Justin Pitcher claimed five of Somerset’s first innings wickets, the only two good wicket-taking balls came from Kelly who removed Deunte Darrell (16) when he was looking dangerous, and bowled Edness with one that moved late to reduce Somerset to 63 for eight.Jacobi Robinson (17) and Kevin Hurdle (12) added a few runs at the end, before both were bowled by Kelly, and the challengers’ failure to reach three figures should have ended the game as a contest there and then.St George’s though weren’t beyond a collapse of their own, and despite a typically steady 52 from Jason Anderson, who was dropped on 22 by Robinson, they slumped from 107 for three to 188 all out. Kevin Hurdle and Janeiro Tucker did the damage with the ball, Hurdle took five wickets, while Tucker mopped up the tail, taking four wickets for seven runs.That was still a lead of 91, and when Kelly bowled Dion Stovell to reduce Somerset to five for one at the start of the second innings there was every indication that the game would be over fairly early on day two.St George’s failed to press their advantage in that final hour though, and having lost faith in Damali Bell, who took the wicket of Stovell in the first innings, set a defensive field and allowed Stephen Outerbridge and Terryn Fray to take their side to 39 for one at the close largely untroubled.Yesterday began well for St George’s, who quickly reduced Somerset to 48 for three and had them at 97 for five at lunch, a lead of just six runs. However, without the injured Justin Pitcher and Damali Bell who they just ignored, the only real penetration came from Kelly. When the rest bowled the field placings lacked any attacking intent and skipper Oronde Bascome seemed content to allow Somerset to get themselves out.Which they duly did to a certain extent, until Kamau Leverock (43) and Edness (19) made a stand, and the lead of 91 evaporated to be replaced by a steadily growing Somerset one.Knowing that chasing anything over 100 could prove difficult on an unreliable pitch, St George’s should have pressed harder to finish Somerset off, but they let the game drift after lunch, relying on Kelly to make the occasional breakthrough. Hurdle (27*) and Gilbert (21) put on 53 for the final wicket in a stand that took Somerset to 238 before Gilbert was caught by Trott at gully.With little to lose, and defending a healthy 148, Somerset came out with all guns blazing, and when Leverock had Anderson caught at short leg with only one run on the board there was a glimmer of hope that a seemingly impossible victory might be on the cards.That hope seemed to have been all but dashed by Crockwell and Bascome, but then came Gilbert and hope gave way to possibility. Then Cann arrived to do what he does best, bludgeoning Somerset into submission and dragging St George’s across the finishing line through sheer force of will, and some truly inventive batting.