Lionel Cann will lead Cup Match champions St George’s into battle at Somerset Cricket Club after last year’s skipper Oronde Bascome was ruled out of this year’s classic.With Bascome still recovering from an appendectomy, the defending champions decided to turn to previous captain Cann to take charge of the side.It’s not known when Bascome will be fit again for action, but St George’s president Neil Paynter said he was happy with the committee’s decision to reappoint Cann, the Warwick player-coach.“Under the circumstances, Oronde won’t be available to play this year after his surgery and Lionel Cann will be appointed as Cup Match captain,” said Paynter. “He is a proven champion and has been our captain before and knows what it takes to win on the big stage.“There were other names thrown into the hat for captaincy but with Cann, and because it is in the interim, we felt he was the best fit for the job.“I’m delighted with the news, he has proven himself and has always been a leader both on and off the field, and we are pleased that he has accepted the chance to lead us out again.”The committee of George Cannonier, who is the chairman of selectors, Wendell Smith, Gary Brangman and Charlie Marshall made the decision and Cann will now be in the war room when the club select the side that will defend the title.The former St David’s batsman was given the task of skippering the side in 2006, winning the cup in his first year on ‘foreign’ soil, and gave up the captaincy in 2009 after a draw on home turf.Bascome was appointed captain after Cann’s resignation.The veteran player is only 13 runs away from becoming the fourth batsman to score 1,000 runs in Cup Match.Should he reach the milestone, Cann will join the likes of Marshall, Smith, Janeiro Tucker and Clay Smith in the exclusive group.“It’s a honour and it is nice to know they want me to take over. It shows they still have belief in me and that I am still capable of doing the job at a high level,” said Cann.“They told me I had done a good job previously and felt I could still do it, so I’m pleased to be the captain in the biggest game of the year.“I haven’t really thought about the milestone, I just want to go out and win the game for the club.“The record is great. I will be among the game’s great players and to be able to do it, should I reach it this year, will be great.”Me being able to get to this achievement has come with a lot of hard work through the years and dedication to the game, so to get it will be more of a reward than a milestone.”