Somerset fans old enough to remember their 1997 Cup Match defeat at Wellington Oval when St. George’s won the cup back after one year on a lively wicket will probably say “what goes around comes around” as they bask in the glory of a memorable 10-wicket victory last Friday.The win was the biggest for Somerset since they beat St. George’s by nine wickets at Wellington Oval in 1981. But memories of ‘97 are still fresh in the minds of many who remember colts Herbie Bascome and Gary Brangman taking nine wickets between them in the Somerset first innings. They exploited the conditions better than the Somerset bowlers that year and in the end St. George’s won comfortably by eight wickets as Bascome and Brangman shared five wickets in the second innings and spinner Arnold Manders claimed five for 30 in the second innings.Last week’s Cup Match bore some similarities but this time it was the Somerset bowlers who performed better as Janeiro Tucker took six wickets in the first innings and colt Greg Maybury five in the second as Somerset wrapped up victory at 4.25.The win, Somerset’s first since 2002, gave their long suffering fans plenty to smile about, though few saw it coming at stumps on the first day when Somerset posted 100-2 in reply to 219 posted by St. George’s after being sent in by Somerset captain Jekon Edness on a wicket that began jumping and staying low from the first morning.It proved to be a good toss for Somerset to win, but St. George’s captain Lionel Cann admitted he would have batted first anyway, on a wicket that proved to be challenging to bat on with balls jumping and staying low from the first morning.“Of course, because it was only going to get worse,” said Cann. “We didn’t win the toss but we were going to bat first.“We threw it away in the first innings, we didn’t have to be playing big shots, we could have batted as long as possible. In the second innings the wicket was playing worst when you really had to buckle down. I like to see results but we need to see some cricket too and over the last two days you saw the ball jumping all over the place. As a cricketer I’m very disappointed in the pitch because I’m sure we can get a result with better pitches. I hope St. George’s next year create a better wicket even though we don’t have the trophy.”Despite putting on 57 for the first wicket through colt Treadwell Gibbons (41) and Jason Anderson (24), St. George’s could only manage 219 with Glenn Blakeney leading the way with a game-high 68 before he was dismissed by a delivery from Janeiro Tucker that popped up off a good length and hit his glove.Somerset’s lead of 52 on first innings proved to be decisive as St. George’s crumbled in the second innings for 79, leaving the hosts to score just 27 for the victory that would return the cup to the west for the first time since they lost it in 2005.“I think it is good for the game that the cup changes hands,” said Cann who led St. George’s to victory last year. ‘It’s nice that Somerset get a chance, I honestly believe in that. It’s good for Somerset’s community and good for Bermuda as a whole.”Winston Reid, former Somerset opener who was part of the winning 1979 and ‘81 teams and then lost in 1983 when St. George’s won the cup back under Clevie Wade, was delighted with Somerset’s latest victory. “I think winning the toss was important on that pitch,” said Reid during Friday’s celebrations.“It was very important that you win the toss, Somerset won it and put St. George’s in to bat but I don’t think St. George’s applied themselves as well as they should. The second innings was worse. One of the things I noticed was when Somerset were bowling, the three seamers didn’t get anything out of the wicket. When St. George’s bowled they were bowling their seamers a bit long. That was a mistake that could have been corrected.“Janeiro, as a slower bowler, came on and got wickets and I’m sure St. George’s could have had the slower bowlers do the same thing. Some people were critical of the wicket instead of playing the ball. Somerset applied themselves and did what they had to do. I think they were more determined and wanted to win more than St. George’s wanted to retain the cup.”Clevie Wade, one of the St. George’s coaches, said the team fell short in the first innings and made the same mistakes in the second. “Our goal was to get 300 plus and I felt we didn’t apply ourselves in the first innings to get the total that we wanted,” said the former captain.“They (Somerset) got 10 wickets in the first innings but wickets were given to them. But we must give credit to Somerset, they came with a plan, stuck to their plan and were successful. In our meeting last night (Thursday) we told the guys to go out there and just bat, bat long and that we didn’t need to play rash shots. And they went out there and did the same thing from the first innings.”Wade believed the wicket of opener Treadwell Gibbons on the final over before lunch on the second day was a key development in the match. “Once we lost that one wicket it gave them the momentum going into lunch and after lunch things started happening for Somerset,” he said. “Losing five wickets before we erased the deficit really hurt us.”Adrian King, former St. George’s fast bowler, who played in the 1979 losing team, said the team lacked application.“As the game progressed St. George’s seemed to lose focus,” said King who resides in Boston but returns to the Island regularly for Cup Match.“They should have gotten more runs on the first day, but I spoke to the guys and told them if you bowling line and length you will get results. That’s what Janeiro Tucker did. There was no energy in the bowling, they misfielded or dropped catches and slowly the momentum started shifting towards Somerset and St. George’s couldn’t recover.“No one batted, I don’t think the wicket played that bad. It was just indiciplined batting. Somerset were more aggressive, bowled more accurately and bowled with a purpose. St. George’s didn’t look like that yesterday or today.”