Wellington Oval (Somerset won toss): St George’s beat Somerset by 38 runs

Christian Burgess, the opening batsman, proved the match winner as St George’s claimed a rare Logic Premier Division scalp over rivals Somerset yesterday.

The triumph may not be enough to heal the wounds of their recent Cup Match reverse, but at least Burgess’s gutsy half-century, coupled with a tidy team bowling display, was enough to put a smile on the East Enders’ faces.

The home side’s 182 all out always looked comfortably sufficient against a nine-man Somerset team which, apart from some late quick hitting from Kwasi James, never really got going.

In a rain-affected match reduced to 39 overs each, Burgess was the only St George’s batsman to make any score of note, with six colleagues reaching double figures but getting out for less than 20.

However, as wickets fell, Burgess carried on accumulating, finding the occasional boundary to ensure the scoreboard remained relatively healthy; his 69 from 87 balls included nine fours and a six, before he was finally well caught by Dennico Hollis in the deep.

Jordan DeSilva, the Somerset captain, and Greg Maybury, the seam bowler, then produced a late burst of wickets that restricted St George’s from 176 for six to 182 all out.

But thanks to some very tight St George’s bowling and their own shortened batting line-up, Somerset were never in serious contention as they made their reply.

Oronde Bascome, the captain, put his Cup Match blues behind him to enjoy a far happier day in the field this time around, juggling his collection of medium pacers to great effect as the visiting batsmen struggled to settle. Herbie Bascome, his father, tied down one end with some economical bowling, while Ronald Gibbons, Macai Simmons and Macai Young took turns to pick off the Somerset wickets.

Maybury, the dangerous opening batsman, took 56 balls for his 25, and was trapped leg-before by Gibbons just as he was looking to up the run rate. Gibbons then had Joshua Gilbert caught by Young for 26. The ball momentarily bobbled out of Young’s hands, but the fielder clung on for a catch which ensured St George’s had the bit between their teeth.

DeSilva made just one from 13 balls and was also caught by Young off Gibbons, before Simmons bowled Hollis for a duck and Jekon Edness for two in quick succession.

With defeat now imminent, James came back strongly to notch a run-a-ball 43, stubbornly backed by lower order partner Justin Corday. St George’s briefly looked nervous as Damon Walker dropped Corday before the pair smashed 18 from two overs.

Somerset’s flicker of hope vanished, however, when Herbie Bascome claimed a sharp catch to remove Corday, meaning James still needed more than 40 runs with last man Tyshaun Brown for an unlikely victory. James was out himself shortly afterwards, caught off the bowling of Young, to trigger understated celebrations in the St George’s camp that hinted at consolation rather than revenge.