A first division side in everything but name prior to this encounter, St George’s are now officially one of the poorer cricket teams on the Island.

Not that it needed an utter thumping at the hands of Cleveland County to confirm that fact, though now at least there can be no doubt.

Treadwell Gibbons’ unbeaten 135 and Jason Anderson’s 115, in a total of 320 for four, only served to emphasise the gulf in class between the two clubs, and made a mockery of Cleveland’s precarious position going into the game. Just for good measure Gibbons then took three wickets as St George’s were bowled out for 92.

Cleveland have not had the best of league seasons, evidence by their need to win yesterday to avoid being relegated themselves, but they were never seriously in danger of losing, especially against a side that seemed unable to even muster the fight to battle for their own survival.

“The guys knew what they had to do, and we produced the goods today,” Allan Douglas, the Cleveland captain said. “I think a lot of our players had a rough season this year, it wasn’t that they are bad players, they just had a rough season.

“You can see from last year we were in Belco Cup contention, we finished in the top four, we were second or third for pretty much the whole season, we just had a little rough patch this year.”

Cleveland picked a good time to get out of their slump and St George’s had no answer.

Long before Gibbons and Anderson had scored their centuries, the home team, who have failed to score 200 between them on any occasion this season, threw in the towel, seemingly aware that a bowling attack whose greatest threat was an ageing Herbie Bascome, was unlikely to pose too many difficulties for the Eastern County champions. Things might have been different if Damon Walker had not dropped Gibbons, the opening batsmen, at midwicket when he was only on 19. With 11 overs bowled, the visiting side were 30 for two at that stage, having lost Damon Robain and Steven Douglas cheaply early on.

That was the last chance Gibbons gave the St George’s bowlers. He, and Anderson, put on 239 runs in a third-wicket stand that ended the game as a contest, and rarely are the pair likely to have enjoyed such favourable conditions, where the ball either did not bounce, or was pitched too short.

Gibbons hit ten sixes and eight fours during his 173-ball innings, while Anderson’s century came from just 82 balls and included 18 fours, and a six. Ineffective with the ball, St George’s were equally inept with the bat, and only a stubborn innings of 25 from Troy Hall allowed them to reach the relative respectability of the 32nd over before he became the last man out.

Allan Douglas did most of the damage, taking four wickets for 22 runs, while also running out Oronde Bascome, his counterpart, with a direct throw from extra cover as the St George’s opening batsman tried for a quick single.

Coincidentally, Bascome’s dismissal left his side at 21 for one, the score Cleveland had when Jason Anderson came to the crease, it was the only time St George’s enjoyed any kind of parity with their opponents all day.

Not that Cleveland’s season is over. Victory has merely guaranteed them a spot in a promotion/relegation play-off against Western Stars, the team they beat in the same match two years ago.