LIONEL Cann would welcome a three-day Cup Match in order to achieve more results in the summer classic. But the St. George's captain warns those who like to see sixes smashed all over the ground that it probably wouldn't be pretty to watch.

Post-Cup Match talk has been dominated by who is to blame for last weekend's second straight rain-affected draw. Some say the champions 'chickened out' when set a challenging target of 237 to win in two hours plus the final 20 overs on Friday evening. Others blame Somerset captain Jacobi Robinson for not playing more attacking cricket and delaying a second innings declaration.

"Somerset needed to take the game to us and they made a lot of mistakes," said Cann who was called onto the pitch by Robinson with 12 of the mandatory final 20 overs still to be bowled and offered to end the game early.

"He called me and when I went onto the field he told me 'you guys aren't going for the win' and asked if we could call it off. I thought we were going down to the last overs but when he offered it I took it. The game wasn't going anywhere and obviously anybody would accept it (offer) when they've got the trophy.

"They should have declared earlier with more runs and should have played more aggressive cricket. They weren't attacking enough, I was batting out there for three and a half hours with one slip and everybody on the boundary. They never tried to make it happen."

At 9-2, St. George's were rocked on their heels as Clay Smith was promoted to number four to steady the innings. However, he lost two more partners at the other end as the hosts had the champions in deeper trouble at 39-4 before a painstakingly slow unbeaten fifth wicket stand of 20 between Smith and veteran Charlie Marshall saw them through the dangerous period, by which time Somerset had even used Azeem Pitcher and Sammy Robinson in a bid to break the vital partnership. Finally, Robinson threw in the towel.

"People with knowledge of the game understand, while people who don't really know much about cricket like to see the excitement of a win," said Cann.

"You can have a boring win, too, where one team blows the other one away and then you can have an exciting draw which you saw that day. There is no way as captain that I'll give the cup away trying to win. Somerset didn't attack enough and didn't have the right batting order."

Cann was referring to the lunch time period on the second day, in particular, when, at 90-2 and with a 25-run lead from the first innings, they didn't try to accelerate the scoring by pushing the more aggressive Janeiro Tucker ¿ and the captain himself ¿ higher up the order ahead of Azeem Pitcher.

"At 80-1 at lunch they were still ahead of the game and never tried to speed up the game," said Cann.

"They had chances to put the pressure on us and didn't know how to do it as a team. Nobody has said anything to me that I made Cup Match boring, I had one or two people say they would like to see a result. They can't say that to me because of the way I played myself, they know I'm aggressive."

Cann intent was obvious in the first innings when he smashed 99 off nine sixes and seven fours as St. George's conceded a first-innings lead. However, even the normally aggressive Cann had to play a contained role as Somerset threatened to enforce the follow-on after having the east enders in deep trouble at 51-5 when Cann came to the crease to join Charlie Marshall. Together they added 131 for the sixth wicket as the follow-on was avoided. Then, Cann totally dominated the stand as he raced from 27 overnight to 99 while Marshall added just 10 to his overnight score of 28.

"The team was in trouble and we were 50-5 anytime Charlie or me were to fall it would have been a follow-on and Somerset probably would have won the trophy," said Cann.

"As captain I had a job to do and people come second. My job is to keep the trophy. If I had gotten out for a duck people would have been saying 'why is Lionel Cann out there hitting the ball when his team is trouble?'

"Once it changed and we saw that we would avoid the follow-on we said we would try to get a lead and take the game to Somerset. Unluckily Charlie and I got out and we didn't."

This week both Somerset and St. George's presidents Richard Scott and Neil Paynter voiced their personal reluctance to extend Cup Match to three days. While not pushing for it, Cann believes three days would at least increase the chances of victories every year.

"A lot of things have to work in order to get results in two days," he stressed. "I don't think Somerset can beat St. George's in the next 10 years in two days.

"There will always be a draw or St. George's will win. We have too many good players playing Cup Match now, players who play international cricket and understand how to build an innings and how to hold on. Somerset won't bowl St. George's out twice unless it's a bad wicket.

"Somerset were the challengers, playing on their home field and yet they prepare a batsmen's paradise and then try to bowl us out twice. Of all the players who got out probably only two got out to good balls, the rest got out playing bad shots. It was slow turn and wasn't seaming about. It was a very good wicket for batting.

"Like with St. George's in 2005, we had to win the trophy so we made a wicket that was conducive for a result."

Added Cann: "Three days guarantees a result if there isn't any bad weather. But I'll tell you what, you are also guaranteed a lot more boring cricket because there is more time and batsmen will take longer to build an innings.

"I'm not saying let's not have three days and guarantee a result, but don't think it is going to guarantee an exciting game. You are going to see a lot less boundaries, as it was with Charlie and me on the first day, poking and building an innings with ones and twos. You are not going to see an explosive innings."

"If people want three days give it to them but please accept you are going to have a lot of more boring times in the cricket. You can either have a lot more excitement and maybe ending up in a draw or boring cricket with a result."