Why mess with a good thing?

Somerset were certainly of this strain of logic on Saturday night as the club's selectors saw little need to tinker with a successful formula, making just two changes to the outfit that won Cup Match a year ago.

And both captain Albert Steede and coach Winston Reid agreed that the West Enders once again had chosen a team capable of not merely defending the trophy, but winning.

"We picked a balanced team, that's all I can tell you . . . a team that can go down there and win Cup Match," said Reid, a former star opening batsman for Somerset. "We didn't pick a team to go down there and draw, we picked a team to win, and I think this is a team good enough to do just that."

Steede, noting the difficulty in choosing who to add and who to leave out, said: "There were not many changes made, and there were at least 16 to 17 high quality players out there that merited deep consideration, so it took time to make sure that we chose our best 11.

"It's very unfortunate that some players did not get picked for one reason or another. It's difficult for selectors to make decisions to include or exclude, but decisions have to be made and we feel this is the team to not only defend the cup, but win it, which would be great in this anniversary year."

Ultimately two suffered the chop, with year 2000 debutants Leon Place and Francis Richardson both discarded.

Place was a major disappointment during his first game in the classic as an all-rounder, failing to do much with either bat or ball, and an unspectacular performance in Saturday's final trial combined with a solid one from Richard Basden sealed his fate.

Basden, forced out of the side last year due to injury, showed himself to be fully recovered and ready for re-entry onto the Cup Match stage, top scoring for the President's XI with 69 before retiring, and was economical with the ball, his six overs costing just five runs, while containing three maidens.

Most onlookers at the match had Basden coming back into the side regardless of his performance, the player having been a fixture in the classic since making his debut back in 1985, posting an aggregate total of 532 while averaging 28 runs an inning. His status as a 'Somerset Man' obviously did not hurt, although his rating above Place as an allrounder was more likely the deciding factor.

"Richard didn't have to come back, but he solidified his position with a good score today, and he's an all round good cricketer, you can't take that away from him," explained Steede.

Meanwhile, Richardson, through his absence from the domestic scene all season, omitted himself from consideration, leaving the selectors with the decision as to who would replace the fast bowler.

And with there being few pacers on display, and even fewer holding such big game experience, the logical choice came in the form of Corey Hill, who last played in the big match back in 1997, when Somerset lost at Wellington by eight wickets.

Hill will likely be called to take the new ball alongside Wendell White against what appears an explosive early order batting line-up for St. George's, containing the likes of Glenn Blakeney, colt Philip (Billy Joe) Pitcher, Clay Smith and Charlie Marshall.

Somewhat surprising was the continued inclusion of opener Curtis Jackson, who had been written off in several quarters due to his lack of production both in league cricket and two Cup Match appearances, where his best score has been 20 during the second innings in 1999, while his three other innings reaped just 17 (6-7-4) in total.

Club team-mate Sheridan Ming was bandied about as the probable choice to replace Jackson, but the selectors, reluctant to introduce a colt into the hostile territory of the east end, elected to allow Jackson another opportunity.

As it stands, Somerset have a line-up favouring their batting, with all 11, in varying degrees, capable of holding their own at the crease.

"It's important that everyone can handle the bat from one to 11, because St. George's is not the easiest place to play, and as you can see there are no colts," said the second year skipper. "We've picked people that have been there before, have experience, and we're hoping that experience will prevail."

Steede anchors the line-up, he and vice-captain Dexter Basden candidates to open the batting with Jackson, to be followed by the likes of Richard Basden, Wendell White, Janeiro Tucker, Irving Romaine and Kwame Tucker, who will also handle wicket-keeping chores.

Hill, White, Dwayne Leverock, Hasan Durham, Janeiro Tucker and Richard Basden stand as the chief bowling proponents over the course of the two days.