It's the big do-or-die weekend for Willow Cuts!

Richard Basden's team need at least 13 points from their long-awaited make-up match against Cleveland to be assured of remaining in Premier League cricket next season.

Now perilously placed second-last out of eight teams in the top flight they can doom Somerset to relegation if they tie or surpass the team whose grounds they share.

Cuts have 91 points while Somerset have 104 and if both teams end on 104 then it would be Cuts who narrowly avoid the chop.

As Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) official Neil Speight explained, the first tie-breaker for two teams with the same number of points would be the number of league victories this season. There again both teams would be neck-and-neck, each having scored four wins.

The second tie-breaker would be the results of head-to-head encounters and, believe it or not, there again Cuts and Somerset cannot be separated, having opposed each other twice with a victory going either way.

"In those two games, however, Somerset got 19 points against Willow Cuts and Willow Cuts got 20 points from Somerset.

"So Willow Cuts would remain in the Premier League on the basis of having one more point in head-to-head matches," noted Speight.

While tomorrow's match at Southampton Oval (11 a.m. start) is of utmost importance to Cuts, it is of academic interest to Cleveland.

"We're not taking it too seriously. It doesn't mean much to us. We're stuck in fifth. We can't move up or down but I am sure once the game gets going the competitive spirit will kick in for my guys.

"I just want to get this game over and the season ended. We haven't played cricket in a month-and-a-half," said Cleveland skipper Carlton Smith, adding that they should be fielding half of their regular team.

There would be the satisfaction of finishing the season with a 50-50 record if Cleveland won, he pointed out. At present, they have six wins and seven losses.

Also, some personal bragging rights are at stake as Smith, Aaron Adams and Curtis Jackson are in a tight race to be the club's top run-scorer this year.

"There's a prize for the most runs at our prize-giving. Right now, I'm ten runs ahead of Aaron and about 30 runs ahead of Curtis so it's real close," noted the captain.

Cleveland will be without the services of Del Hollis for this match as the strike bowler starts a nine-match ban for kicking over stumps at the same venue while playing against league champions Southampton Rangers.

Initially, he was banned for a year but, on appeal, had his sentence reduced to nine games. Smith confirmed that Hollis still faced an internal hearing before next season.

Following the vital league clash, Cuts face St. David's in the weather-delayed Premier Knockout final at Somerset Cricket Club on Sunday.

To facilitate St. David's players returning home before the Causeway curfew, the match will start at 10 a.m. and has been reduced to a 45-over-a-side fixture.