The only way St.George's can dethrone Cup Match champions Somerset is to bowl them out twice tomorrow and Friday.

And, according to St. George's coach Wendell Smith, it won't just be his side's bowlers but, more importantly, his fielders who will determine the outcome.

St.George's have let their intentions be known by strengthening their bowling attack. However, coach Smith is a firm believer in the old cricket adage “dropped catches lose matches”.

“My personal belief is that the most significant aspect for us is going to be the catching,” said Smith. “We need to be flawless with our catching so that we don't give people additional time at the wicket - and that's something that we saw last Saturday (trial match).

“We let a number of catches go down, especially in the slip cordon.”

St.George's are pinning their hopes for success on a four-pronged seam bowling attack, all of whom will be banking on support from the field.

“With four pace bowlers obviously we want to create pressure and maintain pressure. And in order to do that you must take your chances and keep having new batsmen coming to the wicket,” added Smith. “I think from our standpoint we have to take the chances that we create.”

Smith described the mood in his camp as “aggressive”.

“They are very aggressive minded, and I think that we have picked more bowlers this year than we've ever done in the time that I've been around the game. We've never before taken four genuine pace bowlers,” he said.

“Any four of those players could be considered as opening bowlers and then Travis (Smith) can provide the spin. St.George's are looking to bowl Somerset out twice and they have picked a team to do that.

“But what it means is that our key batsmen have to come through in order for us to be successful and I like the strip that has been prepared.”

Smith again stressed the importance of holding onto vital catches.

“We will have to field well. I really believe we have to take our catches whenever they come, especially from key players like Albert Steede and Janeiro Tucker,” he noted.

Somerset coach Jeff Richardson says all the pressure will be on the challengers.

“We are going down there to win . . . not to lose,” declared a confident Richardson.

“They are going to have to come after us. Quite frankly, it would be foolhardy of us to go down there and throw everything at St.George's. We are the cup holders and the onus is on them to dictate the pace of the match and then we will react accordingly.”

On paper, Somerset are loaded with quality batsmen all the way down to number ten. However, Richardson insists his players won't travel to Wellington Oval just to sit on their bats.

“If you look at the quality of our players, and then look at their batting styles . . . I don't think there's anyone in our team that will sit on their bat,” he said. “The guys we have in our team are all quality strokeplayers and so people will see positive cricket.

“I've always contended that sitting on your bat doesn't move the scoreboard along and it only takes one ball to get out. So if you have five or six players sitting on their bats and not decorating the scoreboard, then that's useless.

“I've always been aggressive by nature as a player with the bat, and so I will encourage my players, not to go out there and bat foolishly but to play some shots because our ultimate responsibility to the cricket public is to entertain.

“People come out and spend a lot of money and they want to be entertained, and that's going to be our main objective.”

Richardson has faith in his two colts, Jermaine Postlethwaite and Saleem Mukuddem.

“Once they get over first-day jitters then they should be fine. It's not like they are 17 or 18 year-old colts, they are seasoned players,” he said.

“Postlethwaite has represented Bermuda at the international level so he's no stranger to the big time and Saleem is just a solid, good, intelligent cricketer. So his ability alone will see him through.

“We have some of the best players on the Island and come Friday the cup will be coming back to Somerset.”

Smith again stressed the importance of holding onto vital catches.

“We will have to field well. I really believe we have to take our catches whenever they come, especially from key players like Albert Steede and Janeiro Tucker,” he noted.

Somerset coach Jeff Richardson says all the pressure will be on the challengers.

“We are going down there to win . . . not to lose,” declared a confident Richardson.

“They are going to have to come after us. Quite frankly, it would be foolhardy of us to go down there and throw everything at St.George's. We are the cup holders and the onus is on them to dictate the pace of the match and then we will react accordingly.”

On paper, Somerset are loaded with quality batsmen all the way down to number ten. However, Richardson insists his players won't travel to Wellington Oval just to sit on their bats.

“If you look at the quality of our players, and then look at their batting styles . . . I don't think there's anyone in our team that will sit on their bat,” he said. “The guys we have in our team are all quality strokeplayers and so people will see positive cricket.

“I've always contended that sitting on your bat doesn't move the scoreboard along and it only takes one ball to get out. So if you have five or six players sitting on their bats and not decorating the scoreboard, then that's useless.

“I've always been aggressive by nature as a player with the bat, and so I will encourage my players, not to go out there and bat foolishly but to play some shots because our ultimate responsibility to the cricket public is to entertain.

“People come out and spend a lot of money and they want to be entertained, and that's going to be our main objective.”

Richardson has faith in his two colts, Jermaine Postlethwaite and Saleem Mukuddem.

“Once they get over first-day jitters then they should be fine. It's not like they are 17 or 18 year-old colts, they are seasoned players,” he said.

“Postlethwaite has represented Bermuda at the international level so he's no stranger to the big time and Saleem is just a solid, good, intelligent cricketer. So his ability alone will see him through.

“We have some of the best players on the Island and come Friday the cup will be coming back to Somerset.”