Somerset pulled off a major upset with a thumping 150 run victory over champions St David’s at Somerset Cricket Club yesterday.

Playing leading roles in the hosts’ emphatic victory were cousins Joshua Gilbert and Justin Donawa.

Gilbert scored 94 and claimed two wickets with his off-break spin bowling, while fast bowler Donawa ripped the heart out of the Islanders’ middle order on the way to a maiden five-wicket haul in top flight cricket.

“Today was an all round performance and the only blemish was that we dropped a catch and didn’t bat 50 overs,” Jekon Edness, the Somerset skipper, said. “Other than that I have nothing bad to say about our performance and hopefully we can keep it going.

“Our goal was to score over the two hundred mark to give ourselves a chance because we feel we have the best all around bowling attack in Bermuda. We scored 240 odd and that gave our bowlers a chance to shine and they did. We actually had bowlers that didn’t even bowl today.”

Somerset lost two early wickets after being put in to bat first on an even track.

However, a 132-run third-wicket partnership between Gilbert and Edness put the hosts firmly back on track as St David’s bowlers toiled in the heat.

Gilbert dominated the partnership with some aggressive stroke play, putting away anything loose with total disdain.

He reached his half century in the 22nd over off 72 balls in 89 minutes with a single off Delyone Borden, the St David’s off spinner.

The early order bat flirted with danger, though, as he had two sharp return catches put down by Kameron Fox and Kevin Hurdle and another chance fell just short of Borden in the covers.

Gilbert’s good fortune continued in the 30th over when he was caught by CJ Outerbridge at long off, but escaped after the fielder’s body brushed the boundary fence.

With St David’s running out of ideas, Gilbert stepped on the gas as what seemed a sure century beckoned.

However, the batsman’s luck finally ran out when he was caught in the covers off a Hurdle delivery six runs shy of a deserved century just after a water break. Gilbert struck ten fours and three sixes off 108 balls in 136 minutes.

Edness departed four runs later for a well-played 44 from 88 balls in 100 minutes that included two fours.

Jordan DeSilva and Jacobi Robinson added 33 runs for the fifth wicket before Borden and seamer Justin Pitcher plucked out Somerset’s middle and lower order cheaply in their second spells.

Borden did most of the damage, picking up four wickets as Somerset slipped from 206 for five to 242 all out in the space of eight overs.

Borden took four for 54 and had one maiden while Justin Pitcher and Hurdle took two wickets each.

St David’s got their run chase off to a poor start after losing wicketkeeper Fiqre Crockwell in the first over. Crockwell pushed forward to a Greg Maybury delivery that rose from a good length, brushed the batsmen’s glove and was taken cleanly behind by Jehnai Bean, the Somerset wicketkeeper.

Somerset then tightened the screws with Maybury claiming the prized scalp of OJ Pitcher, the St David’s captain, who drove straight into the hands of Justin Corday fielding at mid-on.

From there Donawa took over, bowling a nagging line and length that kept the St David’s batsmen on the back foot.

Donawa made his presence felt from the outset charging in from the southern end of the ground, picking up the wickets of Robinson, Hurdle, Borden and Loren Marshall in quick succession to leave St David’s struggling at 48 for six in the 12th over.

Robinson played on, Hurdle and Borden were both bowled playing on the back foot while Marshall was stumped by Bean.

A 25-run stand for the eighth wicket between Rudell Pitcher and Kameron Fox delayed the inevitable, before Gilbert picked up two wickets in his second spell and Donawa bowled last man Dean Smith with a yorker to seal the Islanders’ fate.

Pitcher scored 25 from 31 balls and hit three fours to lead the Islanders’ batting, while Donawa took a career best five for 19. Fast bowler Maybury also claimed two wickets for the hosts.