birth 77 years ago.

Despite the many changes to the two-day game, some things remain the same -- including the people who make themselves known by entertaining the crowd with either their loud voices or their clothing.

Today we have people like "Alabama'' Anderson who often parades on the field during tea time. And there's Neil Paynter Sr., who beats his drum when a Somerset batsman is out or when a St. George's player makes a century.

Since 1902, Cup Match has been the symbol of the greatest rivalry in Bermuda.

Mr. Bascome remembers Cup Match as being a time when families came together -- since they could not see each other every day due to cost and distance.

Whether the game took place in the west or the east it was a time of reunion as youngsters and their parents would save a few extra pennies to make the trip to the game.

"I was born in December of 1918 and I attended my first Cup Match in 1919 in Somerset as the cup was taken from St. George's. My cousin and I were marched around in a baby carriage.

"I only went to the game in St. George's, where I live, until I was able to travel myself. When I was old enough we would go by boat to Somerset after I made some money selling rum bottles to Gosling's,'' Mr. Bascome said.

He added: "There have been lots of changes in the game since when I was a youngster like the fact that they use to use cinder wickets -- which was a type of ash -- and they would wet it and roll it. And then came concrete and now we have the turf wicket.

"The turf wicket is better for the batsman because he can bat for a longer period and that is why we have so many drawn games,'' he said.

What did going to Cup Match mean to Mr. Bascome as a young boy? "To me it was a family picnic day,'' he says. "My grandfather was part of the Somerset Grand United Order of Oddfellows and they started Cup Match with people like John Paynter. It grew out of that organisation. There was a group in Somerset and a group in St. George's.

"We looked forward to going to Cup Match and the years that we couldn't go we would communicate by telephone to get reports on the games. James Packwood would call, he was on the first Cup Match team.'' Mr. Bascome also has vivid memories of the top players of the past.

"Most of the games would be in St. George's and I can remember the older players like Ray Knights and Pooch Jones -- he had the winning stroke one year in St. George's and he was a famous wicket-keeper around 1926. "Somerset kept the cup for a a long while after that. I do remember fellas like `Warbaby' Fox from St. David's and the Swainsons and then there was a man name Orvil Wilkinson from St. David's in the early days and he played for St. George's.

"Orvil assumed he got a hard out and he walked right off the field down to his boat and went home, he never went back to the pavilion. That is cricket.

The umpire's position is final.'' Asked what the differences are from yesterday to today he added: "I do not think young people today appreciate the game -- not by the old standards. It was a family affair. At that time our families lived on both ends of the Island, people left St. George's to go to Dockyard.

"There was a sense of going back to your family. St. George's residents going to Somerset for the game, or vice versa, often stayed there until Saturday.

"Lots of people today don't even see Cup Match they just go to gamble and others go and spend their time at the bar, but people who love Cup Match go to see cricket.'' Mr. Bascome also said going to the game, for some, has turned out to be a fashion show. But even when he was a young boy, there were also people who caught your eye.

"I remember a chap who used to wear a great big hat. There was always something outstanding at Cup Match. There was also a gentleman, Mr. Brangman, who could shout louder than anyone and then there was a gentleman called Cat Ratteray who was one of Bermuda's best entertainers and comedians.

"It wasn't Cup Match without seeing Cat Ratteray. We would look for him.'' GOOD OLD DAYS -- Bernard (Teddy Bear) Bascome, 77, has been going to Cup Match since he was a baby.