Jekon Edness, the Somerset captain, has good reason to be confident going into Cup Match tomorrow.

The champions made only two changes to last year’s team and are confident that Jordan DeSilva for Kamau Leverock, who did not return from England, and Deunte Darrell for Stephen Outerbridge are “like for like” replacements to a well- balanced team.

Understandably, it is the challengers who, again, have made six changes and the obvious question after the team was picked last Saturday is: do they have the bowling strength to dismiss Somerset twice on their home field?

“We are very confident going into Cup Match, obviously we feel if we can play to our strengths and execute our game plan that we can be victorious,” said Edness, who took over the captaincy in 2011 and suffered a loss to the holders in that first year before winning back the cup two years ago with a thrilling victory in the west end.

Somerset then achieved a “winning draw” in St George’s last year when the hosts were forced to follow on and were five wickets down in their second innings, still 42 runs behind Somerset’s first-innings 370 for six declared.

“We’re humble, not overly confident, not complacent, just trying to stick to our guns and hopefully come out with a victory,” said Edness, who welcomes the inclusion of DeSilva and Darrell.

“Those two were knocking on the door last year and may have felt disappointed that they weren’t selected, but we just wanted to stick to the same team and this year, to their credit, they have performed probably at an even higher level than last year. They have been rewarded for their hard work.”

Edness echoed the views this week of his chairman of selectors, Mike Corday, saying that it was not an easy decision to leave out Outerbridge, who has scored 298 runs in Cup Match at an average of 27.08.

“It was very difficult,” the Somerset captain said. “It was a major debate and we weighed the pros and cons, and in the end we decided to give Deunte a chance.

“Obviously, Stephen is a quality batsman and experienced player, and we didn’t take that lightly, leaving him out. It was a difficult decision.”

The strip used last Saturday will be the same one for Cup Match. It yielded more than 450 runs, with the Vice-President’s XI replying to the President’s 261 for seven declared with 205 for two after openers Chris Douglas and Pierre Smith retired on half-centuries, and Outerbridge and Darrell, fighting for the same spot, finished not out at the close.

“It appears to be a good batting wicket, a decent wicket for us and they will have to come and attack us, really,” Edness said. “There weren’t many demons in it, in terms of major turn; some turn but not turning corners. And not much lateral movement. A little with the new ball, but once that gets old, it should be plain sailing once the batsmen choose to put their heads down.”

Somerset are again expected to open the batting with Chris Douglas and Terryn Fray, with Darrell probably taking Outerbridge’s spot at No?4, behind Tre Manders, and ahead of Janeiro Tucker. Edness, Malachi Jones and Jordan DeSilva gives the champions solid batting in the middle order.

St George’s have brought back Fiqre Crockwell, Jason Anderson, George O’Brien and Kyle Hodsoll, and have given debuts to Shannon Rayner and 16-year-old Delray Rawlins, who will complement the off spin of Rodney Trott with his slow left arm. Rawlins picked up four wickets in Colts Cup Match last Sunday and looked promising with the bat, too, but the big stage will be a real test for him.

“No St George’s team that we play in Cup Match is a weak team,” Edness added. “It’s a big occasion and anything can happen on those two days.

“They picked a team they felt can take the cup from us and credit to them, but at the end of the day, we’re focused on ourselves, not worrying about what they’re doing or who they are bringing in.”

Charlie Marshall, chairman of the St George’s selectors, admits the task of bowling out Somerset will be a tough one, but believes they are capable of pulling off victory.

“As the challengers you have to make some changes, it’s not having the cup when it’s easier to select your team,” Marshall, a former captain, said. “As losers, it’s more difficult and you have to gamble.

“We’ve tried things for the past two years after losing the cup, so this is all about trying different scenarios of how we are going to beat Somerset.”