From the moment the follow-on was avoided yesterday afternoon, there was only going to be one result in the 91st annual Cup Match Classic at Wellington Oval.

This tame draw, which saw the champions St. George's leading by 254 with six second innings wickets intact at the close, will be remembered for the batting records that were shattered as brothers Wendell and Clay Smith both hit their maiden Cup Match centuries to share in a record second wicket stand of 220.

When the 21-year old Clay was trapped lbw by Richard Basden, he and his brother were just nine runs short of the best partnership for any wicket in Cup Match -- 229 between Rupert Scotland and Lee Raynor in 1974.

The huge partnership lasted five hours and four minutes and though Wendell finished with the top knock of 129 his younger brother scored his century first and then departed with the St. George's captain on 97.

Wendell was at the crease six hours and eight minutes, faced 276 balls and hit 15 fours and four sixes while Clay faced 244 balls in his five hour innings of 108 and hit 14 fours and a six.

The pair were left to steady things after Arnold Manders had his stumps knocked back by Terry Burgess in the third over of the match when the score was just three.

That was to be the first and last bit of success for the west enders until late in the afternoon as the brothers made Somerset captain Andre Manders pay for his decision to send St. George's in upon winning the toss.

The St. George's scoring was slowed in the 40s when Richard Basden and Janeiro Tucker were brought on after the first hour.

Both batsmen gave chances in the 20s, Wendell being dropped on 27 and again on 68 while Clay was put down on 23 and 75. One of the chances fell to colt Tucker who failed to hold on to a firmly driven shot by Clay in his fifth over.

Somerset used seven bowlers before lunch in their bid to break up the pair, succeeding only in keeping the pair relatively quiet as the 100 came up in 159 minutes, the 150 in three hours and 53 minutes and the 200 in five hours and one minute. The last 50 came up in 38 minutes by which time the Somerset team looked a jaded bunch and the St. George's batsmen now seeking a declaration.

Dexter Basden and Ricky Hill were introduced into the attack in successive overs as Somerset went through nine bowlers trying to break up the pair. Olin Jones, brought back on at the western end, saw Wendell put down first ball by wicketkeeper Albert Steede when he attempted to cut a short delivery.

It wasn't until the new ball came in the 76th over that Somerset got their second wicket of the day, Clay trapped lbw on the front foot by Richard Basden who was a surprise choice for the new ball.

Wendell reached his first century in Cup Match with a drive through the extra cover boundary, beating his previous highest Cup Match score of 96 in 1988.

Smith was noticeably more aggressive after reaching his ton as he sought a declaration. He was finally dismissed when Olin Jones took a good catch on the long-on boundary off Rodney Fubler in his 17th over. Fubler was Somerset's best bowler with two-for-46 from 18 overs. Richard Basden gave up just 25 runs in his 12 overs while Janeiro Tucker performed well, bowling 19 overs in four spells though he didn't take a wicket.

St. George's finally declared at 5.14 and their hopes of a win were to hinge on how quickly they got Somerset on the ropes. Somerset also lost their first wicket in the third over when Dale Fox bowled Ricky Hill.

Somerset recovered to post their first 50 in 54 minutes and were 60-1 overnight. They added six runs to their overnight score when Noel Gibbons produced a brilliant piece of fielding from square leg to run out Dexter Basden for 26 with a direct throw.

Colt Jeff Richardson, sent in at number five to boost the scoring, faced just six balls before giving a catch to Adams on the backward square leg boundary off his Western Stars teammate Arnold Manders who had taken the wicket of Olin Jones in the previous over.

Albert Steede went on to hit nine fours and two sixes in his top knock of 62 in two hours and 59 minutes and looked set to score the third century of the match before he went for another big hit off David Adams and was caught at deep midwicket by Charlie Marshall.

After bowling four spells Adams finally had his first wicket and he went on to get five more to finish with his best figures in Cup Match of six for 64 as Somerset went from a position of strength at 115-2 to 139-6 with the follow-on still a distant 42 runs away.

The experienced Anthony Amory, who played so patiently for long periods, went to a bad stroke in the last over before lunch as he went for a big hit and skied a catch to Kenny Phillips off Adams.

That brought teenager Janeiro Tucker in under pressure with 19 runs still needed and with only three wickets standing. He played with real composure and hit three fours and a six in his half hour at the crease which brought him 24 before he was brilliantly caught by Gibbons at cover point off Adams by which time the follow-on had been avoided.

Andre Manders played a true captain's innings and was unbeaten on 43 which came in two hours and 13 minutes.

The only thing left in the match after that was whether Wendell Smith would pass Lloyd James as the highest scorer in Cup Match with 988 runs. He needed another 55 in the second innings and hit 59 before being bowled by Amory.

But he'll have to wait until next year to score the seven runs he needs to become the first batsmen to score 1,000 runs in the classic.

St. George's finished their second innings on 202-6 when the match was stopped with three overs still remaining. Arnold Manders was unbeaten on 54 while Noel Gibbons, promoted to opener, hit all his 22 runs in boundaries before being caught by Ricky Hill who kept wickets in the second innings.