St.George's favourite cricketing son, Charlie Marshall, brought the curtain down on a Cup Match career spanning almost three decades yesterday, writes Stephen Wright.

An emotional Marshall was treated to a chorus of 'we love you Charlie' from his St.George's team-mates, before the evergreen run machine told his adoring East End supporters that he had made his final Cup Match appearance.

The 48-year-old who hit 100 not out on his classic debut in 1980, signed off at Wellington Oval with a golden duck – a final act unbefitting of a man who has scored more Cup Match runs than any other player.

Not that he was too downhearted, though, having played his part in helping St.George's retain the coveted Cup Match trophy.

"It's a bit disappointing," admitted Marshall.

"But I'm a batsman who likes to play his shots and I always want to entertain the St.George's community.

"I started (Cup Match) with a hundred but ended with a duck. I think it was for a reason though," he joked, "as I wanted to see if my youngsters had the character to see it through.

"They have shown they are ready to continue without me."

Marshall said he believed Somerset had paid the price for batting for an hour too long and should have declared at lunch.

"To be honest we were fully expecting to go into bat after lunch and were surprised when they carried on," he said.

"As long as they keep making these bad decisions I don't think they will ever get Cup Match back of us."

He said he wished to thank his supporters who had given him the motivation to carry on playing and to the Lord for keeping him fit and healthy, allowing him to make 27 Cup Match appearances.

Marshall ends his Cup Match career with 1,357 runs but reckons it won't be long before Somerset's Janeiro Tucker breaks his record.

Tucker moved to second in the all-time standings yesterday, his third Cup Match century taking him to a total of 1,230 runs.

"I'd like to see one of my own break my record but Janeiro is a great player and I'll be the first to congratulate him when he does it," added Marshall.