Allan Douglas Jr has officially called time on his Cup Match career.

After making 12 appearances for St George’s between 2010 and 2023, the 38-year-old declined to take part in Cup Match trials this year as he feels his game is not at the standard needed to help the team wrestle the trophy back from Somerset.

“I got an invite to a group chat they [St George’s] have but I left,” Douglas told The Royal Gazette.

“I just have no interest in playing and I’ve retired. My knees can still handle it but I just feel the way my cricket has been going this year that I am not really in any type of nick.

“I have been picking up a lot of wickets, but St George’s won’t pick me as a bowler. They want me as a batsman and are not going to take me as a bowler.

“Some say I may have stepped off the stage too early, some may disagree and say it’s the right time. But as of right now I am far out of shape and just playing domestic cricket for fun.“

Although Douglas holds close family ties with the St George’s and Somerset communities he decided to continue the legacy of his father, Allan Sr, who also represented St George’s as a wicketkeeper and aggressive middle-order batter.

“It was a great honour to play on that stage knowing my father also played,” he said.

“I chose to play for St George’s because I was born and raised there. It was inevitable even though my mother is from Cooks Hill in Somerset.

“I would not be able to love myself knowing I am from St George’s and playing for Somerset. Even with all the losses I have taken, I would not change it for the world.”

Douglas describes winning the cup in 2011 and losing it the following year as his most memorable and disappointing experiences.

“The highlight of my Cup Match career was winning it and playing alongside my real good friends Rodney Trott, Justin Pitcher, Fiqre Crockwell and also captain Oronde Bascome, who I grew up playing in the backyard with,” he said.

“The biggest disappointment was not winning the cup back.”

Douglas failed to live up to expectations with the bat in Cup Match, scoring 307 runs at an average of 16.16, with a highest score of 77.

“I haven’t performed well with the bat in Cup Match like myself and most of my fans would have wanted,” he said.

“I also regret not letting my son see me score a hundred in the game,” he said.

Douglas still made his mark in Cup Match as the only player have won the Safe Hands Award, given to the player taking the best catch in the classic, for three years in succession.

“They are very proud moments, especially as the second one is probably regarded as the greatest catch in Cup Match,” he said.

Despite St George’s now going 12 years without success, Douglas predicts a change of fortune in the coming years.

“I do see a brighter future for the club,,” he said.

“As you can see from last year’s Colts Cup Match St George’s have some good talent with the likes of Isaiah O’Brien and Luke Horan.

“Hopefully those guys stay at it because it’s easy to fall by the wayside in this new generation. Speaking from experience it took me a long time to take cricket serious.”