With a century under his belt in only his second innings and at the age of 18, Somerset batsman Tre Manders could write his name in the Cup Match record books in years to come. So says his uncle Arnold Manders whose 688 runs between 1978 and ‘99 puts him 13th on the all-time aggregate list for the Classic. Manders scored his runs in 28 innings and was the only Manders before Tre to score a century, reaching three figures twice in fact, in 1986 and ‘88 with knocks of 103 not out and 104.Tre’s parents Cherie and Andre, who reside in Southampton, England while their son attends a sports academy, were back on the Island to see his century knock on the first day of Cup Match.“It felt good to get a century under the Manders name,” said Tre whose father, a former Somerset captain, scored 537 runs in 25 innings. “I started thinking about it when I got to the half-century and knew I could take it on if I kept my head down and kept batting.“Early on the bowling was all right when they were trying different bowlers to try to get us out. Janeiro (Tucker) was telling me to keep my head down and not risk anything and keep getting runs.”With time on his side, Uncle Arnold is tipping the youngster to one day bat himself into the aggregate record books. Already he has a maturity that belies his tender age.“I am proud of him, he’s always had the ability,” said Manders, who is also the national coach.“He’s always had the ability and bats far beyond his age. He’s scored two half centuries for Bermuda already, one in a 20/20 and one in a 50-over match. The thing about him is once he gets going he rarely throws his wicket away.”Manders, one of four former Cup Match players who covered last week’s match as a cricket commentator for the two radio stations, had a good view of Tre’s innings, from right behind the eastern sight screen.“I stated on the broadcast when they dropped him on 44, that would cost them as he would score a hundred,” said Manders of his prediction.“He’s got the temperament, he’s got the right technique, but he’s got one flaw in that he likes to ‘feel’ every ball, so he is a little subseptible to balls that are pitched at off stump and swinging away. That’s something he has to work on, but technically he’s sound, he’s good hand-eye coordination and some of the shots he played were probably some of the best shots of the whole day.”The young Somerset batsman is continuing on the family name, with uncle Anthony, the father of Somerset captain Jekon Edness, the other Manders to play Cup Match. Jekon is a wicketkeeper like his father, while Tre, originally a spinner before injuries restricted his bowling, has a batting style similar to his father.“He came up in a cricketing family, with older brothers and cousins that played and he was one of the younger ones,” said Arnold. “Even when we used to go on trips to Florida he would come with us and bring his bat and we would have tennis balls and would practice early in the morning before we started doing the fun parks.“He’s also an exceptional footballer so now he has to make a choice whether to play cricket or football. In cricket he has all the talent and is an exceptional fielder and is level-headed. He’s one of the younger players to score a century and scored it way before I scored my first century.”Added Manders: “Right now I think cricket has the upper hand and he can go on to break all the records in Cup Match. If he keeps the right attitude and stays healthy I’m sure he can score over 1,000 runs and even get to 2,000. He has another 20 years.”