Onias Bascome and Nzari Paynter proved that strong performances in the final trial match still carries a lot of weight as the pair were selected for the St George’s Cup Match team on Saturday night.

Ryan Steede, the coach and selector, said as much afterwards as Kyle Hodsoll and Zeko Burgess also sealed their recalls with impressive bowling performances, also for the Vice-President’s team.

“My speech from day one when we started preparing for Cup Match was for the players to pick themselves and a few players stood up,” Steede said yesterday. “I’m glad for Nzari, he’s one of the players who stood up with his 62.

“People always say that the final trial is just a formality but the final trial carried a lot of weight. It was another long night, we picked a team that we feel confident can win the cup.

“We picked players who we thought were fit and capable of lasting the two days. That was one of our biggest challenges, picking players we can depend on to bowl Somerset out twice. We think the team is a balanced team.”

Both Bascome and Paynter scored half-centuries as the Vice-President’s team beat the President’s XI by 85 runs, giving the selectors plenty to debate late into the night. They spent four hours deliberating for the second successive year before announcing the team after 1am.

There were four changes made to last year’s team, with Nzari Paynter, 17, the only colt as Bascome was recalled along with seam bowlers Hodsoll and Burgess, who shared the new ball for the Vice-President’s team and then took six wickets between them.

Dropped was Oronde Bascome, after scoring just five runs, and seam bowler Justin Pitcher, while former captain OJ Pitcher and fast bowler Stefan Kelly were ruled out because of illness and injury.

Bascome, dropped last year, led a Vice-President’s recovery after openers Temiko Wilson and Oronde Bascome both failed to reach double figures. His fifty contained nine fours and a six after coming in at No 3. Then Paynter, the son of club president Neil Paynter, added a valuable top knock of 62 in the tail after sharing in a 99-run stand with Dean Simons for the eighth wicket, the pair coming together at 138 for seven.

The Vice-President’s team scored 262 for nine declared and then dismissed the President’s team for 177 in 36.2 overs, Hodsoll and Burgess doing the early damage with the new ball. Hodsoll claimed four for 37 and Burgess two for 32. By comparison, left-arm hopefuls Cejay Outerbridge and Charles Trott took only one wicket between them and failed to advance their claims.

Steede revealed there was a concern about the fitness of Outerbridge who appeared to pick up a slight groin injury.

The selectors, like last year with Hodsoll and his knee injury, opted not to risk selecting Outerbridge. “He said it was OK but anybody playing in the final trial and trying for Cup Match will say that if they get a niggle,” Steede said.

“I hope Cejay is not discouraged. I know him not being in the team raised a few eyebrows because he has had a good season. He’s still a young man and has a bright future ahead of him. I also hope Charles is not discouraged and just keeps putting in the work.”

After openers Wilson and Oronde Bascome departed with only 23 runs on the board, captain Onias Bascome and Coolidge Durham brought up fifty in the sixteenth over when Durham departed for 12, caught behind by Sinclair Smith off Detroy Smith.

The next partnership — for the fourth wicket — took the total into three figures, as Bascome and Rodney Trott, who made 35, added 59 in 13 overs. The next three wickets fell for 28 runs, with Onias Bascome fifth out for a well-played fifty, which included nine fours and a six.

At 138 for seven, the President’s XI thought their hard work was done but the stand between Bermuda Under-19 pair Paynter and Simons enabled the Vice-President’s team to build a respectable total.

Paynter’s 62 included 12 fours and a six, after coming in at No 8. Simons hit four fours and a six in his 32. Last man Zeko Burgess helped the tail wag when he weighed in with a valuable 20 not out.

George O’Brien, who took the new ball with Outerbridge, had an impressive spell of three for 12 off eight overs, while Outerbridge trapped Oronde Bascome leg-before for his lone wicket.

Hodsoll and Burgess had the President’s XI in early trouble at 19 for four, with Burgess removing the openers Treadwell Gibbons — to a fine left-handed return catch — and Sinclair Smith bowled.

Hodsoll followed up with the wickets of Okera Bascome, Detroy Smith and Charles Trott to make it five down with only 33 runs on the board.

Allan Douglas Jr and captain Macai Simmons added 55 for the sixth wicket, with Douglas dominating the stand. Douglas dealt only in boundaries as he hit the bowlers at will, including a six off Burgess to bring up his 50 in quick time.

The stand was broken when Simmons, on six, attempted to flick an innocuous short ball from Paynter to the leg side but succeeded only in getting a leading edge to Rodney Trott at mid-wicket. Douglas departed soon after on 93 for seven when he was caught off Justin Pitcher’s bowling for a quick-fire 56 runs.

Douglas, who faced only 28 balls, hit eight fours and four sixes, one clearing the club.

“No, it wasn’t good, the coach wanted me to rotate [the strike],” Douglas said of his innings.

Lionel Cann, batting at No 8, finished on 48 not out after adding 51 for the eighth wicket with O’Brien, who made 17.

Outerbridge contributed 15 at No 10 before Cann was left two runs short of a well-deserved 50 when youngster Isaiah Greaves was trapped leg-before first ball by Hodsoll to end the match. Hodsoll finished with figures of four wickets for 37 runs off 7.2 overs.

Scoreboard

Wellington Oval (Vice-President’s XI won toss): Vice-President’s XI beat President’s XI by 85 runs

Vice-President’s XI

†T Wilson c S Smith b O’Brien 8

Oronde Bascome lbw b Outerbridge 5

*Onias Bascome c Okera Bascome b Douglas 50

C Durham c S Smith b D Smith 12

R Trott c Okera Bascome b Greaves 35

B Hall c Okera Bascome b O’Brien 17

R Steede b O’Brien 7

N Paynter st Smith b Simmons 62

D Simons b Okera Bascome 32

K Hodsoll not out 3

Z Burgess not out 20

Extras (b 1, lb 5, nb 4, w 1) 11

Total (9 wkts dec, 59 overs) 262

Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-23, 3-51, 4-110, 5-113, 6-135, 7-138, 8-237, 9-239.

Bowling: O’Brien 8-3-12-3; Outerbridge 9-5-27-1; Trott 8-3-35-0; D Smith 10-2-34-1; Greaves 10-1-48-1; Douglas 6-1-50-1; Simmons 5-1-23-1; Okera Bascome 3-0-27-1.

President’s XI

T Gibbons c and b Burgess 6

†S Smith b Burgess 6

Okera Bascome c Wilson b Hodsoll 0

D Smith c and b Hodsoll 6

C Trott c Wilson b Hodsoll 2

A Douglas c Hodsoll b Pitcher 56

*M Simmons c Trott b Paynter 6

L Cann not out 48

G O’Brien c Burgess b Hall 17

C Outerbridge lbw b Trott 15

I Greaves lbw b Hodsoll 0

Extras (b 10, lb 4, w 1) 15

Total (36.2 overs) 177

Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-13, 3-17, 4-19, 5-33, 6-88, 7-93, 8-144, 9-176.

Bowling: Hodsoll 7.2-0-37-4; Burgess 9-4-32-2; Pitcher 6-1-21-1; Paynter 6-0-37-1; Hall 5-1-10-1; Trott 3-0-21-1.

Umpires: J McKirdy and A Knight.