Wellington Oval (final day of two): Somerset beat St George’s by ten wickets

It was the match they never wanted, but holders Somerset nevertheless showed their superiority over their East End counterparts in as one-sided a result as anyone could have imagined.

Never mind that the end was a bit of a shambles because Kamau Leverock needed two attempts to hit the winning run — the first one aborted because he and fellow makeshift opener Alje Richardson failed to cross before the traditional crowd invasion.

When the end did come after a 15-minute delay with a nudge into mid-wicket off George O’Brien, it was validation for the better of two underprepared teams owing to the shortness of the season because of the global pandemic.

The undoubted player of the match was Chris Douglas, whose 128 was the one outstanding batting performance over two days when application was in short supply.

St George’s declared on 151 for eight on a rain-hit first day with Oronde Bascome making 42 and captain Onias Bascome 40, but both gave their wickets away when well set, which became a theme in particular on the second day.

In the second innings after Somerset were eventually dismissed for 282 — O’Brien getting the bulk of his five wickets after the champions had already passed the St George’s score and were putting their foot on the pedal — the home batting ventured from the absurd to the ridiculous.

Although they were not as convincing as in the first inning, the best came in a 44-run first-wicket stand between Oronde Bascome and Temiko Wilson.

Once Wilson fell for 22, it opened the door to a succession of wickets owing to questionable decision-making and Somerset going in for the kill.

Seizing their moment, Somerset’s big guns then came to the fore, with Leverock, Malachi Jones and Dion Stovell doing most of the damage.