St George’s coach Clay Smith is hoping his side has what it takes to pick up the 20 wickets required to dethrone Somerset and win Cup Match.

Smith believes that the starting XI chosen by St George’s this week has the ability to win the match as long as they can compete consistently across the two days of play..

“At the end of the day, we have to get 20 wickets,” Smith said.

“That’s the key to success. At times in the last few years, we’ve had one good day and one bad day, so we need to put together two good days.

“We picked the best team that we feel can get 20 wickets and we have good pace bowlers who swing the ball around and a variety of spinners.

“We have a good balance with regard to our bowling attack and it’s not one-dimensional. It’s just a matter of whether we can hold onto our catches when they come and execute the game plan.”

St George’s have come close to dominating domestic league and cup competitions in the past few years and Smith is urging his Cup Match squad to tap into that winning feeling.

“If you look at St George’s, we have dominated the league for the last five years and adding Delray Rawlins, Luke Horan and Isaiah O’Brien to the team only strengthens it.

“We already have that winning mentality, so now it’s about taking that from the league to Cup Match. If we go out there and perform to the best of our ability, there is no doubt that we have the capability to win.

“But we can’t win if we have a really good batting performance but a lacklustre bowling or fielding display. We have to be exceptional in all facets of the game if we want to beat Somerset.”

Smith spent a few days at the Ontario Cricket Academy with Cup Match players O’Brien, Nzari Paynter and Jonté Smith as part of the club’s effort in changing the approach to the two-day contest.

“Every year we try to do something different,” Smith said.

“We had a small camp and took a few players to Canada to execute some things over there. We also purchased a bowling machine so that we can utilise our nets and get our players batting as much as they can in their free time.

“We’ve spent a lot of time in the nets practising against slow bowling because in the last two Cup Matches Dion Stovell and Derrick Brangman have been prolific with the ball.

“They now also have Dominic Sabir, who we cannot underrate because he’s a great spinner. It’s a matter of us counteracting the spin and that is why we are preparing a nice green wicket which doesn’t turn much.”

St George’s made three changes to the team which lost by 226 runs in Somerset last year.

“Two of our changes were forced due to injuries,” the coach said.

“It’s unfortunate with the type of wickets that we’re preparing as we would have definitely loved to have Luke Fulton on a green track.

“His pace would have been vital and crucial to us, but unfortunately he’s not available. Oronde Bascome has a history of getting us off to some good starts in Cup Match but he is also out.

“Obviously we welcome back Sinclair Smith, who is without doubt the best wicketkeeper on the island, so we’re glad to have him back.

“Our colts, Isaiah O’Brien and Luke Horan, are exceptionally good at what they do. Isaiah is more of a batting all-rounder and Luke’s more of a bowling all-rounder.

“Both of them are hungry and keen. They’re going to come down here and look to put on a show in front of these people, and we’re backing them as their performances over the years have been impressive.”