The end of an era is fast approaching at Wellington Oval.

St George’s coach Clay Smith has revealed that he intends to step down from his post after next season, marking the conclusion of a career spent shaping not only the East End club and its fortunes in the annual Cup Match classic, but also the circumstances of youth and senior club and international cricket.

Smith, who has been synonymous with St George’s cricket for decades even as he has enjoyed coaching stints at Cleveland, St David’s and the Bermuda Under-19 and senior teams, said that the decision was made with his health in mind.

Smith suffered a serious health scare when he was admitted to hospital with a subarachnoid haemorrhage in late September 2020, forcing him to take an extended leave from coaching before returning as his brother Wendell’s replacement in March 2022.

“Either way, next year will be my last, win, lose or draw,” said Smith, who has overseen multiple Cup Match campaigns and played a key role in developing young talent coming through the club’s ranks.

“I will step away and focus on my health. That is the plan for now, As time passes anything can change but that is the plan for now.

“I promised to deliver the trophy to our fans in a certain time frame, so the writing is on the wall. Last year, rain played a major part in hindering us, but it’s time for us to deliver the goods. We are ready.”

The time period Smith alluded to was a five-year plan towards reclaiming local cricket’s Holy Grail, which he announced upon accepting the job.

During Smith’s tenure, 22 players have been used in Cup Match, with Smith’s trend being to rebuild around a small core of experienced players. While retaining the likes of captain Sinclair Smith, vice-captain Macai Simmons, former captain Onias Bascome, Zeko Burgess, Delray Rawlins, Jonté Smith and Nzari Paynter, the youthful talents of Lukes Horan and Fulton, Isaiah O’Brien, Jarryd Richardson and Marcus Scotland have been sprinkled in.

Injuries have forced Fulton and Scotland back to the sidelines, while Richardson has chosen to focus on his studies, making way for Keegan Jones to enter as a fledgling addition.

“If you look at our team over the years, we have definitely developed,” said Smith. “We've invested in our youngsters to make sure that we have some longevity. There were some areas in our team that we wanted to improve, so we made the necessary changes.

“Fast bowling, for instance, was one position. You have Zeko right now but you also have Luke Fulton and Luke Horan, who are potentially two fine fast bowlers for the future.

“There’s also Isaiah, who is a medium pacer, and is somebody else who we've invested in, and this year we've invested in Keegan Jones, another very good young player, who came up and got eight wickets in Colts Cup Match, so he's showing his potential as a developing all-rounder.

“That's the direction we want to go. It’s not going to be easy to wrestle the cup away from Somerset.”

Despite having won Cup Match as a player, assisted his brother to victory in 2011, and being a consistent, dominating force in all manner of league and knockout competitions, Cup Match has remained an elusive goal.

Smith has employed varying strategies in trying to win and has endured criticism from within and without the St George’s support base, but, Smith holds no gripes, knowing that the law of averages mandates an end to the Somerset dynasty sooner or later.

“I'm not concerned about my reputation,” he said. “Because the difference with me is that I'm a little bit different from other coaches.

“I will lose a cup match every year trying to win it. I’m not going to sit there and say, ‘Well, I don't want to lose’, and play for a draw. A draw doesn't help us.

“So if we have to retire or declare on 150 just so that we have a chance to try and win the cup, then I'm going to give my team the slightest chance, even if it means losing.

“I have no problem losing. My reputation speaks for itself. St George’s, we guys have won everything and at one stop with Cleveland.

“But losing is a part of life, it’s a part of growth and every year we're trying to get better and better and better until we finally win.”

When it comes to winning and with the island having experienced heavy showers over the past several days, the toss could potentially play a key factor according to St George’s captain Sinclair Smith.

“I think the toss will be crucial based on the weather,” Smith said.

“But then again I’ve played Cup Match when it’s supposed to be sunny all day and it rains and then it’s been times I’ve seen rainy forecasts and it ends up being two full days of cricket. It’s just one of those things you have to play by ear and kind of assess on the morning.”

As for the task at hand, the experienced player added: “Somerset is always a challenge but I am more confident in my team this year.

“They have the hunger and it’s a good mix of senior players like myself, Macai Simmons and Onias Bascome and the youngsters coming in who have been dominating Colts Cup Match the last few years and are eager to carry on their winning ways with us seniors.

“It’s a good mix and we make sure they are in the right mental space, maintain the right training habits, and they keep us on our toes throughout the different training sessions that has been pretty intense the last few weeks.”