Having recently bowed out of Cup Match, former Somerset all-rounder Richard Basden reckons it's time the champions start looking beyond just retaining the cup.

Basden insists it's time to start pushing some of the younger players forward - something St.George's have been quietly doing for the past several years.

The 36 year-old left-handed batsman shocked cricket fans when he announced his retirement from the annual classic last week. His decision coming almost a year after elder sibling, Dexter, ended his career in the classic in a blaze of glory.

“We must be realistic and make some changes because St. George's have been doing it every year and they are getting better and better,” Basden warned.

“And when they win - if they win the trophy - then they have the young people who can hold onto it for a long time. We have to be able to compete with some of our younger players. Our older players are getting banged up and tired.”

The Willow Cuts stalwart warned about the dangers of becoming ‘complacent'.

“We can't become complacent by picking a team just to keep the trophy. Yes, we want to keep it, but in the end the future is going to determine how long we keep it,” he said. “There's going to come a time when we are going to lose it - let's be realistic. But our most important thing is that we have the confidence and the young people coming along who can win it back any time we want. That's the most important thing.

“Somerset can't get stagnant with the same faces year in year out. St.George's are changing every year and they are bringing in new faces and youngsters.

“Somerset's team has been together for a long time now and the majority of them are still young players - but it's an old team.”

Again, Basden stressed the importance of blooding the youngsters.

“We don't have as many youngsters to choose from as St.George's but we do have a few and we have to start bringing them through,” he noted.

“We have Jacobi Robinson, Stephen Outerbridge and Dion Stovell and things are looking up. But at what point do we bring them through? Yes, they have to be ready but we have to make sure we look further down the road. Not every year are the Albert Steedes or Janeiro Tuckers going to be in good nick so we will need new faces to come through.

“We have to seriously think about it. If we don't, we're going to get complacent and when and if we do lose it, then it may be a long time before we can win it back. So we have to keep pace. We can't just sit back on the trophy. We must also think about the future.”

Basden will long be remembered in Cup Match for scoring back to back half-centuries as a colt at Wellington Oval in 1985.

However, unlike Basden, former team-mate Wendell White said he doesn't foresee any major changes being made to Somerset's team this year.

“Yes, Richard is gone and Dexter has also retired but personally I think we will carry the same team as last year with the exception of Dexter,” he said.

Like many others, White also firmly believes this could be young Robinson's year.

“I think Robinson will come into the team. He's really on top of his game at the moment and I think that he deserves a chance,” he added.

“But with the senior players that we still have in the team, I think that we can handle it.”