After hours of deliberations, Cup Match challengers St.George's finally presented their team for this week's showpiece to eagerly awaiting members in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The amount of time it took ? six hours to be precise ? for the East Enders to piece together what is hoped to be a team capable of toppling Somerset from their throne did not come as a major surprise, given a few players with an outside chance of breaking into the team grasped the moment to shine brightly in Saturday's overcast conditions in the final trial match at Wellington Oval which ended victorious for the President's XI at 6 p.m.

In what panned out to be a low-scoring affair, the President's XI defeated the Vice-President's XI by 47 runs. A total of 20 minutes of play was lost to rain while the match got underway 30 minutes after the originally scheduled 10 a.m. start after overnight showers seeped under the covers.

For the selectors and anxious St.George's supporters, in what has now become a tradition, it was always going to be a long night!

But in the end the challengers only made two changes from last year's team, recalling veteran club player Eugene (Calabash) Foggo for Bailey's Bay seamer Clarkie Trott while former skipper Charlie Marshall ? who announced his retirement from the mid-summer classic last year ? waltzed right back into the East Ender's team to deny former club player and last year's colt Mackie Crane a spot in the line-up for the second year in succession.

The full team is as follows: Gregg Foggo (capt), Herbie Bascome (vice-capt), Clay Smith, Glenn Blakeney, Chris Foggo, Travis Smith, OJ Pitcher, Delyone Borden, Charlie Marshall, Eugene Foggo, Lionel Cann Reserves: Oronde Bascome, Detroy Smith.

"In order to win the cup we had to make sure we had depth in both areas (batting and bowling). We have batsmen down to number 11 and among them some explosive bats all capable of picking up the tempo if called upon to do it. And they will be be called upon because that's our game plan," explained St.George's chairman of selectors, Lewis Foggo.

"If they (Somerset) bat first then we have to bowl them out twice and I am confident this is the best team that can go out there and get us quick runs and bowl them out twice," he added.

"We aren't looking to contain them, we are looking to bowl them out and I think this team is capable of getting the job done."

St.George's are also banking on the valuable experience of recalled players Eugene Foggo and Marshall.

"With Cup Match in Somerset this year and them having the trophy, we felt they're looking to play on a wicket that's going to assist batsmen and for that matter we decided to go with an extra spinner," added the chairman, himself a former St.George's wicket keeper

"And with Eugene (Foggo) being the only left-arm spinner available, and a good spinner at that, it was our choice to take him over one of our seam bowlers. We wanted all around depth in the team and Charlie (Marshall) can definitely give us what we are looking for on the day."

Meanwhile, earlier indications suggesting the East Enders would go with several youngsters also fell by the wayside, perhaps leaving promising pair Oronde Bascome and Rodney Trott to rue their decisions not to accompany the Island's Under 23 national team to Jamaica the same day.

Both youngsters failed to impress the selectors with either the bat or ball as each went for ducks while Trott ? whose slim chances always hinged upon his bowling ability ? went one for 23 from four overs.

The omissions of both Crane and Clarkie Trott may also become a focal point for much discussion in the old town of St.George's heading into this week's festive two-day holiday. Trott, recalled to the team after a lengthy absence last year, returned figures of three for 13 from 7.1 overs, including two maidens ? a performance many around the grounds felt was sufficient to retain his place.

Crane could only manage one for 35 from six overs.

Vice-captain Herbie Bascome received another bite at the cherry despite not taking a wicket in the last three classics, though he did add a valuable 21 runs to his team's total. Bascome took one for 29 from seven overs after coming in for a bit of stick earlier from the bat of former skipper Clay Smith who hit a brisk 25 containing four fours and a six over the mid-wicket boundary off the dreadlocked bowler.

However, fellow seamers Clarkie Trott and Crane were not so fortunate as the selectors opted to recall veteran spinner Foggo who, despite falling for a duck, took one for 16 off five overs ? perhaps not a bad idea given the pitch at Somerset Cricket Club has been generous to the spinners so far this season.

Bailey's Bay skipper Jermaine Outerbridge might have felt a bit hard done by when the final team was announced. Outerbridge ? whose younger sibling Stephen was successful in his bid at Somerset ? top scored for the President's XI with an unbeaten knock of 52 off 82 balls on a day many others failed with the bat, including key batsmen OJ Pitcher and Delyone Borden who each went for ducks.

Young all-rounder Arthur Pitcher Jr. scored a valiant 39 batting at number 11 for the President's XI while St.George's league player Ryan Steede enjoyed success with the ball, seizing three of the President's XI wickets for 47 runs off eight overs. But even these two impressive performances failed to move the selection committee.

Marshall, who last year insisted he would never return to the classic after 23 years service, will now get another crack at breaking former team-mate Wendell Smith's all-time leading record for the most runs (1,143).

The former skipper, who has scored two centuries in Cup Match, remains 99 runs shy of surpassing Smith and becoming the classic's leading run-getter.

Marshall scored 40 runs in a losing cause, stroking two sixes and two fours off 58 balls to prolong ? for at least another year ? what has so far been a colourful Cup Match career which begun in the most dramatic fashion with a glorious six off the very last ball of the match to score an even ton as a colt at Wellington Oval in 1980.

That record stood for 23 years before Somerset colt Saleem Mukuddem (106) broke it last year in the East End.

St.George's skipper Gregg Foggo reaped enormous success with the ball, warming up for the big occasion with outstanding figures of four for 19 from only five overs of work, including one maiden while youngster OJ Pitcher made amends after earlier failing with the bat by claiming two wickets for six runs off only 13 deliveries.