So far in the new millennium the cricket Gods have smiled upon Cup Match champions Somerset Cricket Club.

Since former skipper Albert Steede relieved then St.George?s captain Herbie Bascome of the coveted trophy in 2000 at Somerset, the West Enders have refused to part company with the showpiece.

In the past four years Somerset have savoured two wins on home turf, winning by four wickets in 2000 and then by six wickets in 2002 ? the 100th Cup Match classic ? while there have been two draws sandwiched inbetween.

Now this year, Somerset find themselves in position to rewrite the history books by making it three wins on the trot on home turf with a ?unique? team ?blended? with youth and experience, according to head coach Jeff Richardson.

?We are aware of it (successive wins at home) but we?re not looking at it as a milestone . . . we?re simply looking to go out there and play smart, aggressive and attractive cricket,? said Richardson.

?Our team are very aggressive and are exciting to watch. And our colts (Stephen Outerbridge and Jacobi Robinson) aren?t going to be overwhelmed by the occasion because they have already played for Bermuda and that?s something that I?ve always admired . . . putting your country first and foremost.?

Both Outerbridge and Robinson, expected to share the new ball with Corey Hill, were reserves last year at Wellington Oval.

?Aspiring to the national level should always be your primary goal and playing in Cup Match a result of some of the fruits of labour,? added Richardson.

?Stephen (Outerbridge) displayed great talent last Saturday (during the final trial match). He looked very solid with good technique and he?s one of these players who unfortunately makes one bad decision and gets out. You have players of less talent who might have two or three chances and still go on to make a century. But this kid gets just one chance and he?s out. But he has the makings of becoming a very good player and all he needs is to be a bit more selective with the deliveries outside the off stick.?

Richardson also has confidence in his nephew, Robinson who he says has been ?groomed? for his new role in the champions? team.

?Jacobi is a Somerset player and Somerset as a club have been grooming him for this occasion for a long time now and he?s certainly a part of our future plans,? he said.

?Jacobi has represented Bermuda on numerous occasions. He?s travelled to Argentina, to South Africa and the West Indies. I did the same. However, I was nervous as hell on my Cup Match debut. But Jacobi will be OK because he?s surrounded by quality players.?

After having made two changes to last year?s team, the squad, said Richardson, remained sound.

?If you look at our team the guys have been together now for quite some time. They are still young in terms of cricket even though some maybe 30, 31 or 32 but these guys are still in their prime and Janeiro (Tucker) has a lot of experience to draw from and Somerset have a formidable Cup Match team.

?St.George?s fans can only shake their heads and smile because anyone who really knows the game of cricket will look at our squad with admiration,? he added.

Skipper Tucker, who took over the helm from Steede in the spring, made his Cup Match debut in 1992 along with Richardson, then nearing the end of an illustrious career.

?Janeiro has been around a while and we are now in a position where we can afford to bring colts into the team this year in a friendly environment with a good wicket and an outfield in beautiful condition . . . it?s going to be an exciting Cup Match.?

Richardson?s opposite number, George Cannonier, would appear to agree.

?It?s going to be very interesting. Cricket is a very uncertain game and we are banking on that . . . the uncertainty of cricket,? he said.

The first year coach is also banking on another thing, dismissing the explosive bat of Somerset?s Steede cheaply twice in two days ? a tall order given the flamboyant batsman appears to be peaking at the right time with two centuries in his last two visits to the crease.

?The way I see it we?ve bowled out all the opposing teams we?ve come up against this season and none of Somerset?s players apart from Albert have given us much of a problem. So if we can dismiss Albert cheaply in both innings then I think we?ll be on our way,? explained Cannonier.

The time element, said Cannonier, would be crucial to St.George?s? hopes of returning the cup to the East End for the first time in four years.

?If things go the way I plan, I want to utilise controlled aggression . . . I don?t want anyone going out there and losing their wickets unnecessarily. It?s going to be controlled aggression and on the day I?m confident it will all come together,? he said.

?We know it?s going to be difficult, having to get 20 wickets but the morale is good and if we can remain aggressively minded then we shouldn?t have any problems. But I think as challengers we stand a very good chance and I think the selectors couldn?t have picked a stronger team than the team that we did. And our aim is to go out there and play very aggressive cricket and try to wrest the trophy from them.?

Cup Match historians have been kept busy in recent times, particularly last year when records tumbled in a heap.

First Somerset colt Saleem Mukuddem surpassed Charlie Marshall?s 23 year-old colts record for the highest score. Then it was St. George?s? turn as Marshall and Clay Smith featured in a fourth-wicket stand worth 212 runs which bettered the previous record of 135 put on by Somerset pair John Tucker and Colin Blades at Somerset in 1979.

It was also the second highest Cup Match partnership of all time, falling just 17 runs shy of an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 229 established by St.George?s pair Lee Raynor and Rupert Scotland at Somerset in 1974.

Somerset?s first-innings total of 483 (for seven wickets declared) was also the highest total ever recorded at Wellington Oval while the combined total of both teams (1,002 runs) was a new record, bettering the previous record of 889 compiled by the teams in 1974.

Smith and Marshall also became the fifth and sixth batsmen to score two centuries in the mid-summer classic, the pinnacle of the domestic cricket schedule, behind the likes of Lloyd James, Rupert Scotland, Arnold Manders and Tucker.

With a mighty six off Dwayne Leverock over the mid-wicket boundary, Marshall joined former St. George?s skipper Wendell Smith as the only two players to score over 1,000 runs in Cup Match, while Somerset skipper Tucker became the first player to win the Safe Hands Award (for best fielder) twice and Mukuddem only the second colt to walk off with the coveted Most Valuable Player Award after St. George?s? spinner Travis Smith achieved the feat in 2002 with a ten-wicket match haul at Somerset.

In 103 years of Cup Match, Somerset have won the cup on 35 occasions and St. George?s 31 times while 36 draws have been recorded in the history book.

The highest margin of victory ever recorded in the classic was achieved by St. George?s in 1926 (innings and 49 runs) while Somerset achieved the narrowest of victories (ten runs) in 1924.

Both teams have experienced embarrassing moments with Somerset mustering only 24 runs in the inaugural match at Royal Naval Field in 1902, while St. George?s managed only 28 runs in 1918.