Somerset captain Albert Steede doesn't regret batting first in Cup Match, even though his team were dismissed for just 128 in the first innings.

By the end of the match the challengers had turned a deficit of 187 into a lead of 139 with four second innings wickets intact, a tremendous fightback even though they never looked like pulling off victory.

"I think it was a moral victory we had,'' said Steede, looking back on the game.

"The deficit was such a large one, I was just happy that we got through with the minimum loss of wickets.'' Steede realised the 128 left them with a lot of work to do as they tried to bowl St. George's out with a small enough lead to stay in the match.

"The game plan was to get through the deficit plus 200 runs but unfortunately St. George's gave us such a large deficit that realistically it was difficult to do,'' said Steede, who was captaining the team for the first time.

"In the first innings there was a bit of moisture because the pitch had just been prepared and with a bit of rain that we had. But it was always a batsman's wicket so I knew there were going to be plenty of runs there and that the bowlers had to work extremely hard to get wickets.'' Even after their disappointing first innings Steede didn't second guess the decision to take first strike, as opposite number Herbie Bascome -- in outstanding form -- took five wickets in an innings for the first time in Cup Match. Again, Steede was one of his victims.

"I still thought it was a good decision to make, it's just unfortunate we didn't make the runs that we wanted to,'' said Steede.

"But we still made a game of it. Although it was only 128 runs we attacked the whole 128 and were still in an aggressive frame of mind. We were looking at 250 plus by 2.30 -- that was the plan.

"Obviously, as the challengers we had to take more chances. But in the second innings we were more disciplined and more focused and kept our heads down and consequently scored in excess of 300 runs.'' Steede helped avert an innings defeat with his second innings knock of 60 while other good contributions came from former captain Dexter Basden (77) and Janeiro Tucker, whose 103 not out was not only the only ton of the match but also the first century for a Somerset Cup Match player in St. George's.

That innings will make Tucker favourite for the MVP award which is expected to be announced this week.

The award has been dominated over the years by St. George's players since it was introduced in 1982. Steede, twice in 1995 and '96, and Anthony Amory (1989) are the only Somerset players to win the award.

Tucker's main challengers will be Bascome, who had seven wickets in the match, and Charlie Marshall, who scored 95 in the first innings for St. George's.

"Janeiro had a wonderful innings, I think that's the best I've seen him play considering the struggle we had early on,'' said his captain.

"I give him full credit and I'm very proud. He's growing up to be a very mature cricketer and it's good to see that.'' Tucker admits he didn't realise his century would be the first for a Somerset player at St. George's.

"I found out when I was on 75 or something,'' said the all-rounder. "It's a pleasure to score 100 in general, not just the first person to score it. Just being a part of the players who have scored 100 is good.'' Tucker admits batting was easy in the second innings.

"It was a nice true wicket, everything was coming onto the bat where you could just sit up and push through,'' he said, adding that he never got nervous as he neared the milestone.

What now? "I would like to get that record,'' he said, referring to Lloyd James' score of 173 which has stood since 1962.

Emerging star: Janeiro Tucker finds gaps in the field as well as the sightscreen.