Lionel Cann smashed a splendid unbeaten century in his final game as St.George's captain to deny Somerset a famous victory as the East Enders retained the Cup Match trophy.

For the third consecutive year the annual classic ended in a draw as Cann's defending champions held off a spirited challenge from a Somerset side smelling blood of a first victory at Wellington Oval since 1981.

And for large periods yesterday it looked as though the West Enders would finally bring an end to 27 years of pain and reclaim the coveted piece of silverware they surrendered to their bitter rivals back in 2005.

A third Cup Match hundred from Somerset's talismanic batsman Janeiro Tucker (126 not out) had helped his side to a commanding second innings lead with St.George's requiring 295 runs for an improbable victory.

And when the visitors reduced St.George's to 53 for three by mid-afternoon it seemed as though the stage was set for Jacobi Robinson's Class of 2009 to etch their names into Somerset Cup Match folklore, especially after Charlie Marshall fell for a golden duck in his final classic appearance.

Throw into the equation that St. George's star batsman Glenn Blakeney was watching from the pavilion on crutches having injured his knee ligaments while celebrating a first innings wicket, and the sea of red and blue supporters at Wellington Oval could have been forgiven for putting the champagne on ice.

But what promised to be a nervy finale for St.George's fans soon became a more pleasant prospect as their inspirational skipper Cann steered their opponents away from the brink of victory to leave Somerset reflecting on what might have been.

What could have been had they declared at lunch instead of batting for an extra hour, thus swallowing up valuable time to try and skittle St.George's out.

And what might have been had Stephen Outerbridge managed to hold a reflex catch after Cann had prodded forward off the bowling of 15-year-old spinner Joshua Gilbert with time still on Somerset's side.

Cann ensured they were duly punished on both counts, smothering the good balls away from danger and blitzing the bad to the boundary with a barrage of fours and sixes during his 104 not out.

"Considering the difficult situation we were in at one point, drawing the game feels like a win for us," admitted Cann. "At lunch it seemed as though it would be Somerset's trophy and even I was nervous."

Upon reaching his maiden Cup Match ton, Cann flung his bat high into the air and ripped off his helmet, hurling it to the ground before being enveloped by a wave of St.George's fans, young and old, keen to celebrate with their saviour in traditional Cup Match fashion.

It was a passionate display of emotion from a man who has repeatedly claimed recently to have fallen out of love with the game.

By that time a stalemate was the only possible result as Somerset seemed clueless as how to dislodge Cann and his match-saving sidekick Delyone Borden (11) who played an vital supporting role after Rodney Trott fell for 40.

Cann later joked that his pre-match motivation had been to try and emulate Somerset's Mr Cup Match, Janeiro Tucker.

When Tucker arrived at the wicket just after tea on Thursday, his side were reeling with three wickets down and still trailing St.George's who had posted a 44-run first innings lead thanks to an explosive cameo knock from colt Justin Pitcher (51).

But not only did Tucker drag Somerset back into the game, he built them a platform from which to launch a victory bid with no little help from the elegant Stephen Outerbridge (52), colt Duante Darrell (32) and captain Jacobi Robinson (63) who declared on 338 for seven.

If the bat had dominated the match on day two, it was the certainly bowlers who made the most of an uneven pitch on day one which saw a staggering 23 wickets fall.

Somerset, batting first after losing the toss, were skittled out for just 124 with Stefan Kelly making the most of a menacing wicket claiming five wickets for 62, while St.George's fared little better, amassing 168 for a 44-run lead.

But while Tucker's century set up a possible Somerset victory, Cann's ton denied it to ensure he maintained his unblemished record as St.George's captain.