St. George's captain Lionel Cann reckons Cup Match challengers Somerset shot themselves in the foot by taking too long to declare their first innings.

The East Enders retained the coveted trophy by cautiously batting out yesterday's final day in front of a packed house at Somerset, with Cann believing it would have been too dangerous to chase the 237 runs required for victory.

The stalemate means Cann is still undefeated in his three games as St. George's skipper, although he did miss out on his maiden Cup Match century and after falling foul of a suspect caught behind decision on 99.

"The last hour-and-a-half was always going to be a case of survival for us," said Cann.

"Anyone who understands cricket would have known there was only ever going to be a draw or a Somerset win at that point.

"We lost a little bit of play to rain on the first day and Somerset then took too long to declare their first innings. When you're trying to win the trophy you want to bat for about 30 overs and score 200 runs.

"They also took too long to score runs in their second innings and left us with an hour-and-a-half to chase 230. That would be dangerous to go after and it was then a matter of bringing the trophy home."

Cann's swashbuckling 99 came off just 127 balls before his entertaining knock was brought to a controversial end when he was dismissed off the bowling of spinner Chris Douglas. The decision prevented Cann from reaching a memorable milestone with the big-hitting batsman still yet to post a Cup Match ton.

"You're going to get some decisions in cricket that don't go your way," said Cann. "It hurts because I was on 99 but you have to take the good with the bad and move on.

"That was Lionel Cann at his best. The wicket was playing good this morning, we attacked the spinners and at that point we were going for victory."

This year's annual battle signalled the end of Clay Smith's decorated Cup Match career with Cann hailing the former Bermuda captain's contribution to the classic.

"Clay's going to a big miss for us – he's been a great player and has done a great job for St. George's and Bermuda," he said. "He's been an icon of Bermudian cricket over the years.

"Once again we saw his mental toughness at the crease during this year's Cup Match and it's a mentality I hope he will be able to pass down to some of our younger players. I'm sad to see him go as I've always loved playing alongside him."