Date-stamped : 07 May96 - 22:14 Benson & Hedges Cup 1996 Somerset v British Universities Taunton 7 May 1996 ====> REPORT Singh`s elegant 123 not enough By David Green at Taunton Somerset (272-7) bt British Univs (271) by 3 wkts AN unbroken eighth-wicket partnership of 63 between Rob Turner and Keith Parsons carried Somerset to a victory which had seemed less than probable when they declined to 209 for seven in the 41st over. Mark Lathwell, with 76, and Simon Ecclestone`s 62 had put them well on the way to a formidable target of 272 with a fluent stand of 138 in 23 overs, but the students almost caused a major upset. The Universities played positively from the start, with Gul Khan and Andrew Ridley scoring at six an over before Andrew Caddick had Khan lbw pulling. This brought in Gold Award-winner Anurag Singh, who has played Championship cricket for Warwickshire. His elegant 123, off only 133 balls, contained 13 handsome fours and a six over midwicket. Ridley offered solid support until he was run out in a muddle over a short single. Russell Cake then took up the supporting role, contributing 24 to a third-wicket stand of 73 in 14 overs. Though Harvey Trump bowled his off-spin skilfully and Graham Rose gave little away, when the students reached 213 for three after 39 overs a score of around 300 seemed possible. At that point, Chinmay Gupte gave Rose a return catch. Cad- dick returned with a final burst of four for 14, doing the damage with a series of rapid yorkers, and the innings fell away badly. The Universities` attack made a good start when Scott Boswell bowled Peter Bowler via inside edge and pad. Lathwell and Ecclestone then played really well in their contrasting styles. Both fell to careless strokes, Ecclestone driving to mid-off and Lathwell feeling for a wideish ball. In between, Richard Harden had been run out and when Shane Lee perished simi- larly Somerset were 177 for five. Andy Hayhurst played solidly for a while but when he and Rose fell lbw in quick succession the Universities had every chance. Fortunately for Somerset, Turner and Parsons showed skill and character, victory coming with seven balls to spare. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http.//www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Shash (shs2@*.cwru.edu)