'Where's our cup?'

It's been more than a month since Southampton Rangers clinched the Premier 50 over championship and yet their wait for the coveted showpiece continues.

The perennial powerhouse decisively beat Bailey's Bay at Sea Breeze Oval on August 22 to put the finishing touches to a successful title bid.

But they have yet to get their hands on the “bling bling” to show off the spoils of battle.

Janeiro Tucker, Rangers player/coach, said: “We were basically looking forward to having the trophy presented to us at the end of the season (50 overs).

“Normally when you win the league anywhere in the world the victorious team gets the trophy, either on the day they actually win it, or on the last day of the season.”

Tucker admits the delay has taken some of the shine off his team’s achievement and placed post-season celebrations on the backburner for the time being.

“It has put a damper on some of the players who have never won a league trophy before.

Not having the trophy has taken a lot of the excitement away from them.

“We won the league title back in August and since then a lot of my players have been asking when are we going to get the trophy? These guys were excited to win the league, but to win the league and not get the trophy has definitely put a damper on things.

“We were looking to have our prize giving last weekend but we didn’t because the guys really want the trophy. We have just been holding off, but now it seems as though cricket is pretty much over and the excitement has really gone away from the players.

“What are we going to have to do…. wait until November for the Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) to hold a prize presentation? I just think it is unfair that we haven’t got our league trophy yet.”

BCB vice-president Allen Richardson said trophies, including the coveted 50 over league crown, are “usually handed out during the end of season prize presentation”.

But he added no date has yet to be announced for this year’s end-of-season prize ceremony.

Rangers’ season has long ended having been banned from this year’s Lindo’s Twenty/20 competition.

The South Shore club had sanctions imposed against them for failure to show up for last year’s Lindo’s Twenty/20 consolation final with Bay after losing to Police in the semis.

With the 2010 campaign now behind them, Tucker and his charges have already gone into cricket hibernation.

“The guys are pretty much doing their own thing now while personally I have been doing a little work myself.

“I guess you can say that everyone has pretty much gone into winter mode until next January when we start our pre-season training.”