Over the course of his career national cricket team wicketkeeper/batsman Dean Minors has always had a knack of producing timely and vital partnerships.

And there have probably been none more timely nor more vital than his knock earlier this month in Bermuda?s ICC One-Day International debut at the Queen?s Park Oval in Trinidad where he shared in a 64-run eighth-wicket stand with Lionel Cann that carried the Island to an historical win over Americas group rivals Canada and through to the Tri-Series final.

Bermuda were beaten by 83 runs by Zimbabwe in that final.

But for his efforts against Canada, Minors was chosen as man-of-the-match by former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd and presented with a magnificent glass trophy which the veteran cricketer said he accepted on behalf of his team-mates and later dedicated to his mother, father and entire family.

It was an award Minors will long cherish.

?To play on one of the oldest Test grounds in the West Indies was indeed a privilege and then to have someone like Clive Lloyd choose you as MVP for the match . . . this was an absolute dream come true for me,? said Minors, who in the 1980s underwent football trials at Leeds United in the UK.

Lloyd captained the West Indies to World Cup glory in 1975 and again in 1979.

?I think this achievement surpasses being selected as Cup Match MVP in 1994,? Minors continued. ?To be chosen as MVP in Bermuda?s first ever One-Day International is a tremendous achievement.

?And not only do I accept this award on my behalf . . . . but also on behalf of the team. We played against a team that do not take anything lightly.?

As for his match-winning partnership with former St.George?s Cup Match team-mate Cann, Minors said: ?Coming to the wicket when things were looking a bit grim for Bermuda and putting on a partnership with Lionel is something I will truly treasure for the rest of my life.

?That partnership was on par with the ones with Janeiro (Tucker) in Ireland and Toronto. This was a very historical and memorable moment in local cricket . . . Bermuda?s first win in their first appearance in a ODI.

?I just wish more Bermudians had been there to witness the match and share in our celebrations.?

At last July?s ICC Trophy tournament in Ireland, the 37-year-old Cedarbridge Academy teacher featured in a 118-run sixth-wicket stand with skipper Janeiro Tucker against the USA that catapulted the Island to the 2007 World Cup.

Then in August of 2005, Minors added another 119 runs for the sixth-wicket along with Tucker against Canada in Toronto in the ICC Intercontinental Cup to advance Bermuda to the semi-finals of the competition in Namibia.

Minors left for the UK on Sunday night with the national squad for a ten-day tour of England and Guernsey, where, the veteran cricketer hopes to maintain his consistency with the bat and help his team to succeed in any way he can.

?My goal is to continually strive towards professionalism,? added Minors, who executed 16 dismissals behind the stumps for St.George?s in Cup Match between 1988 and 2000.