The proud mother of man-of-the-moment Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock last night warned the cricket world: Poke fun at my son’s size at your peril.

Leverock,35, shot to international fame by taking two prized wickets in Bermuda’s historic World Cup warm-up match against England on Monday.

His heroics dominated the British sports pages yesterday, but newspapers made jibes at Leverock’s expense with headlines such as “Bermuda Pie-angle”, “Lard Before Wicket” and “Owzfat”.

Last night, the Police officer’s mother, Allison Leverock, said her son, nicknamed “Burls” by his family, was used to being teased about his weight — and his favourite response was to take wickets.

“They can say he’s a big guy, but when people call him big like that, it makes him play harder and go for what he knows,” said Mrs. Leverock. “If the batsmen say anything, it makes him bowl better. They can call him whatever they want to call him. “It makes him try harder, go towards them and, guess what, they don’t last long after that.”

In a reference to her son’s high profile victims Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood, she added: “I wonder if they said something to him.”

The 57-year-old said she was at work when Leverock’s twin sister Duan Smith called to tell her about his first wicket.

“All I could say was: ‘That’s my boy!’” said Mrs. Leverock. “It felt great because I knew he could do it. He gives 110 percent in whatever sport he plays. I know Burls will give me two or three wickets a game.”

When he struck again a few minutes later, she had been simultaneously talking to Duan on one phone and a friend of Leverock’s on another.

“They told me he had another wicket and I said: ‘Go on Burls!’” she said. “I have watched England play cricket. I have watched those players Pietersen and Collingwood play. I was wondering if Pietersen was trying to hit the ball out of the ground. He couldn’t hit him though.

“I’m proud, I really am. My phone’s been ringing off the hook — friends, family, everyone. All his friends have been calling, congratulating him, asking me to tell him to keep up the good work.

“He’s my hero. He was anyway. Now he’s everyone’s hero. I’m keeping all the papers for him and doing up a scrapbook.”

She said she spoke to Leverock yesterday and he seemed to be taking his newfound fame in his stride.

“He didn’t talk too much, but he doesn’t talk too much anyhow,” she said. “His actions speak louder than words.

“I guess he was excited. But after every wicket he’s excited — he jumps up. But to take two top class wickets like that, I guess he was overwhelmed.”

Mrs. Smith said: “I knew he could do it all this time. Now he was able to display it on a larger stage — no pun intended.

“He’s probably a bit uncomfortable with a lot of the attention he’s been getting right now.”

She criticised the nature of some of the British press reports.

“They are more focusing on his size than his achievements. I have been angry about it,” she said.

“Some of them have been very cruel. They had a reference to Eddie Murphy’s Nutty Professor. I don’t think that’s necessary.

“People see his size now. They probably don’t know he’s worked hard to lose a lot of weight. He was over 300 at one point. He knew he had to be in a better condition to compete at a better level.

Mrs. Leverock, who said her son now weighs 255 pounds, added: “He doesn’t eat a lot of food — he picks. You’ve seen the size of his mother, his father was a big man. It’s in his genes. He comes from a big family, both sides.”

Mr. Leverock entered the Bermuda Police Service’s cadet programme as a teenager and eventually became a Police constable.

Police spokesman Dwayne Caines said yesterday: “Dwayne is a fun-loving guy, the life of the party, he has a lot of personality. It’s no surprise to us that the world has latched on to that.

“Most people are surprised at his size and ability, but we know him as an all-round athlete who played football as well as cricket and track.

“The Bermuda Police Service is extremely proud of Dwayne and his accomplishments. He and the other men on the team are a fine example of hard work, dedication and belief.”