Southampton Rangers were officially declared as the fourth and final Premier Division club to qualify for next season's Belco Cup competition yesterday.

Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) calculations established that Rangers had a superior net run rate than Somerset, paving the way for Janeiro Tucker's team to defend their title next season for a fourth straight year.

"The BCB confirms that Southampton Rangers placed fourth and Somerset Cricket Club fifth in the Premier Division this year," read a statement issued by the Board.

"Both clubs were tied with points (16) and because both teams had won one game each the net run rate (tie beaking method) had to be used."

To establish a team's net run rate the number of runs scored for is divided by the number of overs minus the number of runs scored against divided by the overs.

It was originally thought Rangers had pipped their West End counterparts for the final remaining spot in next season's Belco Cup competition on head-to-head meetings between the two clubs.

However, rules governing the Digicel One Day League stipulate: "In the event of the teams finishing on equal points the position in the league will be decided by the most wins or when teams have both equal wins and equal points, the team which was the winner of the match played between them will be placed in the higher position, or, if still equal, the higher net run rate."