Bailey’s Bay captain crowned Player of the Year
Bailey’s Bay captain Stephen Outerbridge was yesterday named as the Logic Premier Division Player of the Year, edging out team-mate Rodney Trott.Outerbridge and several of his team-mates showed up at the Logic office to be presented with the Logic Premier Division league title which they clinched two weeks ago with an exciting 20-run victory over Willow Cuts.The loudest cheers came from the Bay players when their captain was announced as the Player of the Year, after a season in which he scored a league high aggregate 448 runs from nine innings. His average of 74.67 was second to Janeiro Tucker’s 105.33 which came from 316 runs in six innings with three not outs.“On behalf of Bailey’s Bay and the rest of the cricketers in Bermuda I would like to thank Logic for sponsoring our Premier and First Division 50-over leagues this season,” said Outerbridge.“I thought it was a very competitive league with the six teams that participated this year. Personally I love that format because you get the best players playing against the best players week in and week out. To my team, they have been absolutely fantastic from the reserves right down to the seasoned pros like Irving (Romaine), ‘Picnic’ (Rodney Trott), Calvin Dill and Ryan Steede.“I think everybody played to the best of their ability this year, Kyle Hodsoll bowled outstandingly throughout, him and ‘Picnic’. The management at Bay needs to be thanked, we’ve been through a lot in the last three to five years so this was a long time coming. I thought it was well-planned and well deserved so hats off to everyone who has been involved.“I must mention Noel Gibbons, our coach, Corey Hill, our bowling coach and Jermaine Outerbridge, our chairman of selectors.“There are so many we need to thanks, our families, girlfriends, fiances who make a lot of sacrifices to enable us to do what we do on Saturdays and Sundays but it is all worth it in the end.“Everybody enjoyed the season, there were some competitive, tight games right down to the last game, but we had some seasoned pros who got us over. There was one point in that last game where I was a bit lost but if I hadn’t had Irving on my side I don’t think we would be standing here, so hats off to him.”Outerbridge was referring to Romaine’s crucial knock of 71 which enabled Bay to post 224 before dismissing Willow Cuts for 204.“There was only one main goal that we did have and that was to win the league,” said the captain. “We hadn’t won the league for 18 and for the last seven years that has been our main goal, we have just never reached it. Everything just came together this year and we finally got it right.”When announced by BCB chief executive Neil Speight that Rodney Trott was in a close race for the award, the player himself responded: “As long as somebody from Bay got it, I’m cool.”That summed up the spirit of togetherness in the Bay team this season in which they emerged as the undisputed best team in the league. They also won the Belco Cup, Lindo’s Twenty20 title and Eastern Counties.The Logic First Division Player of the Year will be named next Thursday.Due to the potential impact of Hurricane Leslie all Logic First Division fixtures have been cancelled for this weekend. As the Bermuda Cricket Board has already announced that there will be no more rescheduling all teams will receive five points for a No Result.