Dion Stovell, of Southampton Rangers, won a second straight One Premier Division Most Valuable Player award for the 2018 cricket season, while Cleveland County all-rounder Makai Young was voted the First Division MVP at CedarBridge Academy on Saturday night.

It was an enjoyable night for the Premier Division and First Division champions, who also took Coach of the Year honours with Ricky Brangman, of Rangers, winning the award after leading his team to the title. Curtis Jackson was the First Division’s top coach after leading his team to promotion in his first season.

“I thought the season was good, just coming back to Rangers I thought the guys worked hard and Ricky did an excellent job as coach,” said Stovell, who replaced Janeiro Tucker as captain.

“Ricky’s standards remained high for the whole season and I set high standards for myself, to go out there and try to win everything that was out there.

“I try to go for MVP every year. Two years in a row; I’ll take it. It’s been a good season for Rangers and things are looking bright for the future.”

Stovell admits a highlight of his season was dethroning his former team, St David’s, as champions, denying them the three-peat.

“When you talk about St David’s, you’re talking about a team full of talent, where anybody can bring you out of any hole,” Stovell said.

“With Rangers, it was a mix of experience and some youngsters just playing for the first time in the Premier Division.”

Young’s MVP win caps off a mixed season for his club, winning the First Division title but losing the Eastern Counties Cup.

“I’m pleased with my team’s all-round performances, getting promoted which was the main thing and battling in the three county games,” Young said.

“We came out victorious against Bay in the first game, against Flatts with the Kamau Leverock situation as he came back for them. Our main challenge would have been St David’s when we fought but not to the best of our ability and came out with the short end of the stick.”

It was a successful night for Rangers with the coach’s son, Ricardo, winning the award for most catches in the Premier Division (11). Brangman Sr was honoured to win the award for top coach, edging out George Cannonier of St David’s.

“I want to thank everybody who voted for me, and it wouldn’t have been possible without my team,” Brangman said. “It was also nice to see a couple of our players win awards.”

Cleveland’s Q’Shai Darrell was the recipient of the Emerging Player of the Year.

“Promotion was a priority for us, I wasn’t looking at winning anything in my first season,” said Jackson, the Cleveland coach. “Our priority was promotion first and Eastern Counties afterwards, which worked according to plan.

“They want me to stay on [as coach], so I’m going to do that. It wasn’t easy but once I got the team’s dedication and commitment it got easier for me.

“We’re going to have some surprises for next season. We don’t just want to stay up; we want to compete, stay mid-table and then try to push for honours.”

Umpire of the Year for a second year was Emmerson Carrington, while the Emerging Umpire of the Year award went to Steven Caines.

Kiara Rogers, of Bailey’s Bay, was named the BCB Scorekeeper of the Year. She made herself available for courses with the new CricHq system, assisted with Cup Match trials and Eastern Counties matches, helped out with the scoring of the Under-17 Evening League teams and assisted with scoring for the BCB with the new electronic scoreboard.

Bermuda’s 1979 ICC team, captained by Gladstone Brown, was also recognised by the BCB with the Special Achievement Awards. Wendell Smith, a former Bermuda player, introduced the team as he highlighted their achievement of reaching the semi-finals and getting within one win of qualifying for the World Cup.

Bermuda finished top of their group against such teams as East Africa, Argentina, Papua New Guinea and Singapore, winning three matches while the fourth, against Singapore, was abandoned because of rain.

Bermuda lost the semi-final match against Canada, which cost them a place in the World Cup. The squad consisted of Gladstone Brown, Joe Bailey, Winston Reid, Clarence Parfitt, Lionel Thomas, Colin Blades, Barry DeCouto, John Tucker, Noel Gibbons, Clevie Wade, Winston Trott, El James, Willie Weldon and Paisley Caines.

Michael Weeks, the Minister of Social Development and Sport, was in attendance, along with the Governor, John Rankin, and Craig Cannonier, the Opposition leader.