Southampton Rangers might be celebrating the recent acquisition of spin king Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock from rivals Western Stars, but they may rue the loss of former skipper Ricky Brangman.

Brangman has parted company with Rangers to take up a new challenge at Premier Division newcomers Devonshire Recreation Club, a move which has re-united the veteran player with his three sons, Lamont, Derek and Ricardo.

During a successful career spanning nearly three decades, Brangman has won every domestic title with either Stars or Rangers, a team he captained during the 1980s following Colin Blades tenure at the helm.

Brangman was a member of the Rangers side that swept all domestic honours in 1980 and his last season at the South Shore club saw his career come full circle on a winning note with another league championship and an inaugural Belco Cup title to add to an already impressive list of achievements.

"I thought it best to put in a season with my sons. They have already started teasing me, saying they are going to make more runs than me," said Devonshire's new 44 year-old player/coach, explaining the reason for his recent move.

"I'm hoping I can take a back seat and let everyone else play first. I thought I had finished playing cricket but being I was approached (by the club) I decided to help out."

Brangman, who also coaches Devonshire's Under-17 team, originally made the decision to retire at the end of last season, after a summer which saw him play an integral part in Rangers' success.

"I don't really have anything else to prove," he added. "I've won everything with Rangers in 1980 and in 2000 I won everything with Stars. I feel good about my new role at Devonshire and if the players just listen and pay attention, some good things could come out of the Rec."

Reflecting briefly upon his career, Brangman said he didn't regret his decision to bow out from playing full-time.

"I don't miss it but I don't know how I'm going to feel when the season starts," he said. "I don't miss it yet but maybe when cricket season begins I may. But I'm really just looking forward to lending some of my experience to some of the younger players in the team and helping them out.

"I really don't want to play but if it comes down to where I have to play, then I will."

Finishing up at Rangers ? a club where he came all the way up through the junior ranks ? as a champion last season proved to a "very enjoyable" experience, said Brangman.

"It was really nice. It was very enjoyable playing with those guys. But I had informed them before the start of last season that this was going to be my last year. They tried to convince me to give them one more season but I really wanted to sit off and watch my boys play."

Now he will not only have the opportunity to see his sons play week in and week out, but he could also become the fourth Brangman in Devonshire's line-up next season.

"I didn't think it was going to end up like this . . . with Devonshire asking me to coach. But I'm smiling now just thinking about playing alongside my sons. They are all bragging they can make more runs than me. But I'm not saying anything . . . I'm just listening."

Last season at Rangers he scored 329 runs with a high score of 72 at an average of 27.42 per innings.