Still fuming over Wednesday's Cup Match MVP announcement, Somerset Cricket Club president Colin Smith insisted yesterday that his player, Dennis Pilgrim, should have been presented with the award and not St. George's' colt Travis Smith.

After nearly two weeks of debate to determine which colt made a greater impact during the historic 100th anniversary match, the award's sponsors, Camel, were forced to step in and take the decision themselves after the two clubs failed to reach an agreement.

Smith finally received the thumbs-up after spinning his way to remarkable match figures of ten for 130.

He was the first colt to claim ten wickets since Eugene Hansey in 1969 and the first on a turf wicket.

“I understand that gentleman (Smith) had an excellent game, and I would never deny him that, but he was on the losing team,” said Smith yesterday.

“I just can't see how anybody can justify the fact that he should be MVP.

“In no sport I have ever known - and I have watched sport for 35 years - has someone from a losing team been voted as the most valuable player.

“Even in American football a guy could rush for 300 or 200 yards and still be on the losing team.

“A player could rush for just 100 yards and still be MVP because he was on the winning side.

“This kind of thing would never occur in any other sport. Do you know how degrading that is to a winning team. But people are just selfish in the way that they think, and it just shouldn't go that way.

“Travis won the trophy and I am going to leave it at that but we (Somerset) have to sit down and discuss what type of initiative we are going to put in place from this year on, because personally I still don't think that it's right that someone from the losing team should be the most valuable player.”

During Wednesday's presentation held at Bermuda Cricket Board of Control headquarters on Cedar Avenue, the Somerset chief, along with his opposite number, Neil Paynter, agreed that a new system would have to be considered to prevent further stalemates from occurring in the future.

“I will have to sit down and think who we are going to be using as people who will be giving out the MVP trophy, period,” added Smith.

“We may have to do it ourselves and then pick an independent body.

“For people to say that there's going to be a third body after the clubs had agreed that it would be a joint award and then a third party comes in and says that it's going to be given to one person, because they talked to certain people - no, that just doesn't go down well with me.

“So I need to sit down with my committee and assess what we are actually going to do about this award.”

Paynter would only say: “I really don't want to take away from Travis's triumph, but like I previously stated at the presentation we will sit down and decide on which will be the best way possible for this presentation in the future.”

Meanwhile, Somerset coach Winston Reid and assistant Jeff Richardson also offered their views on the final outcome of the award.

“I have no problems with it,” said Reid.

“Someone had to be chosen and he got 10 wickets. So I am not one who is going to say that he didn't deserve it.

“I think that Travis and Dennis (Pilgrim) both had great games and whichever of the two got it, it really didn't matter.

“He (Smith) did a great job for St.George's and if he got it then he probably deserved it, but had it gone the other way then I still wouldn't have any qualms.”

Though praising Smith, Richardson also insisted the award should have remained in the Somerset camp.

“I personally would like to congratulate Travis because that was a feat that hasn't been done since way back when,” he said.

“And all praise to him, well done, but I just think that there were so many good performances on the Somerset team that could've warranted an MVP award because they won the cup in sporting fashion.

“It's that simple. If St.George's would have won or it had been a draw then fine, but there so many other performances that actually made a difference in the match.

“There were just so many most valuable or valuable performances from Somerset's team that helped them to win the match, so all of those performances were of value to their team to the extent that they won the match.

“If the MVP was supposed to go to St.George's, then really it should have gone to Charlie Marshall. Basically that's who made the game what it was.”