Southampton Rangers yesterday appealed against a six-match suspension handed down to their player/coach Janeiro Tucker (pictured).

Rangers chairman Randy Raynor confirmed last night that the South Shore-based club had paid the required $250 fee to submit an appeal against Bermuda Cricket Board's ruling that has cast doubts on the player's availability for next February's Stanford 20/20 Tournament in Antigua.

The 32-year-old all-rounder - who captained Bermuda to World Cup qualification in 2005 - received the ban last week for allegedly swearing at umpire Hector Watson from the clubhouse balcony at Southampton Oval during a September Premier Division match involving Rangers and Cleveland County.

Tucker and Raynor have both categorically denied the umpire's claims.

It was the second time the former Somerset Cup Match skipper has been slapped with a ban this year while only recently it was discovered Tucker had been docked his match fee after Bermuda's World Cup Group B clash with Sri Lanka at Queen's Park Oval last March for an off-field incident.

Meanwhile, it was learned yesterday that only umpire Watson testified during the player's hearing last week and it was further revealed that Tucker had stood as square leg umpire in the same match which saw players from opposing teams ponder abandoning proceedings in disgust over what they perceived to have been a "substandard" level of officiating.

Southampton chairman Raynor declined to comment last night, but did reveal that several witnesses have agreed to testify on Tucker's behalf before the Board's Appeals Committee once a date for the appeal has been announced.

Earlier this week the BCB came under fire for pushing Tucker's initial hearing (October 9) back to allow the player to tour Kenya and Dubai last month with the senior national squad.

Board president Reggie Pearman explained: "It was a Board decision that was taken that we suspend his (Tucker's) hearing until he comes back and he was a duly informed."

But in response to the Board's decision former Bermuda manager Dennis Wainwright hit back, arguing: "We must deal with matters as they arise and not for the convenience of certain individuals.

"If we continue to give into demands and swallow principles to satisfy the coach (national coach Gus Logie who requested Tucker's hearing to be rescheduled to allow him to travel abroad with the national team) then we are asking for trouble. The same way they (BCB) made an exception before could very well happen again if Janeiro appeals.

"To make a decision after they (BCB) have bent over backwards to accommodate him and then have an appeal pending with the posibility of them losing could make them look silly. And, as a Board, you don't want to put yourself in that position."