cricket'' -- but Southampton Rangers are seemingly bent on changing that perception.

Western Counties finalists, Rangers claim they're not only the best in the west but the Island's premier counties team, and they say they intend to back it up by dismantling both the Central Counties and Eastern Counties representatives during the TBI Champion of Champions competition on September 12 and 13.

Rangers, though, first have to win the Western Counties final against Somerset Bridge on September 5.

Police have already earned the right to represent the Central Counties while St. David's and Flatts meet in the Eastern Counties final this Saturday at Sea Breeze Oval.

"Southampton Rangers are the best in the west, now we are ready and prepared to conquer the Central and the Eastern Counties champions,'' said inspired Rangers coach Randy Raynor this week after their resounding triumph over Willow Cuts last Saturday.

"After beating Willow Cuts we are now ready to defeat Somerset Bridge in the final and then take on the other two winners,'' he added.

However, Rangers will need to guard against over-confidence. Although struggling in the league, Bridge are certain to be strengthened by the addition of guest players for the final, most notably former Western Stars and Bermuda captain Arnold Manders.

Adds Raynor: "We are on a high here at the club (Southampton) after winning our semi-final match against Cuts. We are anxious to prove our strength against Police and whoever we meet from the Eastern Counties. We are ready for anybody.

"Willow Cuts have been a dominant team in the league and in other major competitions in recent years and for us to have gotten over them has put us on a high. We intend to go out there to win in the Champion of Champions competition and to play attractive cricket to entertain the crowd; we'll give them some exciting cricket. "We are warning our opponents from now to show up prepared for a tough battle. Our strength is there for everybody to see, our top six batsmen are hitting the ball well with players like Kwame Tucker, Dexter Smith, Keith Wainwright, Olin Jones and Janeiro Tucker all hitting the ball well. And the bowlers, Carl Garzette, Clarkie Trott, Garry Williams and Janeiro Tucker, are all in fine touch.

"The bowling has been so good that we strongly believe that we will need nothing aside from these four to lead us to victory. We are entering this competition in good shape.'' Meanwhile, Richard Austin of Police is quick to remind Raynor or whoever emerges from the Western and Eastern Counties that his side will not be pushovers and that Police, as holders of the Champion of Champions title (winning the last time it was held in 1996) they have no intention of handing it back without a fight.

"We feel confident that we can successfully defend the title,'' said the medium-pacer. "Our bowling has been pretty good lately but it's our batting that has caused us concern.

"A lot of teams wrote us off early in the season when we lost several key players, but we have still had a decent season. We are not taking anybody lightly, but we are capable of holding our own against any team we meet.''