Southampton Rangers' president Randy Raynor expressed his delight yesterday after his club won the 50-overs Premier Division title last week, and were officially crowned champions on the weekend as the curtain dropped on the 2010 league season.

The campaign which, according to Raynor, proved to be a learning experience for many in the side, went down to the penultimate week as Rangers beat their closest rivals Bailey's Bay.

Though the club now claim to be the best on the Island, the president said he was particularly pleased with the emergence of some of his players as they forged their way into the national squad.

While Janeiro Tucker and Dwayne Leverock have been national team stalwarts for many years, their Rangers team-mates Stefan Dill, Shannon Rayner and now Dion Stovell have all staked a claim for national team call-up.

"On behalf of the Southampton Rangers Sports Club, we would like to thank the coach Janeiro Tucker and the captain Dwayne Leverock on a job well done," said Raynor.

"They have restored Rangers as the number one cricket club in Bermuda and special mention must go out to Dion Stovell, Quinton Burch and Treddie Simpson, Curtis Jackson, Kwame Tucker and Andrew Raynor."

Also singled out were Dill and Rayner who both made vital contributions, said the Rangers chief, with Rayner "being the glue that held the side together" during crucial moments of the season.

"Stefan Dill worked wonders for us this year, coming and bowling so well for us and then getting called up for the national team and making the squad. It was a job well done. We congratulate him.

"Shannon Rayner was another who made the national team and never gives up. In fact, it was his attitude that kept the guys motivated."

Raynor, a former pace bowler for the club in their heyday, also made note of those who at the beginning of the season said that they didn't have a youth structure in place to fill voids left by the likes of Malachi Jones and others who left the club.

"We currently have four youngsters with the Under-13s in St. Kitt's, so the future is looking good," he said.

However, one sour note is that Rangers will not be vying for their first Twenty20 title after they were banned from the 2010 competition for failing to show up for the play-off final against Bailey's Bay.

The Lindo's Twenty20 is scheduled to begin this weekend with champions St. David's looking to retain their title.