Tributes poured in yesterday for one of Bermuda’s greatest athletes as former cricketer Sheridan Raynor was laid to rest.The 77-year-old Southampton Rangers and Somerset Cup Match all-rounder’s biggest tribute came earlier in the week when the man regarded as the greatest cricketer in the history of the game, West Indian Sir Garfield Sobers, described Raynor as a ‘legend in his own right’.Those sentiments were echoed at the funeral service at St. Paul’s AME Church as former players Dennis Wainwright, Randy Horton and Sheridan’s younger brother Lee, past Southampton Rangers president and MP, Reginald Burrows, and Speaker of the House Stanley Lowe all spoke of Raynor’s accomplishments both on and off the field where he had few equals as a mentor to many with his calm demeanour and fatherly advice.“Sheridan used to tell me that with a sticky wicket just hang around for a while,” said Lee who played alongside Sheridan for many years at Southampton Rangers and for Bermuda but who played on opposite sides in Cup Match.“To my advantage I was left-handed so batting with Sheridan was easy. On the news of his death I wondered how did he get out? Did he get caught behind, lbw or did one jump on him.”Lee recalls batting with Sheridan against a touring team from the West Indies when spinner David Holford bowled the googly which Lee says he could not read. “So Sheridan told me ‘when he bowls the googly I will clear my throat’. That went on for a couple of overs.”Sheridan remained in a coma in hospital after suffering a stroke last December and died on December 10, just four days short of what would have been a year in hospital.“The patient batsman that he was, he played the innings out before God called him in,” said Rev. Leon Jennings who officiated at the service along with Rev. Pedro Castor, the Pastor of Vernon Temple AME Church where Raynor worshipped.Raynor exhibited a calm demeanour while batting, never showing fear against any fast bowler, whether representing his club domestically or his country internationally. This year marked 50 years since he stroked a polished 126 against visiting Cricketers Club of London at Devonshire Rec to become the first Bermudian batsman to score a century against first-class opposition. He also scored an unbeaten 114 in an unbroken opening stand of 253 with Dennis Wainwright against an English Counties XI on a tour of England in 1961.Wainwright watched many outstanding Sheridan Raynor innings from close range, either as his opening partner for Bermuda or as a wicketkeeper for St. George’s in Cup Match. Wainwright was standing behind the stumps 40 years ago in 1971 when Raynor became the first batsman to score a century on a turf wicket in Cup Match. It was that same year that turf wickets were introduced to Cup Match and Raynor marked the occasion with a special innings. It was fitting that he should score the first century on turf in Cup Match because Raynor would later became a top groundsman.That century almost never happened though as Fred (Dickty) Trott, one of the outstanding slip fielders of his era, remembers dropping Raynor in the slips off Clarence Parfitt’s bowling when only on 16 or 17. That century (109) was Raynor’s only Cup Match ton (109) and came at the age of 37, 18 years after he made his debut.By the time Raynor was dropped by Somerset in 1974, weeks after turning 40, his 740 runs between 1953 and ‘73 put his fourth highest in aggregate runs in Cup Match behind only Lloyd James, Edward Swainson and Alma (Champ) Hunt.Forty years later he is now the 11th highest run scorer in Cup Match and for good measure also features prominently in the bowling averages with 47 wickets which is also the 11th highest wicket haul in the classic. His best figures were 6-49 in the 1959 victory by Somerset, their last before a 20-drought began the following year under St. George’s captain Calvin (Bummy) Symonds.“Sheridan Raynor . . . a true champion,” said Wainwright who spoke affectionately about the man who many regarded as Bermuda’s top batsman in his heyday.Wainwright, a good friend off the field, was in Sheridan’s wedding party and was the godfather to Sheridan’s late daughter Sharon. He recalls how Raynor’s bowling action was similar to that of Sobers when Sobers played in Bermuda and figured Raynor must have copied Sobers, only to learn that the Bermudian was two years older than the Barbadian.‘He was one fearless batsman, he didn’t care who bowled. Wherever we played (overseas), members of the other team would recognise Sheridan . . .’your opening batsman, he’s quite a leader’. I never saw Sheridan upset, I never saw him mad or raise his voice. He did what he had to do very calmly. I always say there are cricketers and there are cricket players. A cricketer is a gentleman on and off the field. He was one of the greatest all-rounders Bermuda has ever produced and it was a joy playing with him.“I wish some of these youngsters had seen Sheridan play, they would have learned a lot from him as a player and a gentleman.”Former Somerset colleague Randy Horton admitted he learned a lot from the man he affectionately called ‘Grandma’ because of the speed he moved on the field.‘It is with a great honour and humility that I stand here today, having been asked by the family to pay tribute to Sheridan Raynor,” said Horton as he addressed the packed church. “Sheridan was an extraordinary early order batsman and super orthodox left-arm spinner with a guile that all would be proud of. Sheridan played for Somerset when it was hard for anybody across that bridge to play for Somerset. He had to be good because it was only guys like Sheridan, (Austin) ‘Cheesey’ Hughes and Charlie Daulphin who could come across the bridge and play for Somerset.“If you’re wondering why I called Sheridan ‘Grandma’ it was because Sheridan moved slowly, but he moved slowly because he had the vision that other people didn’t have. He moved earlier. Sheridan seemed to be able to judge the line, length and speed of deliveries quicker than most. He always seemed to have so much time to play his shots. When the ball was short he hooked or he cut and if it was overpitched he drove it, either on the off-side or the on-side. Then of course there were those lovely going-forward glides down to the leg or late cut. There were not too many sixes with Sheridan, he believed in playing the ball on the ground. ‘You can’t get caught on if you hit the ball on the ground’, Sheridan used to tell me.”Added Horton: “He never ever seemed to be rushed. When I was captain there was a lot more wisdom in the team when Sheridan was there. He showed me how to be calm in the storm. When I was a youngster I wanted to be like Sheridan. When I was the captain he was a consistent advisor and mentor to me. He never failed to critique my performances as a captain, whether it was field placings, use of a bowler or tactics to dismiss a batsman, I could count on ‘Grandma’.”Horton was Sports Minister when Raynor was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005. His many achievements also included being the first batsman to amass 1,000 runs in the Western Counties competition and the first Southampton Rangers player to play for and captain Somerset in Cup Match. Some say he was good enough to play for most Test teams at the time.“West Indies batsman Sir Garfield Sobers requested that Sheridan be given a trial to the West Indies Test side but politics of the day put a stop to that happening,” said Horton. “Tom Graveney, the great English batsman, requested that Sheridan come over to play County cricket in England along with the great Dennis Wainwright.”Raynor not only resembled the great Sobers physically, he was also a left-hand batsman and slow bowler and outstanding fielder.After his cricket career ended in the late 1970s, Raynor stayed involved in the game as a groundsman, preparing not only the Southampton wicket but many others around the Island, including the one at the National Stadium. He became an authority in wicket preparation, noted Royal Gazette sports reporter Colin Thompson who spoke at the service, telling how Sheridan Raynor took him under his wing after he showed an interest in preparing wickets and became a mentor and good friend.“Sheridan always saw the glass as half full, not half empty,” said Thompson. ‘He took preparing of wickets very seriously, always emphasising that the batsman’s safety is paramount and that a groundsman can only do so much after the field is turned over to the umpire.”In an article by Thompson in 2010, Raynor shared his secret to success as a cricketer. “I always listened to the old-timers, that was my secret. They have been where you are trying to go.”Raynor cited his strong Christian upbringing as a source of inspiration, especially when playing cricket overseas.“When we went to the hotels there was always a bible in my room on the dresser,” he stated in the article. “I would pick the bible up and read and pray that I would be at my best. I never prayed to win the match, I only prayed to be at my best and the team to be at their best.”Also paying tributes at the service were brother Reginald and cousin Wayne Raynor while another cousin, singer Wanda Raynor performed a solo of Mariah Carey’s ‘There’s a Hero’. . Male singers Harmony Four also performed.