St David’s clinched the Logic Premier Division after a superb team bowling performance saw off Southampton Rangers in the title decider at Lord’s yesterday.

George O’Brien, Rudell Pitcher and Justin Pitcher were the chief tormentors as the Islanders swept Rangers away for just 104 to retain their championship in style.

Earlier, O’Brien’s feisty 69 had put St David’s firmly in control, helping them to rack up 185 on a pitch that was friendly to both seam and spin bowling.

By the end, the margin of victory against their closest challengers was so convincing that coach Wendell Smith was left wondering how St David’s had waited until their final fixture to wrap up the title.

“It should never have come down to the last week,” Smith said. “But now we can say we are undisputed champions, having beaten Rangers twice and Willow Cuts twice.

“Despite a couple of hiccups, we got there in the end and I’m very pleased with our team.”

It was not all plain sailing yesterday, however, as tidy bowling from Rangers’ spinners Derrick Brangman and Dion Stovell initially put St David’s on the back foot; Sammy Robinson, Fiqre Crockwell and Loren Marshall fell for single figures to leave them struggling on 63 for four.

O’Brien turned the game in their favour, however, with an innings of pure aggression. Dealing mainly in boundaries and riding his luck on several occasions as he played and missed, he smashed six sixes and five fours on his way to 69 from 72 balls.

His partnership of 87 for the fifth wicket with the solid Delyone Borden turned out to be the difference between the teams.

Once O’Brien was finally removed, bowled by Janeiro Tucker, wickets began to tumble at a consistent rate. Borden continued to scrap for a 71-ball 40 before being last man out, bowled by Brangman, who finished with excellent figures of five for 18 from 9.1 overs. Tucker was the other key bowler for Rangers, with three for 36.

It was not long before the total of 185 started to appear daunting.

Opening batsman Curtis Jackson limped off with an injury and then Alex Dore, a century-maker for Bermuda Under-17 the previous day, took 21 balls to reach two, eventually trying to break the shackles by slogging a ball from Rudell Pitcher, only to find Angelo Cannonier, who raced backwards and dived to take a spectacular catch on the boundary.

O’Brien then showed that he can bowl just as menacingly as he can bat, surprising Stovell, Rangers’ chief batting hope, into playing his first ball on to his stumps, and getting James Celestine caught behind in the same over. Celestine had survived a huge leg-before shout on his first ball, with O’Brien seemingly irresistible at this point.

Tucker was next man out, caught sharply by Del Hollis off Pitcher, to leave Rangers on 32 for four, having lost four wickets for seven runs, with arguably their three most feared batsmen back in the pavilion.

Even with their frontline bowlers then rested from the attack, the home side refused to take their foot off the gas, with Justin Pitcher helping himself to three middle-order wickets.

Brangman, the opening batsman, held up one end doggedly, but his 18 from 58 balls offered only momentary resistance to the St David’s charge until he fell to Borden’s spin.

No visiting batsman made a score as high as 20, although their supporters could point to mitigating circumstances as the hobbling Stovell and Kwame Tucker were clearly hampered by injury, as was Jackson, who returned with a runner late in the innings.

Winning coach Smith emphasised that St David’s had to work hard for their victory. “Once we lost those early wickets, I wanted 190, because the wicket was doing a lot,” he said.

“It was turning big and lifting, seaming. So O’Brien’s innings was brilliant and 185 was a good score on that wicket. Then when we bowled, Janeiro Tucker, Dion Stovell and James Celestine all went quickly. They were the three big guns, the ones we wanted to get out.

“Our bowling has been our strength this season. O’Brien had a really good spell today, but it was a great team effort from everyone involved.”

Rangers coach Ricky Brangman remained upbeat. “I’m proud of my team; it’s been a good season,” he said. “We hung together but we came up short — congratulations to St David’s. We didn’t come to play today; St David’s came to play.”