Delray Rawlins struck an aggressive half-century to spearhead a courageous fightback by Bermuda in their ICC Americas Under-17 Match Play Tournament opener with the United States at the National Sports Centre yesterday.

But it was not enough to prevent the host side from going down by 36 runs against the US who were made to sweat it out in the end after being firmly in the driver’s seat at one stage.

Rawlins arrived at the crease with Bermuda wobbling at 34 for four and after playing himself in delighted those gathered around the ground with some elegant and disciplined stroke play that kept the US chasing leather in the field and gave his team a fighting chance of pulling off what had earlier seemed unthinkable.

Rawlins, a colt for St George’s in Cup Match, plundered 79 from 91 deliveries and was dropped twice batting at No 6. The left-handed batsman struck eight fours and three sixes and reached his half-century in the 37th over of the innings off 45 balls and 61 minutes after taking a single off Chetram Persaud, the US off spin bowler.

“Delray was superb,” Terry Fray, the Bermuda manager, said. “He is just a class act and what I liked about him was that he always kept the pressure on the fielders as good batsmen do. They don’t allow themselves to get tied down.”

At 53 for eight, Bermuda appeared dead and buried.

However, Rawlins and tailender Chare Smith had other thoughts in mind as together the pair produced a timely 80-run stand for the ninth wicket that threatened to turn the match on its head.

Rawlins batted sensibly with a maturity belying his tender years, playing each ball on its merit with anything short or loose promptly dispatched to or over the fence. Smith held his end of the bargain by providing the perfect foil and rotating the strike with some excellent running between the stumps.

The breakthrough the US so desperately sought finally arrived when Smith, who was dropped at backward square leg earlier in his innings, spooned a soft catch to silly mid-off off the bowling of Kushai Ganji, the US off spinner. Smith’s dismissal virtually signalled the end of Bermuda’s run chase with 63 runs still needed for victory.

Nevertheless, a determined Rawlins soldiered on, adding a further 26 runs for the tenth wicket with Cameron Jeffers before he became the last wicket to fall after being bowled by a yorker from Keifer Phill, the US captain.

Opener Nzari Paynter, the son of St George’s Cricket Club president Neil Paynter, and No 4 batsman Omari Ebbin were the only other local batsmen in double figures with 14 apiece.

Second change bowler Nahusha Rao led the US attack with four for 27 while fellow seam bowler Phill took two for 19.

Earlier, the US recovered from a precarious 97 for six to go on and post a total that ultimately proved beyond Bermuda’s reach after being sent in to bat.

Bermuda spinners Rawlins and Jordan Smith, a colt for Bailey’s Bay in last weekend’s Eastern Counties, tied the US batsmen in knots and stemmed the flow of runs on a track offering prodigious turn after the host team’s seam bowlers wasted the new ball.

But a timely 93 run seventh-wicket partnership between middle-order bats Ganji and Novendra Boodhoo steadied the US’s ship and saw them to a more respectable total.

Ganji led the way with 79 that included ten boundaries before he pulled against the line and was caught on the mid wicket boundary off the bowling of Chare Smith, the Bermuda seam bowler, who picked up two wickets in his second spell.

Boodhoo was next high man for the US with 28 while opener Sagar Patel hit 20 at the top of the order before his team suffered a mini collapse.

Opener bowler Chare Smith, left-arm spinner Rawlins and seamer Christian Gibbons claimed two wickets each for Bermuda.

Ricky Kissoon, the US coach, admitted Bermuda’s fightback caught him by surprise.

“It came down to where we did not expect it to as Bermuda were 53 for eight and I think we got a little over confident and the Bermuda players fought to the end,” he said.

“But it was a positive outcome and we got the start we were looking for.”

The US face Canada at the NSC today.