Bermuda suffered a crushing six-wicket defeat by United States in their opening match at the ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday.

Allan Douglas’s side will be looking to bounce back when they face Nepal in their second match today.

Bermuda went into the six-team, round-robin tournament aiming for a top-two finish, but they had the worst possible start after the US won the toss, with Terryn Fray dismissed first ball when he was caught behind off Jermaine Lawson’s first competitive ball for the US.

Bermuda never recovered from the early setback and were dismissed for just 106 in 26.5 overs.

The US needed only 21.5 overs to reach their target for the loss of four wickets.

“The loss against Bermuda in last year’s tournament still hurts,” Steve Massiah, the US captain, said. “We wanted to come today, have a clinical performance and take control early. We wanted to get our net run-rate up early.”

Christian Burgess, who opened with Fray, lost partners regularly before he was fifth out in the fifteenth over when the score was 55 for five.

Burgess scored a 43-ball 24 with three fours after Tre Manders, Dion Stovell and captain Janeiro Tucker all struggled against the pace of Lawson, a former West Indies bowler.

Manders departed in the sixth over, Stovell the eighth and Tucker the tenth before Allan Douglas Jr, batting at No 7, offered some resistance with a flamboyant 36 from 35 balls, hitting four sixes.

Lionel Cann was the only other batsman to reach double figures with 16 as Bermuda had no answer to some tight US bowling.

Lawson claimed three for 30 from 5.5 overs, Usman Shuja three for 12 from six and Karan Ganesh two for four, with Lawson returning to end the innings by having Delray Rawlins caught by Shuja.

Bermuda’s paltry total of 106 was never going to be enough to defend.

Massiah led the US response with 31 from 27 balls with two fours and three sixes to avenge last year’s loss in Bermuda, which kept his side out of Division Two and a shot at World Cup qualifying. Bermuda used four bowlers, with young spinner Rawlins taking two for 40 and Del Hollis and Malachi Jones one wicket each. Jones opened the bowling with Stovell.

Bermuda face Nepal, who won the tournament in Bermuda, in another tough encounter today (match started 11.15 last night Bermuda time) as they attempt to get into contention for a top-two finish and promotion to Division Two.

Nepal also lost their opener, going down to Uganda by 20 runs in a match between last year’s top two teams in Bermuda, with Uganda avenging their loss in the final.

Uganda scored 203 for eight with Phillemon Mukobe hitting the highest score of the day, 84 from 102 balls.

He and Brian Masaba, who scored 51, put on 137 for the sixth wicket as Uganda recovered from 23 for five, after 13.3 overs. Nepal were dismissed for 183 in 48.5 overs after Naresh Budhaayer led the way with 62 as they collapsed from 103 for two to 183 all out.

“The camp is feeling much better, after recovering from 23 for five and coming back and scoring 200,” said Frank Nsubuga, the Uganda captain. “The boys worked so hard.”

Nsubuga believed that his side’s fielding was the highlight of their performance. “Fielding is our strength,” he said. “In this tournament, you have to field well to lift the trophy.”

A disappointed Nepal captain Paras Khadka said: “We started well, but I think they put on a very good partnership and we just couldn’t finish it off. Unfortunately, these kinds of games, we should be able to finish them off.

“But this is the first game of the tournament, the tournament is still wide open, and we need to rectify our mistakes and move forward and come back strong.

“Our bowling was pretty good, but they were 23 for five, and then they put on a very good partnership.

“Still, chasing 204 shouldn’t have been that hard on that wicket, but unfortunately our batsman just couldn’t finish it off.

“If one of the batsman had converted, I think the result would have been different.”