The Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division Three qualifiers started late on Wednesday night (Bermuda time) and Bermuda got off to a dismal start, losing to the United States in the opening match.

We are in a group of six, along with Malaysia, Singapore, the US, Nepal and Uganda. The top two will gain promotion into Division Two, the third and fourth-placed teams will remain in Division Three, while the bottom two in the group will be relegated to Division Four.

Yesterday’s match between Bermuda and the US showed our inability to fight when the chips are down. It has been the mentality of the Bermuda team for years that when we get off to a bad start, we just capitulate. However, to be bowled out within 27 overs in a 50-over match is just dreadful.

Considering the amount of quality batsmen that we have within our team, that type of performance is unacceptable.

As the tournament has just begun, I thought I would share with you a little insight on all the teams.

The US bring that West Indian mentality of aggressive, in-your-face cricket. The addition of Jermaine Lawson will have them oozing with confidence. Having crushed Bermuda in the opening match, they will believe that they can go all the way and gain one of the two promotion spots.

Nepal are one of the favourites in the group to gain promotion. In May 2013, Nepal won the Division Three tournament, beating Uganda in the final by five wickets.

In November 2013, they followed this up by surprisingly qualifying for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, ahead of teams such as Kenya and Scotland.

The last time Nepal met Bermuda, in Bermuda, they defeated Bermuda by eight wickets, which goes to show the strength of their team. Nepal lost their opening game to Uganda yesterday, which makes their match against Bermuda, which began late last night, that much more intriguing.

Uganda have a well-balanced team and over recent years they have become stronger and stronger. Their previous experience in Division Two will have them full of confidence. Last time in Bermuda, Uganda routed us by 114 runs. They are quick, fit, talented and have a variety of spinners, which in modern-day cricket is a bonus. Having beaten Nepal in the opening match, they are firm favourites for promotion.

Malaysia are not to be overlooked, as they are no slouches. They won Division Five this year and then went on to win Division Four as well. Their progression has led to them climbing into the top 25 in the world one place behind Bermuda.

With this type of momentum, they should not be overlooked by any team. Unfortunately, they lost a close game to Singapore in the opening match and could struggle to stay in Division Three.

Singapore finished runners-up to Malaysia in Division Four and are probably favourites to go back down, but they surprisingly defeated the hosts in the opening match, which gives them a good chance to survive the group. They, too, are not to be taken lightly, as they finished ahead of Denmark in Division Four and also ahead of Italy and Oman, who were both in Division Three last year in Bermuda.

So what can we expect from Bermuda? Batting-wise, we can compete with any team in the group. However, the loss of Fiqre Crockwell has left a massive hole in the batting order. Getting off to a good start is important, which we failed to do against the US in our opening match. Hence, we were defeated convincingly.

If Bermuda have a weakness, it is in our bowling department. Del Hollis has been successful at opening the bowling for St David’s; there is no spinner in Bermuda who uses the new ball better than him. We must utilise his strengths and hopefully others can chip in with some good bowling performances.

This tournament is going to come down to the little things, such as holding your catches, turning ones into twos, bowling to a plan. Whichever team can best adapt to the wickets and execute their game plan will come out on top, as there is very little separating the teams. Do not be surprised if net run-rate comes into play to decide who gets promoted and demoted.

If Bermuda are to survive this division, we will have to bat well. One thing we do know is that Bermuda’s batsmen will be bombarded with spin over the next week. How we bat spin will determine our success or our demise.

Sitting with my brother Wendell and talking about the abundance of players not on tour for whatever reasons, this is the alternative team we came up with:

Chris Douglas, Jason Anderson, Deunte Darrell, OJ Pitcher, Stephen Outerbridge, David Hemp, Rodney Trott, Delyone Borden, George O’Brien, Stefan Kelly, Jacobi Robinson.

If the two teams played each other, I wonder which would win?

Regardless, our support must stay with the guys who have earned the right to represent Bermuda. All we can ask is that you do your best. Good luck!

Quote of the week: The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have — Vince Lombardi