Bermuda’s Under-19 World Cup qualifying campaign suffered another setback at Lord’s yesterday.

The home side went down by 71 runs against Canada to leave their qualifying hopes hanging by a thread.

To their credit, though, Bermuda’s youngsters put up a better fight against the Canadians after losing heavily against the United States the previous day.

However, once again poor fielding, wasteful bowling and an inability to occupy the crease for long spells and keep the strike rotating took its toll on Clevie Wade’s team.

Back-to-back losses means there will be no margin of error for Bermuda in their final two matches of the tri-nation tournament.

“It is not over yet,” Sammy Robinson, the Bermuda assistant coach, said. “So we can still work on getting two victories and then see where that gets us.”

Bermuda sent their opponents in to bat and made early inroads when Micah Simons, the left-arm seam bowler, trapped Abraash Khan, the Canada captain, in front in the first over.

Simons’s new-ball partner Chare Smith pegged the Canadians further back when he clattered Shawan Anantharajah’s stumps five overs later to leave the visiting side wobbling at 28 for two.

But in Arslan Khan and Amish Taploo Bermuda hit a brick wall as the two batsmen went about repairing the early damage.

The pair produced a 93-run third-wicket partnership that put Canada firmly in control.

Khan led the way with 94 from 147 balls. He thumped ten boundaries and a six and reached his half-century off 67 balls in 97 minutes in the 32nd over.

The early-order batsman was let off the hook in the 44th over when he was dropped at backward square.

However, Khan’s luck finally ran out four overs later when he was stumped charging Jordan Smith, the Bermuda off spinner, to fall four runs shy of a century that was there for the taking.

Taploo was also denied a batting milestone after being dismissed four runs shy of a half-century. His innings of 46 from 76 balls included three fours and a six.

Canada, who took full advantage of misfielding and dropped catches, got useful contributions further down the order to post a challenging total that ultimately proved beyond Bermuda’s reach.

Chare Smith led the Bermuda attack for the second straight match with two for 36 while new-ball partner Simons took two for 63.

The home side gave up 35 extras, including 23 wides and five no-balls.

“We still need to work on the extras department,” Robinson said.

Bermuda got their run chase off to a promising start as opening pair Jahnoi Bean Wilson and Jordan Smith, promoted up the order, went for the big shots early and produced 37 runs for the first wicket.

Abdul Haseeb, the Canada off spinner, eventually made the breakthrough in the seventh over when he had Smith caught behind.

Smith’s dismissal triggered a mini collapse which had two additional wickets fall for 11 runs, including opener Bean-Wilson for an aggressive 31.

At 48 for three, Bermuda were up against it, but a 26-run fourth-wicket stand between Delray Rawlins, the Bermuda captain, and Azende Furbert halted the slide before the latter gave a return catch to Harsh Thakkar, the Canada off spinner.

Despite losing a handful of wickets in quick succession, Bermuda were moving along at a reasonably steady rate and a 51-run fifth-wicket partnership between Rawlins, who demonstrated his potential with some exquisite shots all around the ground, and Sanji Dill kept the home side just shy of the required run rate.

Rawlins got a big break in the 21st over after being dropped in the covers.

He was not so lucky six overs later, however, when he was bowled by Sholk Patel, the Canada left-arm spinner, behind his legs swiping across the line.

Rawlins thumped an aggressive 45 from 42 balls and struck five boundaries before falling five runs shy of a half-century.

Bermuda got significant contributions further down the order from Dill, Charles Trott and Shakeal Outerbridge who came in for the injured Isaiah Richardson.

The damage though had already done as wickets tumbled at regular intervals until last man Outerbridge fell in the 47th over after scoring 19 from 32 balls.

The spin trio of Haseeb, Thakkar and Sholk Patel claimed three wickets each.

“I was kind of thinking we fell about 20 runs short of a target score I had in mind,” Errol Barrow, the Canada coach, said. “But overall it was a good game I would say, even though we are about 75 per cent of our potential.”

Canada play the US today in Somerset, and all the teams have a rest day tomorrow.

The second set of matches begins on Thursday with Bermuda playing the US in St David’s. Canada and the US then square off in Somerset on Friday, with Bermuda and Canada ending the week in the final game at St David’s on Saturday.

The team that finishes first this week gains automatic entry into the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in January and February next year.

The winners will also be entered into the West Indies Cricket Board Regional Under-19 Tournament which starts later this month.

The runner-ups will have a second chance at qualification in a global qualifier comprised of runner-up teams from other ICC Associate regions due to be held in Nepal later this year.

In addition to the ten Full Members who received automatic entry, other teams to have qualified for next year’s Under-19 World Cup include Afghanistan, Namibia and Fiji while the runner-up teams who have gained a spot at the repechage qualifier are Nepal, Uganda and Papua New Guinea.