Bermuda's under 25 team wasted a good opportunity to hand the visiting Derbyshire team the first defeat on their Bermuda tour yesterday when they slipped from a comfortable 68-2 to lose by a wide 73-run margin in reply to a modest total at Devonshire Rec.

At one stage even Derbyshire must have sensed defeat as local captain Glenn Smith led by example during a brisk 41-run stand for the third wicket with opener Clay Smith which carried the score from 27 to 68.

However, the elegant Glenn, who hit five fours and a six in his top knock of 31 -- including 14 off Alastair Richardson's fifth and final over -- was subjected to some `sledging' from a couple of Derbyshire players and was soon back in the pavilion after skying an off drive and watching Frank Griffith take an excellent catch over his shoulder running back towards the extra cover boundary.

"I lost sight of the ball amongst the spectators,'' said Smith of the delivery from Cork. Smith, 20, was also struck on the forearm by a Devon Malcolm delivery and went to hospital after his dismissal to have it checked out. There was only a bit of bruising.

Clay Smith, who watched opening partner Jermaine Warner depart in the second ball of the innings from Devon Malcolm, watched at the other end as Jason Lewis fell to a brilliant catch at extra cover by John Morris after scoring 18 of the 24 runs in the second wicket stand.

Smith was also content to play a supporting role to his captain as they set about repairing the early damage, with Glenn showing no respect for the Derbyshire bowlers. He brought up the Bermuda 50 in the 11th over with a four through the covers off Cork the over after removing Richardson from the attack.

After Glenn departed, Clay found willing partners hard to come by as the team quickly slipped from a position of strength as Jermaine Outerbridge departed when the score was 83 and Smith himself on 89 to make the score 89-5 in the 24th over.

Smith gave a return catch to Richard Sladdin to end a 94-minute innings of 25 off 68 balls.

The asking rate of four runs an over still was not too much on this compact Devonshire Rec field but the depth of the Bermuda batting was soon to be tested.

Derbyshire captain Kim Barnett, noticing the difficulty the local youngsters had with Sladdin, introduced his own flighty spin from the western end and in partnership they set about wiping out the tailend with the last six wickets falling for 22 runs in just 33 minutes.

Sladdin picked up five for 18 off 9.3 overs with wickets in his fifth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th overs with only Del Hollis (10) reaching double figures amongst the middle and late order batsmen. Dominic Cork took two for 23 while Barnett had one for seven from four overs.

In the end top bowler Malcolm was not even required for a second spell as Derbyshire won with plenty to spare.

Barnett had earlier led their batting with 59 as he and Peter Bowler (22) shared in an opening stand of 42 in 45 minutes. At Bowler's departure, Barnett added 63 for the second wicket with John Morris (33) before Glenn Smith's decision to bring himself on at the western end paid off when he not only broke the partnership by having Morris brilliantly caught one-handed by Hollis on the boundary but also succeeded in slowing the run rate down with Outerbridge at the other end.

Both bowled their 10 overs unchanged with Smith finishing with three for 31 with his medium-pacers and Outerbridge two for 39.

In the end Hollis' off-spin was not needed as Clarkie Trott returned to wipe up the tail to finish with two for 21 from seven overs. Diallo Sharrieff, his new ball partner, got the other wicket for 31 runs from 10 overs.

The Derbyshire tail wagged a bit with wicketkeeper Karl Krikken scoring 15 not out in 58 minutes before the team's innings ended at the 1.15 cut off time with two overs still remaining.

Graham Fox will lead the St. George's Cup Match XI against Derbyshire on Sunday in the absence of injured captain Wendell Smith.

Dexter Smith, who has left league champions Western Stars to join St. George's for the upcoming season, will open the innings with Clay Smith.

Glenn Smith and Clarkie Trott, who both played against Derbyshire yesterday, are also included in the St. George's team.

Team: Clay Smith, Dexter Smith, Arnold Manders, Noel Gibbons, Glenn Smith, Clevie Wade (vice capt), Graham Fox (capt), allan Douglas, Eugene Foggo, Kenny Phillips, Clarkie Trott. Res: Herbie Bascome, Lewis Foggo.

CATCH IT -- Bermuda under 25 captain Glenn Smith lines up his second catch to remove Devon Malcolm late in the Derbyshire innings yesterday. Smith had a good allround match, taking three wickets and then scoring 31 runs.