USA 236¿7

Bermuda 126

Bermuda's Under-15 national team ended their 2008 ICC Americas Region Championship campaign on a losing note at the National Sports Centre on Saturday.

The Islanders' batting folded in 33.1 overs as tournament runners up USA romped to a 110-run win.

Bermuda found themselves in early trouble after opening bowler Waqas Shah (two for 25) made the breakthrough to leave them at 25 for three. Spinners Andrew Ajodhi (three for 34) and Kris Goel (two for eight) then shared five wickets between them as the last five batsmen crumbled for 41 runs.

Middle-order bat Greg Maybury jr (39) led the resistance along with skipper Deunte Darrell (19) and Joshua Gilbert (13), who were the only other Bermuda batsmen in double figures.

Earlier, the hosts' decision to put the Americans in on a flat batting strip backfired as the defending champions encountered little difficulty finding the gaps.

Openers Abhijit Joshi (68) and Vikram Vallari (51) put on 97 runs before the latter offered a return catch to Maybury. Joshi and Steven Taylor (65) addedanother 113 runs for the second-wicket to lift USA 210 for two.

Leg spinner Tre Govia (3-39) eventually had Joshi stumped by wicketkeeper Jelani Albouy. And although his dismissal ignited a slide that saw five wickets tumble for 11 runs, by then the damage had already been done.

Bermuda had entered the five-nation tournament with high expectations of reclaiming the Sir Henry Tucker Trophy they lost two years ago in Florida.

Yet despite falling short of their goal, coach Grant Smith reckons his players will have gained invaluable experience and taken something positive out of the tournament.

"It's been a very positive week for the players and we have seen some growth. For some of the players this was their first taste of international cricket, while for others it was a continuing process," Smith said.

"We have seen progress in the players' overall development. The players were very keen and it would be great to have more tournaments at this level held on local soil."