Bermuda 224-8 Grenada 215-9

Bermuda will return home later today with their morale and confidence soaring after concluding a whirlwind tour of the Caribbean with a marginal nine-run win over Grenada in the Windward Islands yesterday.

Led by timely half-centuries from skipper Irving Romaine and vice-captain David Hemp and a four-wicket haul from off-spinner Rodney Trott, Bermuda notched their ninth win in the West Indies to cap off a highly successful tour geared towards April's World Cup qualifiers in South Africa.

Reflecting upon the past several weeks in the Caribbean, Bermuda coach Gus Logie said he is generally satisfied with the manner in which his team have responded to the heavy physical and mental demands placed on them ¿ but was quick to point the finger at one of the kinks that still need to be ironed out.

"We still need to work on our attitudes and not only attitudes in terms of the game, but also our attitudes towards each other. We are still a long way away from getting that cohesiveness we would like to see," the ex-West Indies Test player told The Royal Gazette.

Temperaments aside hopes the momentum his team have gained in the Caribbean will keep them in good stead in the lead up to April's bigger assignment on the African continent.

"I think the results have been pretty positive and generally the cricket has been good," he added. "There is a lot of optimism at this point in time and going forward winning always breeds confidence and at the end of the day I am very pleased about that.

"I think the players are beginning to believe in themselves and each other and hopefully they can continue to go from strength-to-strength."

Tight bowling at the death by teenaged prodigy Trott paid off for Bermuda yesterday as the Grenadians, requiring 13 runs for victory off the final over of their innings, ultimately came up a touch short.

The fourth -change bowler spun his way to impressive figures of four for 39 and held his line and length, not to mention his nerve, when it mattered most with the game on the line.

"Rodney has certainly come in leaps and bounds and this just shows what can be achieved when you send players to academies to receive higher preparation," added Logie. "We were under pressure at the end but the guys held their nerve and the team rallied around each other, which was really good."

For the second straight match middle order bat Garfield Charles (60) topped the Grenada batting followed by a knock of 48 from Marlon Henry.

Earlier, the home team made early inroads with the new ball to place Bermuda in the ticklish position of 29 for three, with St.David's Islanders Chris Douglas (five), Lionel Cann (ten) and Fiqre Crockwell (11) all falling cheaply, before Romaine and Hemp dropped anchor and added 113 runs for the fourth-wicket to stitch the innings back together.

Former Glamorgan skipper Hemp, who is due back in the UK, led the way with a precious 74 runs and was ably assisted in the middle order by Romaine who contributed an equally valuable 52.

"Irving and Hemp's innings were timely and certainly what was needed after we lost three early wickets. Their experience really showed, and that's what it's all about," Logie said.

There were also runs for top all-rounder Janeiro Tucker who, batting at number six, stroked 35 to suggest he is well on course to making a full recovery from minor knee surgery. Trott, who captained Bermuda at last year's Under 19 World Cup in Malaysia, contributed 14 to keep the tourists on course for a total that proved beyond the Grenadians' reach.

Seamers Josh Thomas and Troy George picked up three wickets apiece to lead the Grenada attack

Overall, Bermuda completed a nearly month-long training exercise in the West Indies with an impressive 9-2 record after their opening two fixtures against Trinidad's Under 23 squad were rained out. The Island's two defeats on tour were against a St.Lucian XI (by 51 runs) and St.Vincent and the Grenadines (six wickets).

"It was a physically and mentally demanding tour and only the strong survive. And at the end of the day the strong ones survived the tour," Logie said.

The Bermuda selectors will now be tasked with selecting the Island's 15-man World Cup qualifying squad that is to be officially announced next Wednesday. The Islanders depart for South Africa mid-March where they are to be based at a cricket academy in Pretoria.

Bermuda arrive home this evening via Miami.