An incident in which Lionel Cann stood up to Jamaica's Jimmy Adams during Saturday's quarter-finals of the Red Stripe Bowl showed the kind of character Bermuda will need to be respected in Caribbean cricket.

"They (Jamaica) felt they could do anything with the Bermuda team, a bunch of young, green fellas. And when we started to get on top of them they were a little flustered,'' said manager Randy Horton yesterday, a day after the team's arrival back in Bermuda.

Listeners heard during live radio coverage how Cann continued to exchange words with Adams after he knocked over the West Indies Test player whle completing a quick single and how Horton -- not one to stand down from a challenge himself -- became agitated with Cann.

"That really wasn't Lionel's fault; he knocked Jimmy Adams down when he was making a single and he went to him to help him up and Jimmy cursed him,'' said Horton.

"He reacted to that and I wish he would have walked away from it at that point but he kept it going. I spoke with him and it was nothing that in any way put the team to shame.'' The incident came late in the Bermuda innings when Cann took a quick single to allow Clay Smith to retain the strike in his bid to reach his second century in the tournament before the overs ran out.

The fact that Bermuda posted 193-7 in their 50 overs, after being dismissed for just 87 three days earlier by the same team showed their determination not to be intimidated by their more experienced opponents.

"That's kind of important,'' said Horton.

Just four balls were bowled in the Jamaica innings before rain washed out the remainder of the match. It will never be known if Bermuda could have defended their total and scored a historic victory.

Because of their earlier win over Bermuda, Jamaica adanced to the semi-finals.

After losing convincingly to Trinidad and Tobago, the Windward Islands and Jamaica in their first three Zone A matches, it was one match in which Bermuda appeared to be competitive.

"Even though we didn't win I certainly consider the tour to be a success,'' said Horton.

"In the last game against Jamaica, they showed they can bat. After losing those early wickets they were able to settle in and get a very good score against probably the best bowling attack in the tournament.'' Smith finished the tournament with two unbeaten centuries for an average of 104, certain to put him among the top batsmen in the tournament for the series.

Unfortunately Smith was relied on too heavily as no other Bermuda batsmen passed 50, though there were some knocks that started with promise.

"Albert (Steede) seemed to be a bit out of nick but he batted very well in the match against Trinidad and then in the Jamaica match he saw Rose and Patterson off,'' Horton explained. "He showed that he is capable of batting at that level.

"Arnold (Manders) looked comfortable and against Jamaica it was a case of him going for a big shot too early. Anthony Amory battted well and looked like he is quite capable of handling that kind of bowling. Irving Romaine did extremely well in the last match.'' "We really saw some bright spots, I think. It's just a matter of preparation.

By the time they had gotten used to the pace it was all over. They are not used to facing that kind of pace.'' The Bermuda team was not the strongest after unavailability robbed them of key players such as Dean Minors, Roger Trott and Glenn Blakeney, but Horton would still like to see the bulk of the team retained.

He thinks there is plenty to build on, even in bowling, where Roger Blades, Herbie Bascome and Gregg Foggo showed promise. "I'm sure the selectors will sit down and most of this team will be certainly be retained, there's no question about that,'' said Horton.

"There is a lot of youth in there, players like Janeiro Tucker, Gregg Foggo and Irving Romaine. These guys are young and have a long, long way to go.'' Just as important was the deportment of the players off the field, where none of the controversy of previous tours surfaced.

"They certainly represented Bermuda in the best possible way. Anyone who came into contact with them while they were in Jamaica will only have positive things to say.

"I was tough on them but I think they appreciated it. They knew what I was about, what the perimeters were and what the consequences would be. Right up until we got off that plane last night I couldn't have asked for much more.'' LIONEL CANN Feisty all-rounder