Barbados overcame a spirited Bermuda side by six wickets in the first match of their five game tour at Somerset Cricket Club yesterday.

Set 184 to win, the Caribbean champions looked to be in a spot of bother at 83 for four, before a classy 65 not out from captain Ryan Hinds saved the first class side from embarrassment.

Despite the comfortable margin of defeat, this was an encouraging performance from Clay Smith?s side, who gave as good as they got against a highly drilled cricketing outfit with oodles of talent.

Batting first on a sluggish pitch, opener Glenn Blakeney was soon forced off the field after being hit in the face attempting to hook the pacey Jason Bennett.

And although Blakeney?s fellow opener, the young Stephen Outerbridge, departed soon after caught and bowled off the bowling of Callitos Lopez, both wicket keeper Chris Foggo and captain Clay Smith knuckled down well to resist the opening Bajan onslaught.

Playing with an assurance that would have impressed their professional opponents, the pair put on 65 for the second wicket to take Bermuda to the promising position of 95 for one off 24 overs.

The introduction of the the gangling left arm spinner Suliemann Benn, however, was a turning point in the innings.

Defeated by a bit of extra bounce, Smith was caught at slip attempting to cut for 28 and from then on in Bermuda struggled to maintain the momentum.

Faced with accurate bowling and athletic fielding, the rate of scoring slowed dramatically and having looked like posting a final score of around 240, it soon became clear that Bermuda would struggle to reach 200.

Saleem Mukuddem ? so often the team?s rock in the middle phase of the innings ? was out for one, caught behind by Carlo Morris off Bennett while the flaws in Reggie Tucker?s technique were brutally exposed by the vicious turn and bounce being extracted by the off spinner Ryan Hurley, as he patted a catch tamely to midwicket for nought.

When Foggo was out not long after, bowled for an excellent 41 after attempting to sweep Benn, Bermuda?s innings looked to be slowly unravelling.

However, the veteran Dennis Archer (42) had other ideas and first with the help of Foggo, and then Leverock (11) the Bajan import successfully went about giving Bermuda?s score an air of respectability ? although it was clear that a total of 182 was perhaps 60 runs short of a winning total against explosive batsman on a small ground.

In reply, the tourists were posed very few questions overall by the medium-paced local attack, although Kevin Hurdle, opening the bowling with 16-year-old Stefan Kelly, did pick up the wicket of Martin Nurse, caught at the wicket by Foggo for 5.

But thanks to Kurt Wilkinson and Dale Richards, batting at three, Barbados rollicked along at exactly six an over through the first ten and looked well on course to making Bermuda?s total look woefully inadequate ? before the introduction of Dwayne Leverock rather upset the apple cart.

The inspiration, however, came from the electric fielding of Reggie Tucker.

With Barbados on 81, he swooped athletically at midwicket to run out the dangerous Wilkinson for 41 to spark a mini-collapse.

In tandem with Hasan Durham, Leverock set about pegging back Barbados further as Richards, beaten convincingly in the flight, sliced a catch to Mukuddem at deep cover for an entertaining 29.

With their tails up and the noise from the crowd increasing, Smith immediately turned up the pressure on the new batsman Jason Parris by placing himself close in under the helmet on the offside ? a move which paid almost immediate dividends when Leverock got a ball to turn sharply, taking the leading edge off Parris? rather tentative defensive prod and landing straight in the lap of a gleeful skipper.

Bermuda?s resurgence was quickly stifled, however, as the difference in class between the sides was soon revealed with the partnership of skipper Ryan Hinds and wicket keeper Morris.

Though they started cautiously, both took little time finding their feet and once the dual spin attack of Leverock and Durham was seen off, began to assert their obvious superiority.

With a succession of delicious strokes all around the wicket, it was not hard to see why the 22-year-old Hinds is one of the most highly rated players in the Caribbean ? although in truth Bermuda?s medium pacers presented him with what must have seemed more like a casual net session than a stern examination of his temperament and technique.

Together Hinds and Morris put on 100 for the fifth wicket and though Smith manfully attempted to disrupt their rhythm by swapping his bowling options around at regular intervals, defeat always looked inevitable with those two at the wicket.

Bermuda will take heart from this improved showing, with the greater discipline at the crease in the face of a challenging bowling attack a pleasing highlight.

But once again, the lack of a high-class seam bowler capable of troubling good batsman both with the new and old ball cost Bermuda dear and will somehow have to be remedied before the trip to Ireland for the ICC Trophy next year.