Collapso cricket!
Bermuda 158
After dismissing their club hosts for a modest total of 183, Bermuda’s batsmen again found a way to self destruct as they handed Clico Preysal a 25-run victory on a silver platter.
Bermuda put themselves in a commanding position at 112 for two, but were then pegged back by the off spin of Ryan Hurley who claimed the prized scalp of Lionel Cann (38) in the 26th over to trigger a monumental collapse which saw the visitors lose their last seven wickets for 46 runs.
It was a result coach Gus Logie could have done without on the eve of this month’s World Cricket League Division One tournament in Kenya, and one that has left the former West Indies player and coach still searching for answers with the 2007 World Cup only 52 days away.
“We definitely let it slip away and didn’t really apply ourselves in the end. We gave away too many soft dismissals in the end and I think we need to take more responsibility in our batting,” Logie said afterwards.
“This is something we keep impressing upon the batsmen and hopefully it will sink in sooner than later. I think the individual players know themselves and they know what needs to be done. They just have to go out there and apply themselves, and there’s no magic formula to it.
“But I think everything will come together. We’ve go to be patient as much as possible but we also have to make sure that players understand what needs to be done.
“And I’ve seen the players long enough now to know that they are going to come good when it matters.”
Logie singled out left arm orthodox bowler Dwayne Leverock’s match haul of three wickets and Lionel Cann’s century during last week’s rained out match against W Connection Wanderers as some of the highlights of the tour of his homeland.
“We saw the guys working very hard physically and I don’t think anybody can fault that,” he added. “The players’ fitness levels increased on this particular tour and so that is a plus. And so we will continue to work at it and keep encouraging the guys to dig deep.”
St.George’s Cup Match pair Clay Smith (50) and Dean Minors (28) got the Island team, seeking a first win on the rain affected tour of the Caribbean, off to a flying start by producing a half century opening stand.
But Clico finally made the breakthrough in the 14th over with Hurley claiming two wickets with successive balls. Minors was the first to go when he was caught in the slips pushing forward to a turning delivery and then English County batsman David Hemp (0) gave an easy return catch on the very next ball to shift the momentum in the home team’s favour.
Number four bat Cann then joined Smith at the crease, and together the pair shared in another half century partnership that seemed to have hauled Bermuda out of troubled waters.
However, Cann got a top edge attempting to play across the line of the ball and was caught at mid-wicket midway through Bermuda’s allotted 50 overs. And it was his dismissal that triggered a collapse which the side never recovered from as wickets continued to tumble around Smith who was eventually the eighth wicket to fall.
Skipper Irving Romaine (10), batting at number six, and teenager Malachi Jones (10) each got reasonably good starts, but failed to build on their foundations.
Leverock led Bermuda’s bowling with remarkable figures of three for 19 from 9.34 overs, while fellow spinner Delyone Borden and Jones took two for 23 and two for 35 respectively.
“It was a better performance in terms of the bowling today, as we were able to bowl them out for 183,” Logie added.
Bermuda’s national team arrive home tonight and are due to depart for Kenya next Wednesday.
