Cayman Islands 197 and 85

Bermuda 387

Bermuda were deservedly crowned ICC Intercontinental Cup Americas Group champions after applying the finishing touches to a crushing innings and 105 run defeat of Cayman Islands on yesterday?s third and final day of play at Toronto Cricket Club.

With their opponents reeling overnight at 50 for four after ten overs, Bermuda ? led by the guile of Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock ? wasted little time polishing off the remaining Cayman batsmen and officially declaring their whereabouts for late October ? the tournament?s semi-finals in Namibia.

?I really didn?t think it would be this easy for us,? conceded victorious Bermuda skipper Clay Smith shortly after receiving the man-of-the-match award from former West Indies Test player Larry Gomes at the post match presentation.

Redefining the meaning of a skipper?s innings, Smith carved his name into the record books with a polished 138 off 186 balls in 289 minutes during Sunday?s second day of play to set the stage for yesterday?s formality.

?I thought Dwayne and Kevin (Hurdle) bowled extremely well today and overall the team performance was first class,? a jubilant Smith added.

Bermuda team manager El James noted: ?It?s exciting to finally see Bermuda reaching the point where everything is happening and we are getting the success.

?This is certainly a shot in the arm for a sport that so many have played before and love in Bermuda.?

James, paid tribute to Bermuda?s players for the manner in which they never gave up even when the chips were down and the odds heavily stacked against them.

?They always believed they could win,? he added. ?Against Canada we saw a real fightback on the first day, surprising not only the Canadian team . . . but also the Canadian spectators.

?And this is the thing Bermuda have going for them right now, they believe in themselves.?

Again receiving tremendous bite from a pitch favouring spin, the nearly unplayable Leverock seized four of the remaining five Cayman wickets to fall during a morning session lasting one hour and three minutes and 14.3 overs for a meagre five runs to finish with overall match figures of 11 for 72 off 39 overs, including 15 maidens.

?Basically I knew I had a job to do and that was to get the wickets to end this game,? Leverock told The Royal Gazette, following yet another dazzling performance with the ball.

?Their wasn?t much moisture on the pitch but the ball did turn a bit as it did yesterday (Sunday). All I had to do was maintain my length and the pitch did the rest.?

As was the case throughout both innings, the Cayman batsmen failed to come to grips with Leverock?s uncanny ability to cut the ball sharply off a dried out pitch, often getting caught out attempting to hit their way out of trouble.

?I think a lack of patience also led to their downfall,? Leverock added.

Leverock signalled the beginning of the end for the Caymans, still some 140 runs behind when play resumed, by taking the first wicket to fall yesterday with the final delivery of the second over.

Right-arm fast seamer Kevin Hurdle grabbed three for 68 and Hasan Durham one for nought to go along with his first innings haul of three for 56 as Bermuda relied on only three bowlers to get the job done.

But while yesterday?s task proved fairly straightforward after centurions Irving Romaine (111), skipper Clay Smith (138) and the explosive Dean Minors (74) had batted Cayman out of the match on Sunday, few around the grounds seemed to disagree that Bermuda were more than worthy of walking away with the spoils after having previously upstaged group favourites Canada last week.

Their Caribbean counterparts managed to bat just 24.3 overs in the second innings as the game came to a close before lunch.

Middle order bat Pearson Best (23) and number eight Ronald Ebanks (17) topped the Cayman batting while seamer Troy Taylor led the bowling after claiming four of the seven Bermuda first innings bats to fall on a flat wicket.

If there was any downside to yesterday?s heroics, then it might have been the worrying sight of wicketkeeper Minors being replaced by Chris Foggo after apparently re-injuring a badly swollen ring finger on his left hand.

Minors endured a busy morning session, executing two lightning swift stumpings to keep the steady procession of Cayman bats flowing back and forth from the club pavilion.

And once Leverock had done the bulk of the damage, it was only fitting for Hurdle ? who got the ball rolling the day before by taking the prize wicket of Steven Gordon (10) ? to clinch the win by beating tailender Troy Taylor all ends up with a delivery which shattered his stumps.

That ignited scenes of joy among Bermuda players, team officials and a small, but enthusiastic band of local fans.