British daily newspaper The Guardian published the following report of Bermuda's humiliation at the Women's World Cup:

Four months ago, West Indies Under-19s were all out for 18. Hats off then to Bermuda's women, today skittled for 13 and beaten in four balls.

"I am extremely proud and our team is very proud to be here. Just a year and a half ago there was no women's programme so we went to Canada and qualified to come here which is an achievement in itself," said Bermuda captain Linda Meizner.

Oh dear. You know what's coming isn't going to be pretty don't you? If you've spent any amount of time watching major athletics events you'll know the phrase "he's really just here for the experience" very well indeed. Close your eyes and you should be able to hear Steve Cram uttering those words over images of yet another young British runner lagging home last in a first-round heat.

"Just here for the experience" is the last resort of the dismally defeated. Four months ago, Lawrence Booth brought you news of this abject performance by West Indies Under-19s. Today Bermuda's women endured a result that made that one appear positively respectable. In the first match of their World Cup qualifiers they were bowled out for 13 by South Africa.

Now it's not just the total - the lowest that I can find evidence of anywhere, by any first-class or international team bar Northamptonshire's 12 all out against Gloucestershire in 1907 - that makes the scorecard so satisfying to rubberneck at, but the manner in which it was achieved. Eight players were out for a duck, the remaining three managed to score a single each with the remaining 10 runs coming from extras. This was cricket in binary code.

The more you look at the details, the more the whole thing unravels into a brilliantly curious match. Most baffling of all is the fact that Bermuda actually took 18 overs, or 114 balls, to make their runs. At a rate of 0.72 runs per over. That they lasted that long was due to the inspirational captain's innings of 42-year-old Linda Meizner, who managed to face 48 balls in 60 minutes for one run. Even Boycott would blush at that.

Equally enjoyable was the performance of Reuna Richardson. She came in at number six with the score at 12 for four (from 14 overs) and was promptly stumped first ball.

"You can just imagine her marching to the crease to lead the counter-attack, thinking, 'right, a couple of lofted shots here to spread the field and we're away'" - as Rob Smyth said to me when he passed the scorecard on, the link going all Max Gogarty and doing the rounds among the cricket community's e-mail accounts.

Those two wickets both fell to Sunette Loubser, whose clearly fiendish off-spin ruined what was left of the resistance. She took six for three from four overs, including five for one in two overs.

There was, of course, still time to make some amends with the ball. Even West Indies Under-19s had managed to take two wickets off Barbados when they chased 18. A traumatised Terry-Lynn Paynter took the new ball. Claire Terblanche took a single, Olivia Anderson clouted a four, and, nine wides and a no-ball later the match was over. South Africa took four legal deliveries to win, the 296 balls they had to spare making this the most comprehensive defeat in the history of 50-overs cricket.

Bermuda's women must now rank alongside Cumberland College (who, in 1916, lost 222-0 to Georgia Tech before the game was called in the third quarter), Bon Accord (36-0 to Arbroath in 1885) and the Japanese rugby team (145-17 to the All Blacks in 1995) in the ranks of the unfortunately, spectacularly out-played.

It is worth adding that just this morning England's women completed a fine Ashes victory in Australia, but frankly, infamy can do as much for the awareness of the game as fame, and Bermuda.

Meanwhile, the defeat inspired a number of comments on a variety of website:

"Their coach is to blame. That woman in the picture ought not to have been standing in front of the wicket. She should have been well to one side, leaning over, holding a bat in front of middle stump. As we have seen from Test cricket, even good bowlers can't hit one stump with any reliability. Wandering around on the wicket, waving the bat around as if they have been watching TV, is dangerous. It is terribly easy to get out caught or lbw. The first thing to learn in cricket is to take guard and how to scrape the mark on the crease. Then it's on to soft hands and so on, and eventually lifting the bat. Talk about the seven-league boots of these Bermudan women! Only the coach could have got them so impressed with themselves." - Clyde (posted on Cricinfo.com)

"Is there a Dwaynetta Leverock*?>*" - nasjaq (posted on Guardian sportsblog)

"Every team can have a bad day, even the best in the world. As the coach of the Czech Republic only ladies team, I think it's great that the ICC are putting time and effort into the women's game. In the end, it's only a game, and we enjoy playing it. Getting the girls into playing cricket rather than just watching it, is a success in itself." - Prague-bohemians-cricket-club (cricinfo.com)

"This takes ineptitude to a whole new level. Bermuda must struggle to find eleven women who've even heard of cricket, if their opening bowler can't even put the ball within reach of the batsman - that's primary-school incompetence." - captainpedant (cricinfo.com)

"I like the way they have an advert for 'fantasy cricket' above the scorecard on the link. And the match comments 'Drinks taken after fall of the 7th wicket (15.5 overs). Batsmen went to wrong ends after the break.' Maybe they thought it was like tennis. One odd point, how did they know Furbert, C was going to bowl Bermuda's second over though. Do captains have to declare both opening bowlers at the start of an innings?" - BurningBus (Guardian)

"Too funny!! The best part was the 9 wides and the one no-ball that made up 10 out of the 15 SA runs. SA women must have been so tired after that match. Good to see that the ICC hasn't lost their knack for organising exercises in futility. Now they've added comedy to their routine. Nice... Very nice..." - vpadmana (cricinfo.com)

"Bermuda does have every right to be proud as there is no shame in losing to what is possibly one of the best teams in the world when you have had competitive cricket for as little time as the Bermuda women have. Kudos to them, and to South Africa for a professional performance."- yamanverma (cricinfo.com)

"Reading about this game makes me so incredibly happy!! Excellent story of a truly extraordinary sporting event. Looking forward to reading about the Bermudian team's development in future matches, including the crunch game against Papua New Guinea later this week" - MattR (Guardian)

"Look at that player holding the bat in the picture... my mother can hold it better. And I am surprised this is the standard they managed after all the training and qualifying in some tournament in Canada... I wonder what about those teams that did not qualify in Canada... what a joke !!!"- Indiangazza (cricinfo.com)

"I don't think SA had much of a choice here. Would you have had them start to bowl under-arm dollys at the 13/7 stage or maybe give the Bermudans a second innings? And when it came their chance to bat, it was not as though they made the Bermudans bowl 10 extras. This was a poor display from a team that qualified fair-and-square. So far as I can see, SA didn't demolish anyone, the Bermudans demolished themselves and SA happened to be the other team who pitched up on the day. Sure, it's not a game Bermuda will want to remember, but SA are certainly not to blame for this." - cric_terreus (cricinfo.com)

"How many would your local club side score against the Australian men's ODI team? They'd do well to get off the mark. The Bermudan women have achieved a great deal in getting women's cricket on the map there, and should be commended rather than scorned. Linda Mienzer has every right to be proud." - Ralph_McTell (cricinfo.com)

"How the hell can a team this poor qualify for anything! There's a lot of complaining about the men's team in Bermuda at the moment but after this maybe they should stop complaining. Having said that 1 from 48 balls is a legendary performance that even I would struggle to replicate! - dwayno99 (cricinfo.com)

"Are you sure today's date isn't April 1st as this surely ranks as one of the biggest jokes of all time!!!" - Andyboyo (cricinfo.com)