Stripe Bowl limited overs cricket competition with a resounding 152-run victory over Bermuda at Hampton Court on the Essequibo coast yesterday.

After amassing 235 for three in the 38 overs permitted following a delayed start because of early morning rain which left parts of the field damp, Guyana routed Bermuda for 83 in 31.4 overs with leg-spinner Ramnaresh Sarwan capturing five for 10 off five overs.

West Indies' middle order batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul set up the Guyana total with a 63-ball unbeaten 97 which included four sixes and four fours after Guyana were asked to bat first by Bermuda.

The left hander, who earned the man-of-the-match award, added 100 for the third wicket with debutant Lennox Cush (48), as all the Guyanese batsmen got off to promising starts on a placid track.

Opener Clayton Lambert and Andrew Gonsalves, who both made 41, gave the home side a solid start with 59 runs in 15 overs before the latter was bowled off the inside edge by Bermuda captain Charlie Marshall.

His innings included four fours and came from 32 balls while his struggling partner hit just one boundary from 70 balls before he was caught and bowled by left arm spinner Peter Philpott.

Cush, dropped before he had scored, and again at 25, struck a six and one four in his 59-ball innings before falling to a brilliant catch by Cleon Scotland at deep cover off Marshall, whose six overs cost 58 runs. Marshall picked up two wickets in the process.

Chanderpaul, after reaching his fifty from 45 balls, went into overdrive, hitting Marshall for three consecutive sixes in the 37th over but could not score the remaining runs needed for his century in the final over.

In the Bermuda innings, Dennis Archer (29) and Marshall (19) were the only batsmen to reach double figures as the Guyanese spinners wreaked havoc in the late afternoon sunshine.

Sarwan captured the wickets of Marshall, Philpott (4), Keith Wainwright (2), Scotland (0) and Sammy Robinson (3) on the way to the best figures in this year's competition.

Archer was caught by Mahendra Nagamootoo, Philpott and Wainwright by Cush and Scotland by Hooper while Robinson was trapped leg before wicket.

Cush, who had a good debut, also captured the wicket of Marshall, whose dismissal, caught by Gonsalves at mid-wicket, ended a third-wicket partnership of 53 between the Bermuda captain and Archer.

There was also a wicket each for another debutant, seamer Vejai Seonarine, Neil McGarrell and Nagamootoo, whose 7.4 overs, cost a mere 10 runs. Guyana will now travel to Jamaica for a semi-final showdown with the runners-up in Zone Two.

The other team advancing from Zone One are Trinidad and Tobago while Barbados and the Leewards came through from Zone Two.

Bermuda begin their passage home today and will arrive tomorrow after spending the night in New York.

Coach Allan Douglas was in good spirits despite the team's heaviest defeat of the tournament. After three years in the competition they are still to win a match.

"All I asked was that they improve five percent each time and they did that,'' said Douglas after the game.

Tacoma Robinson, a surprise inclusion in the squad, was given his Bermuda debut against Guyana and bowled four overs with the new ball which he shared with Charles Swan, giving up 27 runs.

"We did improve and the bowlers did quite well,'' Douglas stressed, referring to Swan and Robinson. "Robinson, they were impressed with his form.

"Everybody improved. People will say we didn't get the result (win) but we performed quite well.'' Douglas was also pleased with the attitude of the players and says he sees no reason why most of them shouldn't be given another chance to represent the country.

"If they are committed, I don't see any reason why not,'' he stated. "We are delighted to have these players, they fit the criteria.'' The team experienced a new mode of transportation, taking a 20-minute flight on a prop plane to the ground which was surrounded by rice fields.

SHIVNARINE CHANDERPAUL -- his unbeaten 97 put Guyana on the road to a comfortable victory over Bermuda.