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Islanders, Bay in semi showdown

Battle lines will be drawn at the National Sports Centre today as the remaining four teams in the Twenty/20 tournament target a spot in tomorrow's final.

And the odds will be heavily stacked in favour of St. David's and Southampton Rangers who look to continue their unbeaten run in the shorter version of the game and have always been on a collision course towards tomorrow's finale.

Defending champions St. David's and Group 'B' winners Rangers will enter their respective semi-finals as hot favourites against Bailey's Bay and Police respectively, the Islanders looking to stretch their unbeaten streak in the competition to 15.

Lionel Cann's team are gunning for the 'treble' after having already claimed both Eastern County and Premier 50-Over League honours but might not have it all their own way against their most hated rivals in local cricket, Bailey's Bay.

In a rematch of the Eastern Counties final between the two long-time rivals, St. David's should have the edge is what is expected to be the best of today's two games.

Bay were thrown a lifeline last Sunday when opponents Somerset failed to produce a team on a day when most of the fixtures were affected by the rain.

Having lost to Flatts the previous day, they looked down and out but the default victory meant they were catapulted into today's semi-finals.

However, they won't expect any favours from a young St. David's side anxious to continue their dominance in all competitions.

Earlier this week, Bay batsman Stephen Outerbridge said he thought the contest would be too close to call.

"I don't think the thought of playing St. David's in the next round will affect how we are going to play," he said.

"They are our Eastern County rivals and you can feel the intensity when we play in those matches, so playing them in this Twenty/20 isn't going to be any different."

Cann recognised his team wouldn't have everything their own way. "Bay are a top-four team, the teams left are the best," he commented.

"Bailey's Bay have a lot of experience, they have a couple of good players who have a lot of national programme experience. They are a very good unit and with the Twenty/20 game anybody can win on any day you know.

"We're taking it one game at a time.

"It's been a month since the league finished and we've been in Twenty/20 mode now for almost a month.

"Guys have been taking one game at a time, picking up the valuable experience that they need to play the Twenty/20 game."

Rangers, meanwhile, have been on cruise control for much of the competition, smashing teams with reckless abandon.

In Police, however, they take on a side full of confidence who came out out of their group with minimal fuss.

What may prove to be a letdown for the side is the absence of Janeiro Tucker, who is out with an injury.

The Western Counties champions have made their intentions known from the get-go after president Randy Raynor stated his club and St. David's were the two best teams in Bermuda and should both make the final.

"Bermuda will see a contest that will be played to see who is truly the best club in Bermuda," he said.

The Bailey's Bay and St. David's clash starts at 11 a.m. while Southampton Rangers and Police do battle at 3 p.m.

Both today's semi-finals and the final will be played at the National Sports Centre (NSC).

The final starts at 6 p.m. tomorrow, preceding by the third/fourth place play-off between today's two losers.