Bermuda stun Scots
Scotland 268
Bermuda 269-5
Saving their best 'til last, Bermuda pulled off an astonishing victory over previously unbeaten Scotland in their final World One-Day League match at the Ruoraka Sports Club in Nairobi today.
A magnificent unbroken sixth-wicket partnership worth 134 runs between skipper Irving Romaine (85 not out) and Lionel Cann (49 not out) paved the way for what on paper might be considered a mere consolation win, following four straight defeats, but will be seen as far more significant by the players who are determined to prove they belong in this company.
Fittingly, master blaster Cann hit the winning runs with a towering six on the last ball of the penultimate over after he and Romaine had paced themselves perfectly against a frustrated Scottish attack.
While the Scots had already booked their place in tomorrow's final with a first-ever win over Kenya on Sunday, the glum expressions on the players' faces as they sat around dejectedly after the game dispelled any notion that this was a match in which they had no interest.
Undefeated in their last five One-Day Internationals, including four in this tournament, the 2005 ICC Trophy champions wanted to carry that momentum into tomorrow's final where they will again meet Kenya, who earned their place today with a 158-run thrashing of Canada.
But for the first time in this tournament, they were outplayed in every area of the game as Bermuda, for once, exhibited both discipline and patience in a performance far superior to anything they'd shown previously on tour.
Man-of-the-match Romaine and Cann, hugged by their team-mates as they left the field, might have been the eventual heroes, but this was the all-round team effort which Gus Logie has been pleading for ever since he took charge.
Young Stefan Kelly, given his first outing in the tournament, rewarded Logie's faith with a superb effort which reaped three key wickets for 43 in 10 overs, Saleem Mukuddem snapped up three for 57 in 10 overs, albeit two in Scotland's desperate last over, while Delyone Borden bowled far better than his final figures of two for 53 off ten might suggest.
Full report in tomorrow's Gazette.
BERMUDA v SCOTLAND
Scoreboard from yesterday's World One-Day League match at the Ruaraka Sports Club in Nairobi (Scotland won the toss):
SCOTLAND
Navdeep Poonia b S.Mukuddem 16
Majeed Haq c D.Minors b S.Kelly 31
Ryan Watson lbw D.Borden 57
Gavin Hamilton c D.Minors b S.Kelly 79
Omer Hussain lbw Borden 1
Neil McCallum c D.Minors b J.Tucker 21
Dougie Brown c I.Romaine b S.Kelly 2
Douglas Lockhart c C.Smith b S.Mukuddem 25
Craig Wright c C.Smith b S.Mukuddem 15
Dewald Nel not out 2
Ross Lyons not out 0
Extras (4b, 5lb 5w, 5nb) 19
Total (nine wickets, 50 overs) 268
Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-53, 3-159, 4-165, 5-216, 6-219, 7-220, 8-259, 9-265
Bowling: Kevin Hurdle 10-0-60-0; Saleem Mukuddem 10-1-57-3; Stefan Kelly 10-0-43-3; Delyone Borden 10-0-53-2; Janeiro Tucker 10-0-42-1
BERMUDA
Clay Smith lbw D.Brown 19
Dean Minors c O.Hussein b D.Brown 19
Kwame Tucker c D.Lockhart b C.Wright 13
Janeiro Tucker lbw b White 42
David Hemp b R.Lyons 25
Irving Romaine not out 85
Lionel Cann not out 49
Extras (3b, 6lb, 2nb, 6w) 17
Total (for five wickets, 49 overs) 269
Did not bat: Delyone Borden, Saleem Mukuddem, Kevin Hurdle, Stefan Kelly
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-50, 3-54, 4-119, 135-5
Bowling: Dewald Nel 9-2-40-0; Dougie Brown 9-0-60-2; Craig Wright 9-0-38-2; Gavin Hamilton 1-0-11-0; Ross Lyons 10-1-46-1; Ryan Watson 2-0-14-0; Majeed Haq 9-0-51-0
Result: Bermuda won by five wickets
Man of the match: Irving Romaine
Umpires: Nadir Shah (Bangladesh), Shahul Hameed (Indonesia)
Match referee: R.Mahanama
