RAIN might have been the only winner on a soggy Gymkhana ground in Nairobi this week. Given that neither side could advance to next year's final of the Intercontinental Cup regardless of the outcome ? a fact that didn't become clear until some time after the game had started due to confusion over ICC rules ? the result was of little significance.

Yet when Bermuda coach Gus Logie compiles his report card, he might be able to place as many ticks in the plus column as the minus.

Had the wet weather not persisted over the final two days, Kenya clearly would have been strong favourites to emerge as outright winners.

But there was enough grit and grind in Bermuda's effort on the second day when they restricted Kenya's bats to a modest 205, having started the day staring at a potentially huge first innings deficit, to suggest this match could still have swung either way.

Saleem Mukuddem has to be given much of the credit for the kind of fightback that was required after a capitulation which saw the Island's batsmen surrender for a paltry 133 in 58 overs ? just eight more than they would be expected to bat out in a one-day game.

At that point, on a pitch holding few demons, there was only one winner.

Mukuddem seemingly had other ideas. His tidy line and length and ability to extract what little assistance the strip was offering reaped three quick wickets at the end of the first day and another three, including that of master blaster Steve Tikolo, at the beginning of the second.

Six for 50 off 14 overs represented the South African-born medium pacer's best haul in international cricket, and more importantly it served to lift the standards of those around him.

Ryan Steede had failed to trouble the batsmen in his opening spell, but having watched his team-mate repeatedly ruffle Kenyan feathers, he returned to grab three wickets of his own. It was a much-needed effort as, even at this stage, the game could easily have slipped beyond Bermuda's grasp.

While the second-day bowling was terrific, with neither Dwayne Leverock nor David Hemp perhaps getting the reward their persistence deserved, the performance in the field was also encouraging.

The ever-reliable Dean Minors gloved three catches behind the stumps, Mukuddem cupped two off his own bowling and Hemp, on his Bermuda debut, showed a pair of safe hands with two dismissals in the covers.

Generally the Kenyans were made to work hard for their runs, a result of discipline and agility in the field which hasn't always been a Bermuda trademark.

Of course, the big worry for Logie remains the side's troublesome habit of repeatedly digging a hole for themselves early in the game ? whether it be a one-day or four-day contest ? and then being forced to fight from the rear.

Because this match was inexplicably scheduled bang in the middle of Kenya's short rainy season, we'll never know how well they would have responded in the second innings.

However, both openers Kwame Tucker and Stephen Outerbridge showed far more resolve against the pace attack during the first 15 overs before, in fading light, Outerbridge fell to a gem of a ball from spinner Hiren Viraiya.

The first innings is best forgotten. In four-day cricket, it's imperative that at least a couple of players make half-centuries. The closest Bermuda got was through Clay Smith (23), Minors (29) and Hasan Durham (20).

What lessons have been learned in Bermuda's first competitive match in more than two months might need to be heeded quickly, the first game of the one-day series against Kenya scheduled in Mombasa tomorrow ? should the rain ever stop.

But all-in-all, a draw against a side which reached the semi-finals of the World Cup just three years ago and a confidence-building performance in the field should provide a platform on which Bermuda can build.

- ADRIAN ROBSON