A Test-player rich Jamaican side handed Bermuda a brutal beating they will not forget for a very long time on a truly humbling night for the Island?s cricket programme at the 20-20 Stanford Tournament last night.

Gus Logie?s side were beaten by nine wickets after posting a tournament low and hopelessly inadequate 74 in a hapless display of batting that has to be eradicated before the team return to this part of the world for next year?s World Cup.

In reply the Jamaicans, led by a rampant Chris Gayle ? accompanied by Marlon Samuels who was painfully dropped on nought ? handed out a batting lesson that gave Bermuda?s bowlers an equal amount to think about by rushing to the total at an insanely fast rate of more than ten an over.

In a classic men against boys encounter, Bermuda were outclassed in every department by the comfortable tournament favourites in a match that lasted less than a tenth of the time it takes to travel to and from Antigua.

The root of the abysmally miniscule target was the failure of the showcase players, with Lionel Cann (0), Dean Minors (5), Irving Romaine (1) and Janeiro Tucker (0) contributing a paltry six runs between them.

For a team who are bound for the World Cup so soon to be receiving charitable applause from a seemingly embarrassed crowd ? and the post-match announcer to effectively make gags at the expense of a ?heavy? team ? speaks volumes for how Bermuda are now viewed in this part of the world.

At 7 p.m. local time Kwame Tucker and veteran Dean Minors strode out in front of the best part of 6,000 noisy, flag-waving fans to take the first step in the quest for $1 million.

With skipper Romaine winning the toss and choosing to bat, his opening pair were thrown to the Test-playing lions of Jermaine Lawson and Jerome Taylor.

But Tucker was to leave the arena in bizarre circumstances just ten balls into the match. The opener was forced to retire hurt after miraculously escaping a run out attempting a quick single, making it home safe only courtesy of some Mickey Mouse fielding before colliding with the bowler and limping off to be replaced by Saleem Mukuddem.

This upset the balance of the team despite a promising start ? with a boundary an over and 18 runs on the board ? as a still-cautious Bermuda lost their first player for real soon after, Minors caught prodding outside his off stump by a diving Lorenzo Ingram off Taylor.

With effectively two men gone, the patient Mukuddem in with skipper Romaine and the crowd not appreciating Bermuda?s patient approach, the atmosphere was very flat as Gus Logie?s men reached 25 for one after the five-over mark.

Taylor?s next over, however, was an unmitigated, game-changing disaster for Bermuda, with one run and three wickets sending the partisan crowd into raptures.

The crowd perked up when Romaine was yorked by Taylor and all of a sudden Bermuda found themselves with their fifth batsman walking out and extras their top scorer.

And when Mukuddem wandered down the pitch chasing a slower ball only to get his stumps splayed and Janeiro Tucker was trapped lbw first ball, it was 26 for four and trouble was genuinely afoot after just six worrisome, nervous overs in which all the ?usual suspects? had failed to save the day.

What was required was a steadying force, and it was supplied by joined-at-the-hip ICC Trophy openers Delyone Borden and OJ Pitcher.

They played how the coach had taught them, pushing the singles and hitting only the bad balls. Playing a middle-of-the-innings partnership more suited to longer forms of the game, the two put on a respectable 31 but the tournament-low score of 83 still seemed a threat.

A push was required and an attempt at it came in the 14th over ? instead of a faster run-rate, however, the result was two more quick wickets lost.

Borden was deceived by Brown going for the big hit and Lionel Cann ? the potential saviour in these sort of dire situations Bermuda have been known to find themselves in ? followed in similar fashion facing his first delivery, attempting impetuously to play across the line when that was the last shot need at that time.

At 57 for six, the situation appeared unable to get any gloomier but it became so after Kwame Tucker (12) bravely returned, walloped a six and then was stumped by a piece of brilliance from Carlton Waugh ? that earned him $10,000 for play of the match ? on a decision made by the third umpire that the player didn?t even bother waiting for before making his walk of shame.

The tales of woe continued from 70 for seven with Hasan Durham (1) caught on the boundary by Taylor off Ingram, Pitcher (19) losing his off-stump to Gayle and Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock trapped lbw in the final over to hand Taylor the tournament?s best bowling figures of five for 10 ? which would earn him $25,000 for man of the match ? and condemn Bermuda to comfortably the worst batting display the $28 million tournament has yet seen, all out for a paltry 72 with two balls left.

Scores have been low in this tournament so far because players haven?t grasped the concept that you don?t need to slog everything to set a good target, and no one is more guilty of that than this Bermuda side ? even if the attack is probably the strongest in the Caribbean.

With nothing to lose and the crowd willing on Bermuda, something magical was required and firebrand quick George O?Brien nearly provided it ? only to be let down badly his team-mate.

The most dangerous bowler claimed Xavier Marshall for a duck but once Pitcher inexcusably dropped possibly the easiest catch of his life off a mis-timed drive by Marlon Samuels ? who went on to make an unbeaten 25 in 12 balls - the very next delivery, the procession began.

If ever an opportunity was punished, this was it, as Test team-mates Gayle and Samuels turned the screw and raced to half the required total by the 20th ball.

The embarrassment factor became excruciating as 50 was reached in 30 balls and the final 25 runs from Gayle (40 not out from 22) in five balls including three consecutive giant sixes to wide midwicket.

Anti-climatically the final run was a leg bye and the humiliation was complete in less than 25 minutes and before the sixth over was bowled.

Bermuda let themselves down in all three departments and the television was there to prove it ? Logie is likely to make them study it hard.