They may have had one eye on tomorrow?s homeward-bound British Airways flight, but Bermuda were still good enough to hand out a thrashing to a decidedly weak Guernsey Cricket Association President?s XI by 97 runs yesterday.

Quite what benefit the national side derived from taking on opponents of such low quality only nine months before their date with destiny in the Caribbean is far from clear, but it was important for morale to end their three-match tour of Guernsey unbeaten ? a feat they achieved thanks largely to an entertaining 93 from skipper Janeiro Tucker and skilled performances from the spin trio of Dwayne Leverock, Delyone Borden and Hasan Durham.

Batting first on yet another flat, easy-paced track at the King George V ground, Bermuda again looked set to post something well in excess of 250 before losing a cluster of middle order wickets and having to settle for a total which might have been chased down by more able opposition.

But having had a mediocre tour with the bat by his own high standards, Tucker?s powerful innings represented a welcome return to form ? even if the President?s XI?s collection of medium pacers and spinners would not have been out of place in a First Division side back at home.

To their credit the hosts? reply began well, as they reached 65 for one off the first 15 overs.

The introduction of spin from both ends proved their undoing, however, as Leverock (two for 20), Borden (one for 30), Durham (three for seven) and even Irving Romaine (two for three) all pounced on the opportunity to make average batsmen look even worse.

Poker players often say that it is not the hands they lose that worry them; it is the winning hands they waste ? and Tucker aside, this was certainly the case yesterday with Bermuda?s batsmen, most of whom failed to capitalise despite holding all the aces.

Of the top order, OJ Pitcher (11), Treadwell Gibbons (5) and Daniel Morgan (0) all perished cheaply ? with the latter in particular in the middle of a disastrous run of form which has seen him fail to reach double figures for the second tour in succession.

But as he had done the day before against the full Guernsey national side, the left-handed Borden was in excellent touch, putting on 114 with Tucker for the fourth wicket before being eventually being stumped for an excellent 42.

And with a jaded Dean Minors (3) registering a rare failure soon after, it was left first to stand-in skipper Romaine (19) and then Durham (16) to push Bermuda?s score up above the 200 mark.

Meanwhile, Ryan Steede got Bermuda?s defence of their total off to a flying start when he bowled left-handed opener Matt Oliver with a nip-backer to leave the President?s XI on three for one in the second over.

And while Matthew Jeffers (27) and Jeremy Meades (36) looked to be making a game of it with a brisk 71-run partnership for the second wicket, once they were out Guernsey?s remaining batsmen had no answers to Bermuda?s all-out spin attack, ultimately losing their last six wickets for the addition of only seven runs.

?It was nice to finish off the series 3-0, but at the end of the day we should have scored at least 250,? said Romaine afterwards while watching his team-mates enjoy a few well-earned beers in the pavilion bar afterwards.

?Luckily for us Janeiro had a good day and took advantage of the good pitch and their bowling attack, and Delyone helped out along the way as well. But a few more of us batsmen should have chipped in as well.?

On a type of wicket which meant that the slower the ball came on, the more difficult it was to get it away, the spin bowlers were always going to hold the key in the field and Romaine was delighted with how they exploited the conditions.

?The wickets here were a lot slower than we initially expected and also quite dry, so the conditions were ideally suited to the spin bowlers,? he said.

?They?ll have to bowl against better batsmen over the course of the next few months, but they all still bowled well and having three spinners in the side is something we might have to consider in the future. It obviously depends to a certain extent on the conditions, but as long as we can find some seamers to keep things tidy in the first 15 overs, our spinners really are a big weapon for us.?

After a relentless schedule of cricket over the past month, which saw them in action in both Trinidad and in the UK, Romaine said that those involved in both trips were looking forward to a few weeks off to rest some aching limbs and spend more time with their much-missed families.

?We always knew this year was going to be hard,? he said.

?We?re all looking forward to getting back and putting our feet up for a couple of weeks. There are a few little injuries around at the moment and they need time and some attention to heal.?