THE writing might have been on the wall after our cricketers slumped to a six-wicket defeat against Namibia – a side they hadn't beaten once on the numerous occasions they've met in the last four or five years – in their final cricket World Cup Qualifying tournament warm-up game last Saturday.

And if it wasn't, it was there in bold print as Gus Logie's men got off to the worst possible start when the tournament began on Wednesday, losing by four wickets to UAE – the same UAE side that were crushed by Kenya by nine wickets yesterday, having managed to muster just 79 runs.

That essentially meant the boys in blue, red and white would have to dispatch Afghanistan, on paper the group's weakest team, in their second match yesterday.

It wasn't to be.

Mathematically, Bermuda are still in the tournament, needing to beat Kenya, Netherlands and Denmark and rely on other results. Pyschologically they're as good as out.

Morale in the Bermuda camp can't be too high, confidence has slowly eroded, and while outwardly the players will be putting on a brave face, inside their stomachs will be churning.

Despite inspiring innings from Janeiro Tucker (66 against UAE), Stephen Outerbridge (62) and Glenn Blakeney (68) against the Afghans, the all-round team performance this week fell short.

Runs didn't come quick enough, the bowling wasn't sufficiently penetrating despite the efforts of the ever-reliable Sluggo, and that hackneyed 'dropped catches, lose matches' catchphrase might have been a line commentators would have been tempted to use.

Miracle, at this stage, might be too strong a word to describe what is now needed to take the Island team to the next stage of the tournament, the 'Super Eight'.

But it will take something extraordinary to ensure their survival.

The bottom line, as it stands now, is that the buckets of taxpayers' money poured into Bermuda's cricket programme, the overseas tours, and the academies that have hosted our top players haven't been sufficient to build on the history-making appearance in the World Cup in Trinidad two years ago.

Bermuda Cricket Board, even the International Cricket Council (ICC), will claim that cricket overall in Bermuda has shown significant improvement. The various programmes put in place have been recognised by the ICC as much better than those implemented in other countries and at international youth level, the country has enjoyed some success.

But whether the BCB or the ICC like it or not, the cold facts remain that the public often judge a sport by the success or failure of their senior national team.

And a comprehensive defeat by the likes of war-ravaged Afghanistan, where the vast majority of the population have shown little or no interest in the sport, will have disheartened so many here who follow the sport with enormous passion.

To be fair, as of yesterday, Afghanistan topped the group, and have been hugely underestimated. After all, they border cricket-mad Pakistan.

But we can hardly wait for the next missive from our own cricket-mad Recman!

The repercussions of this week's events could be enormous.

Barring a dramatic reversal of form, Bermuda are not only not going to the next World Cup, they are about to lose International One-Day status and might lose the right to compete in the Intercontinental Cup – not to mention a huge amount of ICC funding.

Quite literally, it could be back to square one.

While the recent tour of the Caribbean heightened expectations, it would seem not only the players but the public were lured into a false sense of security.

No doubt Gus Logie might already be reconsidering his future, and deciding whether he wants to remain with a squad which have provided so much enjoyment but have also inflicted so much pain, frustration and disappointment.

He may have no choice. The BCB could determine his fate.

Whatever the case, somehow the BCB will have to regroup and put their faith in the youngsters who hopefully will have learned from the mistakes by those who only two years' ago they worshipped.

Perhaps the results in South Africa this week will ultimately prove a blessing in disguise.

– ADRIAN ROBSON