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BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Romaine proud to lead team to win

2007 World Cup veteran Irving Romaine seen here playing for Bermuda in the Intercontinental Cup.

Leading Bermuda’s 2007 World Cup team to a famous victory against the MCC was one of the proudest moments of Irving Romaine’s career.Bermuda’s World Cup veterans handed the tourists a crushing 104-run loss at Somerset Cricket Club earlier this week.And it was perhaps fitting for Romaine to claim the last wicket to tumble with his occasional off-break spin to seal the historic win that went some way towards lifting the dark cloud that has settled over the domestic game in recent years.“It was nice for us to win and nice to be out there when all eleven of us wanted to win,” he said. “Everybody enjoyed that moment in time.“We met before the match and it was like old times having fun in the changing room. But when game time arrived game faces went on and it just happened a good time turned into good cricket.“We were on top of our game and it was basic cricket and something that comes when you are enjoying your game. Everybody wanted to bowl and bat; everybody wanted to play their game and that’s why they showed up.“The margin of victory was definitely a bonus, but we definitely left the changing room planning on winning the game.”Romaine said it “felt good” to finally get the chance to play on local soil with his former national team colleagues.“This was the first time ever the 2007 World Cup team had played at home and people are now saying how good we were and stuff like that,” he added. “From my standpoint all the years we took abuse for losing overseas and everybody criticising us …. a lot of people really didn’t realise the competition we were up against then, like playing the Kenyans when they were in full flight.“Even when we went World Cup we played against some good teams and if you look at our track record back then we were beating teams like Canada and Scotland. We were a good team and it just felt good being with all the boys again playing cricket.”Already calls have been made for some of the ‘old guard’ to be recalled to the national set-up to bolster the squad ahead of next March’s World Twenty20 global qualifiers in Dubai.“I definitely think that some of them can be a bonus to the squad, it’s really up to them,” Romaine said. “But I don’t know if the guys now have the time because they have other things to do in their lives.”Monday’s Twenty20 match against the touring MCC afforded Romaine the opportunity to renew rivalries with fellow 2007 World Cup veteran Craig Wright, who has been appointed as captain of the touring side.“Craig is a good competitor, cricketer and a fine ambassador for the MCC,” he said. “He came to me before the game and we talked. Just playing against him brought back memories of playing against Scotland.”Wright said: “It was good to see a lot of the guys I played against like Irving, Dean Minors and David Hemp. It was good to get back on the field playing against them again.”