Cleveland will get another chance to avoid automatic relegation from the One Premier Division, with the Bermuda Cricket Board confirming yesterday that last weekend’s rained out matches will be rescheduled for this Sunday.

While the First Division matches had late starts because of morning rain, the three Premier Division matches were postponed because of the weather. The title race has already been decided, with St David’s retaining the crown, but bottom team Cleveland still have a slim chance of avoiding the drop in their final match against Western Stars.

Cleveland trail second-from-bottom Somerset by 13 points and need to win and pick up bonus points while hoping that Somerset lose to Southampton Rangers. Cleveland have looked a sure bet for relegation all season, but wins in their past two matches have given them hope of getting into the play-off spot.

Somerset’s rescheduled home match with Rangers is doubtful for Sunday, as Willow Cuts are already scheduled to play at Somerset Cricket Club. That match could be rescheduled for September 10.

Cleveland avoided relegation last season when they beat St George’s by 71 runs in the play-off match at Somerset after they called on coach Clay Smith to make up the numbers. Smith led their batting with 68 in his first innings of the season after sharing in a century partnership with captain Dennis Musson.

Cleveland had three late signings when they picked up Stars trio Treadwell Gibbons, Temiko Wilson and Makai Young, but the team struggled.

“When we lost to Somerset in the first half, we had them 140 for eight with two youngsters batting and one to come and with 12 overs left, but we didn’t bowl them out,” president Carlton Smith recalled. “They ended up getting 200 for nine.

“Then when we played Rangers: we had three overs left and two wickets in hand and told the youngsters to bat out the overs for a point and they didn’t do it. A point lost here and there could cost us to go down.

“Sometimes it is not a bad thing: you go down and regroup with some promising youngsters coming through. If we go down, we won’t be down for long. There were some games that we should have won that we ended up losing, so we have to look at ourselves.”

Clay Smith stood down as Cleveland coach to concentrate on his role as Bermuda coach and the Cleveland president admits the absence of a coach this season has hurt the team. “If we had a coach the guys would have been more serious this season,” Smith said. “I was resigned at the start of the season that we would be battling with Somerset to avoid relegation, looking at the teams before those three guys came to us. Once they came I thought we could finish in the top four, rather than fight to avoid relegation.”

Smith noted that the team got stronger just after Cup Match and in the build-up to the Eastern Counties.

“Before that guys had injuries and work commitments, but all of a sudden, after Cup Match, nobody had injuries or work commitments,” he said. “We put some good teams out there in the league and beat Rangers and Somerset and if we have a full complement of players at the beginning of the season we might not even be in a relegation battle. We played a lot of youngsters early and they got the experience.”

Cleveland gave an Eastern Counties debut to young wicketkeeper Najiyah Raynor, while another 15-year-old, Jabari Darrell, is another talented teenager coming through. Both were members of the Bermuda Under-19 team who toured Canada recently.

• St George’s and Willow Cuts will play their rescheduled First Division match on September 9, the rain date for the First Division. The match could have a bearing on the promotion race with St George’s leading the standings.