Bermuda did much to enhance their international reputation in Namibia yesterday, avoiding defeat against the Kenyans and earning plaudits from all who watched their Intercontinental Cup semi-final.

Gus Logie?s men, who had to fight back on Monday after a tough opening day, enjoyed a strong morning session yesterday at the United Sports Ground in Windhoek but eventually went down to a losing draw against Steve Tikolo?s men, ranked the highest of the non-playing Test playing nations.

And their successful Namibian adventure ended in a disappointing anti-climax ? the teams choosing to walk off early after Kenya had strangled their way into the Intercontinental Cup final.

With the game inevitably limping to a depressing winning draw for the Africans, the skippers agreed to call it quits just 6.2 overs after tea to spare both sides meaningless time out in the heat.

On a day when taking wickets was the Island?s only hope, some acrobatic fielding earned them three wickets in the opening session, lighting up the final day and throwing the match back into the balance.

But at 148-4 Kenya ? as is their right after winning the first innings on bonus points ? chose to block their way into tomorrow?s final with Ireland, refusing to play strokes for a tedious hour after lunch.

Tony Suji and Thomas Odoyo played disciplined innings ? and failed to reach the boundary for more than 17 overs ? putting Kenya into an unassailable position with three hours of play still scheduled and nothing left for either side to play for.

Despite skipper Clay Smith?s best efforts, all enthusiasm had evaporated from Bermuda?s fielders and even the Kenyan batting lacked juice as both sides simply went through the motions as spectators grumbled ? or slept ? through the remainder of the second session.

At tea, captains Smith and Steve Tikolo ? whose first innings heroics provided the backbone of his side?s total ? conferred with the umpires and decided to call the game off once Tony Suji, on 93 at the time, had reached his ton.

With Bermuda having lost any chance of victory by failing to take wickets, the early finish suited both sides with Kenya taking on an Ireland side who had crushed the UAE in the other semi-final and Smith?s men having one eye on the two one-day games against Namibia on Friday and Saturday.

Proceedings came to a close off two balls of Janeiro Tucker?s over. Suji stroked a four through the covers when on 99 to put an end to the, by then, somewhat farcical proceedings.

In retrospect, the game was effectively over just after tea on Monday when Bermuda reached only 346-9 in response to Kenya?s first innings 403-6, scores which left the underdogs with three fewer bonus points and the possibility of a final day bore draw always there for the Kenyans.

Despite incredible stamina from Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock, who bowled 51 overs, the Bermuda bowlers just couldn?t get anything out of a near-perfect wicket for batsmen and bowling out the Kenyans quickly or cheaply ? Bermuda?s only hope of victory ? was never quite within their grasp.

But the Bermudians walked off the pitch with their heads held high after performing well enough for three days to earn considerable praise from both the opposition and watching ICC officials.

It had been a slightly depressing start to the day for the Bermudians, with the heat that seems to follow them and only them onto the field, returning to sear the players as they went out to bowl against a Kenyan side resuming from 84-1 overnight.

The morning proceeded as expected, the Kenyans prodding away and building on their total knowing they had their first innings bonus points in hand and the benign wicket on their side.

Although Leverock and both Ryan Steede and Saleem Mukuddem were putting the pressure on, a few maidens weren?t ever going to be enough if the wickets didn?t fall.

After 26 overs, the Kenyans had two men with half-centuries at the crease and had just created a 200-lead when Steede changed everything.

The lanky bowler forced the defensive Kenyan opener to actually play a shot as Kenneth Obuya drove high to Curtis Jackson at midwicket.

Then it was the turn of captain Steve Tikolo, the man whose 220 had provided the backbone of Kenya?s first innings. An attacking field was set as Bermuda prepared to face their nemesis.

Steede bent his back and hurled down another dangerous delivery, Tikolo took the bait and lifted it to mid-on where Smith hurled himself full length to claim his opposite number?s prized wicket.

The Bermuda tails were up and five overs later Leverock finally got his reward for tight bowling, with Hitesh Modi ? the scorer of an unbeaten 98 on Sunday ? snared by another piece of acrobatic brilliance.

Kwame Tucker launched himself from mid-off to take a low diving catch and ? after consultation between the two umpires ? Modi was given the finger.

Lunch for the Bermudians was a raucous affair, their morning?s work had reduced Kenya to 154-4, and their spirits over lasagne reflected that.

From there, the day descended into sensible, but thoroughly dull, three-day cricket.

The Kenyans decided that it was too risky to go for runs, instead showing enough respect for Bermuda?s batting that their only course of action was just to bat through the day ? a relatively straightforward prospect on such a kind and generous wicket.

The second session saw Leverock and Hasan Durham give their all on a pitch that offered nothing and Suji and Odoyo just get their bats in the way.

They simmered along at just two an over and, a half-chance for Smith in the slips off an agonisingly looping top edge from Odoyo apart, there seemed no prospect of a wicket falling.

As the defensive and precise batting from the Kenyans continued, Bermuda?s chances of getting any kind of result diminished with calculators busily working out near-impossible run chase options from Bermuda who were already too far behind on the bonus point count.

Well before tea the match was all but over and during that break Smith suggested to the umpires and Tikolo that the game should be called to a halt ? but only after Suji was allowed to get the seven runs required for his ton.

Those runs duly got, the handshakes were exchanged and the teams came out of the sun for mutual backslapping and the man-of-the-match ceremony which was won by Tikolo for his first innings, match-winning 220.