Not even this comprehensive defeat from a thoroughly professional and far more experienced Scotland outfit could wipe away the Bermuda smiles.

Underdogs going into this ICC Trophy semi-final at The Hills in Milverton just north of Dublin, Bermuda?s weary players, many of them carrying nagging injuries, never looked like shedding that tag.

All that mattered was that they had already qualified for the 2007 World Cup, courtesy of a second place finish in the group standings, and as such Saturday?s clash had very much an anti-climactic feel to it.

Relieved of the pressure which accompanied must-win matches against the UAE, Denmark and USA last week, the players, perhaps still feeling the effects of celebrations over the previous two days, made it clear from the outset they were going to enjoy the occasion.

And that they did, although on a day when the Scots appeared hungrier and far more intense, there were lessons to be learned from a team who have made enormous strides forward on the international stage in recent years and came to Ireland with only one goal in mind ? to win the tournament outright.

They now get that chance against the hosts on Wednesday while Bermuda will today do battle in their final match against the other beaten semi-finalists, Canada, to decide third and fourth place.

While Bermuda again relied on a sting in the tail for posting their respectable total, after at one point looking in danger of being dismissed for less than 100, this was a match in which the Scots were nearly always in control.

Yet Dean Minors with a superb unbeaten knock of 53 and Lionel Cann with a typically belligerent 45 in an eighth wicket stand of 81, and Minors and Dennis Archer (10) in a ninth wicket partnership of 43, meant the Scots had to work an awful lot harder than they thought.

Indeed, at one point in the afternoon when rain halted play for almost half an hour, there was danger of a real upset as three early wickets snapped up by Archer had Scotland wobbling at 78 for three and a quick glance at the Duckworth-Lewis chart revealed that if no further play was possible Bermuda would be declared winners.

Fortunately for the men in navy blue the skies quickly cleared and Durham county player Gavin Hamilton (59) and South Africa-born Cedric English (75) proceeded to tear the Bermuda attack apart in a 145-run stand that in effect wrapped up the victory.

There were no complaints, however, from Island coach Gus Logie who confessed his team were beaten by the better side.

?I don?t think we could really expect to come out here and beat a team as experienced and professional as Scotland. In all departments I think they are a lot stronger than us,? conceded Logie.

?But I think we competed very well. I think at the end of the day we were not disgraced.

?It augurs well for the future. There?s a lot of work to be done, we know that in terms of professionalism we are not at the same level as these teams.

?To be here in this position knowing that the worst we can finish is fourth out of 12 . . . I think if the players had left home knowing that?s where they were going to finish, everybody would have grabbed it.

?My congratulaions go out to all the players today for playing as they did. We have a few little injuries but we are going to soldier on for the next game.?

Having won the toss, Bermuda employed the same tactic that they had used in previous games, electing to bat and inviting their opponents to do the chasing.

But at 88 for seven after 31 overs, it appeared Scotland would have very little to chase.

Against a four-pronged pace attack in which John Blain (two for 26 off 10) and Paul Hoffmann (three for 28 off nine) were particularly effective, Bermuda wickets fell regularly as the batsmen also struggled to keep the run rate at more than three an over.

Openers OJ Pitcher (6) and Delyone Borden (8) began steadily enough, putting on 24, almost half of which were extras, before Pitcher became Hoffman?s first victim, trapped lbw.

Only one run was added before Borden then offered a simple catch to skipper Craig Wright at mid-on off Hoffmann and then just one more before the normally reliable Irving Romaine, still troubled by a finger injury sustained against Denmark, got a thick edge and was snapped up in the slips by Ryan Watson off Dougie Brown for one.

With the total on 26 for three after ten overs, Bermuda were reeling and while Albert Steede and Saleem Mukuddem tried to steady the ship, neither looked entirely comfortable as Scotland continued their pace bombardment from both ends.

Mukuddem went for eight, clean bowled by Greg Williamson with the total on 67 and skipper Clay Smith, coming back into the side for the first time since pulling a hamstring in the opening game against Ireland, looked distinctly out of touch as he faced just 13 balls before edging a delivery from Blain through to wicketkeeper Doug Lockhart, having added just three.

From 75 for five, it rapidly got worse. Steede, who was forced to use Pitcher as a runner after suffering a muscle pull, was trapped lbw by Blain for 31 and Janeiro Tucker, whose century paved the way for victory against USA last Thursday, faced only 23 balls before he was bowled by Hoffmann for four.

At 88 for seven the situation looked grim with Scotland sensing an early finish. Having dismissed the early bats with relative ease, what they clearly didn?t expect was the fierce resistance from Minors and Cann who, as they have done so often on this tour, gave the bowlers a taste of their own medicine.

Minors smashed three sixes and Cann two and both blasted five fours as the scoreboard suddenly took on a much different, and from Bermuda?s point of view, a much more attractive look.

Even when Cann went for one slog too many, stumped by Lockhart off spinner Watson for 45 with the total now on 169, Minors and Archer continued the late assault, Archer bringing up the 200 with a sizzling six over square leg.

Archer was caught in the gully by Hoffmann off Gregor Maiden in the final over and Dwayne Leverock (one not out) survived the last few balls to preserve Bermuda?s record of so far not having been bowled out by any team in the tournament.

However, on a batting strip which according to the locals regularly produces totals of 250 or more in one-day games, Bermuda?s 219-9, while far more impressive than had seemed likely an hour earlier, was never going to seriously stretch the Scots.

Under overcast conditions, Archer, a replacement for Ryan Steede, offered a glimmer of hope as he dismissed the first three bats inside 13 overs with 52 on the board, but as English and Hamilton settled into their rhythm the game slowly but surely slipped away.

Archer had Fraser Watts caught behind by Minors for seven off the last ball of his first over, was twice belted for six in his second over by Hoffmann (27) before tempting the big hitter with another short ball which fell into the hands of Wendell White, and then in his third over dismissed Watson (7), thanks again to the reliable gloves of ?keeper Minors.

That, however, was to prove Bermuda?s last success for 30 overs as Mukuddem (0-45), Leverock (0-43), Tucker (0-40) and Borden (0-23) all took a beating from the two middle-order bats.

By the time Hamilton was sent back, caught by Smith off Pitcher in the 43rd over for 59, the result was a mere formality.

The remaining 23 runs required came quickly, Brown (17 not out) ending proceedings with a boundary off Pitcher in the 47th over.Bermuda must now regroup for today?s final match against Canada at the coastal town of Malahide some ten miles north of Dublin where perhaps even more than pride will be at stake.

With Bermuda due to play the Canadians and the USA in a three-team three-day tournament in Toronto in August, when the winners? prize will be a trip to Namibia for a new ICC event in November, today?s game takes on added significance.

Coach Logie admitted that from a psychological point of view it was important his players put up a good showing.

?Certainly pride is at stake in the Americas region,? said Logie. ?I think there?s sufficient motivation for us to go out there and put one over our neighbours. It would be a big confidence booster for things to come in the future.?