NAIROBI, KENYA -- Bermuda marched into the semifinals of the ICC Trophy tournament with another convincing performance yesterday, this time a seven-wicket win over Ireland at the compact Nairobi Gymkhana.

Clay Smith struck a splendid 89 and Charlie Marshall continued his unblemished record with 62 not out as Bermuda romped home with 25 balls to spare.

A place in the last four was not confirmed until almost an hour later when United Arab Emirates (UAE) made an incredible comeback to beat Canada by one wicket after being set a total of 278.

Bermuda and UAE are now in an unassailable position after two matches of the quarter-final round-robin series and will meet tomorrow merely to decide the winners of group F.

The same scenario unfolded in the other quarter-final group on the most captivating day of the tournament as Kenya beat Bangladesh by 12 runs after scoring 295 and Holland crushed Hong Kong by 134 runs.

"We had a good result today,'' said captain Albert Steede. "I'm quite pleased again with our all-round performance. The bowlers did quite well today giving up 202 runs, which was a fair total considering the size of the field and its quickness.

"The batsmen did extremely well. Much to the credit of Clay Smith and Charlie Marshall, they settled in quite well and took the score along. We can now relax going into Sunday's match. It doesn't matter who we play in the semifinals because we are reaching our peak.'' Smith dominated from the moment he reached the crease after top run-getter Dexter Smith was bowled for nine with the score 19.

The 23-year-old Clay hit a four from the second ball he faced and would go on to hit 10 more to go with two sixes as the Irish bowlers had no answer.

In the meantime, Steede hung along in support in a 69-run second-wicket partnership that lasted 54 minutes.

Steede's stay came to an end when he tried to work off-spinner Angus Dunlop through the onside and was bowled for 26.

Ireland gambled by loading their team with spinners, four to be exact, but Smith took an early fancy to them and the new batsman, Marshall, was no different.

The left-hander, who missed the last ICC tournament through suspension, is surely making up for lost time here after being not out for the fourth successive innings.

Marshall did, however, give his first chance of the competition before he had reached double figures but Dunlop could not hold the return catch.

After that, the pair confidently tore into the Irish bowling attack in a 49-minute stand that produced 79 runs and virtually sealed the match.

Smith batted for 104 minutes and faced 78 balls before skying out to Chris Hoey on the long-off boundary against Alan Nelson.

"When I went to the wicket I knew there was a job to be done,'' said Smith, who was named man-off-the-match. "That's my role in the team as a batsman, to go out there and make runs. So I put my head down and did my job, not only for myself, but mainly for my team and my country.'' Smith was out in the 37th over and left Marshall and Arnold Manders with 36 runs needed to secure the result.

Marshall adopted a more aggressive stance while Manders, who has not had much time at the wicket here, made a controlled 17 not out.

Marshall, who is poised to take over the tournament average lead if he is ever dismissed, finished with a six and 10 fours from 63 balls in 83 minutes.

The early stages of the match saw Bermuda tested for the first time in the field after Steede won his fourth toss in six tries.

Ireland, who came in as underdogs, were positive from the outset and succeeded in unravelling a few nerves after a quick start that brought 23 in the first five overs.

But they proved their own worst enemy by giving away three wickets to rash shots before the first water break at 17 overs.

The first over after the break saw Noel Gibbons trap Irish captain Alan Lewis lbw for four to leave the opposition at 65 for four.

The fall of the next wicket at 76 signalled a revival of the Irish innings as Charlie McCrum put on 43 with Garfield Harrison.

Left-handed Harrison was the victim of a harsh lbw decision after he had made 36 but the patient McCrum carried the load from there with a fine knock of 54 from 79 balls.

Gibbons claimed three for 33 from nine overs while Anthony Edwards, the top wicket-taker among the quarter-finalists, with 15, finished with two for 33 from 10 and a labouring Burgess with two for 60 from 9.4 overs. Clevie Wade and Bruce Perinchief bowled well in the middle with one for 25 and one for 33 respectively in their 10-over stints.

With tomorrow's match against UAE no more than glorified practice, Bermuda may take the opportunity to rest a few players while giving a run to those who have taken no part in the tournament as yet -- bowlers Kenny Phillip, Quinton Burch and Del Hollis, and batsman Allen Richardson. PHOTO KEY THREE -- Charlie Marshall (left), Clay Smith (centre) and Arnold Manders all got amongst the runs as Bermuda beat Ireland yesterday to book a semifinal spot.