Cuts win tour opener

Willow Cuts 134-7; Malton CC 89

Willow Cuts began a four-game tour of Toronto on a winning note when they beat Malton Cricket Club by 45 runs in a low-scoring affair.

The tourists batted first after winning the toss but could only muster a modest tota of 137.

Skipper Bergon Spencer led from the front, scoring a battling 35, while Dexter Basden (16) and guest player Dennis Pilgrim (23) also made useful contributions with the bat.

Cuts' shallow total left their bowlers with little to defend but proved equal to the task as Malton folded in only 27.1 overs.

All-rounder Reggie Tucker, who toured Toronto in 2004 with the senior national squad, was the pick of the Cuts bowlers, taking three for 15 with his off-spin. And he received good support from fellow all-rounder Sheroy Fubler, who seized two for 22 off 4.1 overs of seam, while Jermaine Trott and Pilgrim had one each.

"The guys were very excited after the match, they really wanted to win this match because Malton have beaten us every time we've played them in the past," said Cuts' manager Andre Scott. "The conditions were excellent for cricket and the guys were really up for the challenge."

Cuts now take on a West Indian Select at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club tomorrow at King City, the venue where Bermuda recently beat Canada in two one-dayers and in the Intercontinental Cup.

Khano nets winner

New England Revolution 1 Pachuca 0

Khano Smith scored the Revs' winner with a stoppage-time penalty against Mexico's Pachuca – despite the Bermudian not being Steve Nicol's first choice spot-kick taker.

Smith, who has just recovered from injury, started Wednesday's SuperLiga match against the tournament's defending champions and scored in the 97th minute to all but secure his team's passage through to the semi-finals.

"Stevie (Nicol) was going nuts, he didn't want me to take it," said Smith. "But I asked Shalrie (Joseph) if I could have it and he said, 'Yeah, go ahead.' If I would have missed it, I'm sure (Nicol) would have had something to say about it."

Head coach Nicol added: "It certainly wasn't planned, I can assure you of that. Shalrie Joseph is the designated penalty taker. If Steve Ralston is not on the field then Shalrie should have taken it. We've got away with it because Khano (Smith) put it away, so it is obviously a good penalty.

"But had it gone the other way then we certainly wouldn't have been quite as forgiving."

Sailors in top 10

Promising sailors Owen Siese and Kalin Hillier produced creditable performances at the 2008 International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) World Championships in Cesme, Turkey yesterday.

Competing in a large fleet of 240 sailors in shifty 12 to 18 knot breezes, the Bermudians managed top ten finishes on an otherwise disappointing day for the Island's representatives.

Siese, the youngest member of the team, recovered from poor starts in each of yesterday's opening two races to place seventh and 35th while Hillier finished tenth and 22nd.

The same, however, could not be said for colleagues Brian Bulhoes, Connor Astwood and Chris Sposato whose performances paled in comparison.

Bulhoes did manage good starts and in yesterday's opening race rounded the first weather mark in third place. But slow downwind legs and a missed shift on the second weather leg saw the Island team's most senior member at the championships fall off the pace.

Astwood and Sposato also found the going tough with the former involved in a collision with another boat. Sposato, one of three local sailors making their debuts at the championships this year, endured a nightmare start when he was disqualified in both of yesterday's races for crossing the line prematurely.