January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Bermuda suffers massive defeat
Team saves three key players — Cann, Leverock and O’Brien — for Saturday’s final
Having summoned all their resolve and determination to defeat Canada in their opening group game on Wednesday, the islanders fell to a crushing 194-run defeat at the hands of the Africans yesterday.
The embattled Zimbabweans, who have fallen down the world cricket ladder amid political turmoil in their country, again emphasized the gulf between the established and emerging cricket nations with an imposing performance.
Having already beaten Canada by 143 runs in the tournament opener, they raced to an impressive 338 in their 50 overs.
Bermuda, a polished 62 from Irving Romaine apart, never got to grips with the run chase and fell well short of their target on 144/7.
The only consolation was that with both teams already in the final this was very much a warm-up game for Saturday.
Captain Clay Smith, standing in as manager, said Bermuda had deliberately played their cards close to their chest leaving out two key bowlers in O'Brien and Leverock and resting Lionel Cann, whose devastating potential with the bat is a potent weapon.
“We still think we can win on Saturday. Cricket is played on the day. They got the best of us today but we'll see how it goes.
“Even though they have one or two players missing they are still a very experienced, professional team.
“They are good workers of the ball and they have some very good players.”
Smith said Bermuda had gone into Thursday's match hoping to win the game, but most concerned to see Zimbabwe first hand and get some time in the middle before the final.
He said once Zimbabwe had posted in excess of 300, any realistic thoughts of winning went out the window for this match.
“Winning was not the be all and end all, it was a matter of going there and seeing what they had to put on the table.”
Romaine said he was pleased with his knock but would have preferred it to have been in a winning cause.
“I guess I'll just have to do it again on Saturday,” Romaine said.
“The coach said just go out there and get a feel for it and get used to them for Saturday. We were always going to struggle chasing 300 and some jump so we just did our thing and tried to bat out the overs with Saturday in mind.
“Hopefully, I'll be able to get a hundred in the final. It's going to be tough.
“Consistency is the key for them, right from their openers to the spinners, they don't give much away.”
Though the Zimbabweans, who lost a one-day series 5-0 to the West Indies, are far from the side they once were, they still dwarf Bermuda, who were in their second ever one-day international, in terms of experience and exposure to world class cricket.
Their 338 was built on a rapid 98 from wicket-keeper Brendan Taylor, who even at age 20, has played 40 one-day internationals and 20 Tests, while captain Terry Duffin chipped in with 60 and Vusi Sibanda hit 78 as Bermuda's bowlers took a hammering.
Kevin Hurdle with 2 for 66 and Irving Romaine with 1 for 56 were about the pick of the bowlers, but without the tidy spin of Leverock and with Hasan Durham hit out of the attack they were unable to contain their opponents.
A full report on Saturday’s final will appear on the Bermuda Sun website (www.bermudasun.bm) after the rematch with Zimbabwe is finished.[[In-content Ad]]
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