January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Hemp guides Bermuda to victory
The tournament may have begun ten days ago with much loftier ambitions.
But after a dismal run of four defeats in five group games, today's performance was welcome relief.
The win means Bermuda will at least finish in the top ten. Though they lose ODI status they will remain in the ICC's High Performance Programme, guaranteeing at least $350,000 in funding from the sport's governing body.
Hemp, who stroked 124 from 125 deliveries, and Stephen Outerbridge, who batted beautifully for 91, eased Bermuda to victory with two overs remaining.
After a series of performances which coach Gus Logie charactarised as lacking in hunger and desire in a hard-hitting interview with CricInfo this morning, Hemp and Outerbridge showed how it could be done.
In fairness the two left handers - Bermuda's best performers with the bat on this tour - were not the intended target of Logie's remarks.
Hemp, in particular, has played with supreme focus and desire. Since switching to opener he has been dismissed only once (in the 43rd over against Holland), carrying his bat three times to score a total of 382 runs in four innings.
Facing a potentially tricky target of 255 for victory and on the rocks at 38 for 1, Hemp and the increasingly accomplished Outerbridge steered Bermuda to the brink of victory with a chanceless third wicket stand of 180.
Only when he unselfishly attempted to pick up the run-rate in the final overs did Outerbridge look vulnerable and the Bailey's Bay batsman must wait for his first one-day hundred after being bowled on 91 going for a big shot over the top.
By that time the job was almost done and Hemp, aided by some clinical finishing from Glenn Blakeney (17*) took Bermuda over the line.
"We won - that's all that matters," insisted Outerbridge after the game.
"It's always good to score runs but I really would have liked to do it in the first round. It was important to win today and we now have to look at what we've done right here and see if we can repeat it as we rebuild over the next four years."
Earlier Oman had come roaring out of the blocks as if this were a 20-20 game. Stefan Kelly, his confidence shot after a series of below par performances, was pasted around the ground as the top order blitzed to a hundred inside 11 overs.
Opener Maqsood Hussein blasted five consecutive fours from the first five deliveries from Kelly before being caught by Stephen Outerbridge in the deep going for number six.
That first over was typical of Oman's risk-filled strategy and they continued to play with the same reckless abandon throughout with opener Hemin Desai (58 from 51) and Zeeshan Siddique (41 from 33) taking up the mantle after Hussein's departure.
Ultimately, though, it backfired as the spinners exerted control.
Rodney Trott, another young player who has shown that despite all the gloom their may yet be a future for Bermuda cricket, was the pick of the bowlers with four for 43.
Bermuda were aided too by some sharp fielding including a stupendous one handed leaping catch from Romaine to dismiss Adnan Ilyas for a duck.
It was matched later on by Hemp who dove horizontally to pluck another rocket of a shot out of the sky at mid-on and get rid of the dangerous looking Sultan Ahmed.
It was a much better fielding performance from Bermuda all round today. They picked up wickets at regular intervals and hen they got on top of the Omani batsmen they capitalized, finishing them off for 254.
Then Hemp and Outerbridge compiled that fluent partnership to bring up the win.
Bermuda now faces Uganda in the 9th place play-off on Monday.
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