January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
'We're down but not out'
Americas Championship hopes rest on Bermuda beating Canada
'We're down but not out'
By Colin Thompson
Down but not out.
That’s the way Bermuda skipper David Hemp summed up his team’s outside chance of winning the Americas Championship on home soil.
The hosts bid for Americas’ supremacy took a beating at the National Sports Centre yesterday where they lost to defending champions U.S. by six wickets.
Still, with one match remaining against group leaders Canada, Hemp refuses to throw in the proverbial towel.
He said: “We are not out of it as we still have one game to go. We obviously have to beat Canada and if we beat them then we could end up winning the competition.
“It’s up to us and so we have to try and put things right for the last game.”
Chasing a modest 189 for victory, the Americans replied with 194 for four to achieve victory with 20 balls to spare.
Leading by example was skipper Steve Messiah who stroked 67 runs and claimed two wickets at the same venue were he hit a century during the 2004 Intercontinental Shield campaign.
Also coming up trumps for U.S. was Guyana born all rounder Lennox Cush who claimed four wickets for 30 runs and hit an unbeaten 22 to see the defending champions safely home.
Undermining Bermuda’s hopes yesterday was a top order collapse that saw the hosts slip from 76 for one to 113 for five in the space of 37 runs.
“You lose wickets in clusters and you have to start again and obviously it takes momentum out of our partnership and throws it back to them,” Hemp lamented. But that’s the game and we have to learn to adapt to that and not to give away our wickets. We really have to cherish our wickets and make the opposition fight hard for them.”
Hemp said defending a shallow total on the wider NSC pitch was always going to be a daunting task.
“I think if we had another 25, 30 runs it would have been quite interesting towards the end. The pleasing thing for me is that we kept going to the end and made them fight for every run,” Hemp added.
Vice -captain Stephen Outerbridge topped the Bermuda batting with 48 while left- arm seamer Jordan DeSilva led the local bowling attack with two for 29. n
Outerbridge shared in a 76 run second wicket stand with wicketkeeper Jekon Edness (26) before Cush and Messiah ripped the heart out of the island’s top order.
Former skipper Irving Romaine (34) also made a useful contribution in the middle order during a 48 run sixth-wicket stand with Trott (15).
Today is rest day.
Down but not out.
That’s the way Bermuda skipper David Hemp summed up his team’s outside chance of winning the Americas Championship on home soil.
The hosts bid for Americas’ supremacy took a beating at the National Sports Centre yesterday where they lost to defending champions U.S. by six wickets.
Still, with one match remaining against group leaders Canada, Hemp refuses to throw in the proverbial towel.
He said: “We are not out of it as we still have one game to go. We obviously have to beat Canada and if we beat them then we could end up winning the competition.
“It’s up to us and so we have to try and put things right for the last game.”
Chasing a modest 189 for victory, the Americans replied with 194 for four to achieve victory with 20 balls to spare.
Leading by example was skipper Steve Messiah who stroked 67 runs and claimed two wickets at the same venue were he hit a century during the 2004 Intercontinental Shield campaign.
Also coming up trumps for U.S. was Guyana born all rounder Lennox Cush who claimed four wickets for 30 runs and hit an unbeaten 22 to see the defending champions safely home.
Undermining Bermuda’s hopes yesterday was a top order collapse that saw the hosts slip from 76 for one to 113 for five in the space of 37 runs.
“You lose wickets in clusters and you have to start again and obviously it takes momentum out of our partnership and throws it back to them,” Hemp lamented. But that’s the game and we have to learn to adapt to that and not to give away our wickets. We really have to cherish our wickets and make the opposition fight hard for them.”
Hemp said defending a shallow total on the wider NSC pitch was always going to be a daunting task.
“I think if we had another 25, 30 runs it would have been quite interesting towards the end. The pleasing thing for me is that we kept going to the end and made them fight for every run,” Hemp added.
Vice -captain Stephen Outerbridge topped the Bermuda batting with 48 while left- arm seamer Jordan DeSilva led the local bowling attack with two for 29. n
Outerbridge shared in a 76 run second wicket stand with wicketkeeper Jekon Edness (26) before Cush and
Messiah ripped the heart out of the island’s top order.
Messiah ripped the heart out of the island’s top order.
Former skipper Irving Romaine (34) also made a useful contribution in the middle order during a 48 run sixth-wicket stand with Trott (15).
Today is rest day.
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