Coach Manders rues erratic bowling after Kenya defeat

Bermuda’s World Twenty20 qualification hopes hang by a thread after a seven-wicket defeat to Kenya in Dubai today.

Following wins in their opening two Group B games, Bermuda have now lost three on the bounce and suffered another comprehensive defeat this morning.

By the 13^th over, coach Arnold Manders’ side had slumped to 77 for six, with only David Hemp (30 not out) and Allan Douglas (22) offering any real hope. A late rally from Malachi Jones (11) and Kamau Leverock (12no) pushed the final total up to 124 in a match reduced to 18 overs because of some rare Dubai rain.

In Kenya’s reply, Jones claimed Alex Obanda for a duck early on but any momentum quickly evaporated as 42-year-old  Steve Tikolo (54 no), Nehemiah Odhiambo (28) and Collins Obuya (31) took the game away from Bermuda, wrapping up the win with more than six overs remaining.

Bermuda now sit in seventh place in the table knowing they must win their final two games against Nepal on Saturday and Papua New Guinea on Sunday to stand a chance of reaching the top five and qualifying for the playoff stages.

Manders was left to lament the lack of control from his front line bowlers, with Jones going for 15 off his two overs, Leverock going for 16 off just one and skipper Janeiro Tucker 33 off 2.2 overs.

Manders told the Bermuda Sun: “We are still are not applying ourselves. Out medium pacers our struggling to contain them and then our spinners have to come in early.

“We need to bowl a good line and length. Our bowlers have been better than I expected and our spinners have done extremely well.

“But the medium pacers need to stop leaking runs early. When they are chasing a total of 124 and they score 60 off the first five or six overs it’s all over.”