HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC) – Skipper David Hemp believes Bermuda can still win the World Cricket League Americas Region Division One tournament, despite a six-wicket defeat to defending champions, the United States, but will need to beat current leaders Canada today to have any chance of lifting the title. Canada have won all four matches, including a nine-wicket thrashing of the US who, like hosts Bermuda, have won three of theirs. The US take on Cayman Islands in their final game today.
“If we beat Canada we have a chance of winning the competition so we’re not out of it,” Hemp contended.
“There is still everything to play for, it’s important people get their rest, we’ve had two quite rough days but we have a rest day to think about where we are.
“But we can take some positives (from the tournament) and take that into the Canada game.”
Hemp said after Tuesday’s defeat at the National Sports Centre that there were plenty of positives to take from their defeat.
A former English county player who turns 40 in November, Hemp, said his team had responded well in the field when the game was slipping away from them and two late wickets had given the US a fright.
“To take the game as far down as we did, and to really squeeze them towards the end, especially after the big partnership they had, was a massive plus for us,” he said.
“If you look at the whole game, we were 25-30 runs short with the bat, which is disappointing, but we posted a score we felt we could defend.
“And if we had got another couple (wickets) with the new ball, that was the key, and the fact that we didn’t make it difficult, because they then had a major partnership. But then when we broke that, we did really well.”
Guyanese off-break bowlers Lennox Cush and Steve Massiah snapped up six wickets between them to shackle the middle order, restricting the hosts to a modest 188 for nine.
Number three Massiah then displayed his batting talents by making 67 as he and Sushil Nadkarni (57) added 113 in a match-winning stand for the second wicket.
Hemp admitted his side’s batting had been a disappointment but said the fact that Bermuda could still win the title could not be ignored.
“Without question there is hope for the future. Certainly there is a lot more fight, and we’re not throwing the towel in too early, which is what you expect from an international team, not giving up. But like any game, you never know what can happen if you keep trying,” Hemp stressed.
“Like we saw tonight (Tuesday), when we started squeezing, and really putting the pressure on, we had an over when they could have lost three or four wickets.
“That was pleasing but disappointing that we were short with the bat.”
Canada coach Pubudu Dassanayake said he was anxious to see how his side would fare in today’s showdown with Bermuda.
“The match against Bermuda should be a big match, not only for us but also for Bermuda who will certainly have a 12th man behind them in the crowd,” said Dassanayake.
“We are looking forward to the challenge, Bermuda are a rebuilding team and we are looking to prove that we can win this tournament after losing it the last time and I think it will be a fantastic game.
“We are playing well and they are playing well, so it should be exciting.”