ICC Intercontinental Cup and Shield

CANADA v BERMUDA John Davison asked Bermuda to bat on winning the toss and, within just over 40 minutes, Umar Bhatti had captured the wickets of both openers, with only 21 runs on the board. Umar Bhatti and Osinde bowled with fire and determination but Irving Romaine and Clay Smith survived and, with a combination of good shots and patience, saw the total rise to 101 at lunch. The highlight of the morning was provided by Romaine when he struck Osinde for two fours and a six in one over that, with two no-balls and a wide, went for 25 runs. After lunch Umar Bhatti quickly removed Romaine and Smith, and Davison accounted for Dean Minors. Janeiro Tucker and Saleem Mukuddem added 83 for the sixth wicket in another patient partnership, laying the foundation for an aggressive contribution from Lionel Cann. His 48 runs came in 48 minutes with a strike rate of 120.0 and included nine fours. Mukuddem was the last wicket to fall before the close, having batted nearly three and three-quarter hours for his 56. At 333 for 9, Bermuda had the best of the first day, always finding two players to build a partnership every time Canada threatened to make a breakthrough. Canada required only four balls to bring Bermuda’s innings to an end, after which their batting started uncertainly with Geoff Barnett and Stewart Heaney falling within the first forty minutes. These were the last Bermudan successes for some three hours as Davison and Ian Billcliff entertained the spectators with a wide range of shots all round the ground. Davison reached his maiden first-class century in just under 200 minutes, but at a strike rate approaching 100. Just as it looked as though the pair would take Canada to a first-innings lead, Davison was caught on the deep mid-wicket boundary by Stephen Outerbridge who ran several metres to pick the ball up only centimetres from the ground. Thus ended a partnership of 233 runs. Ryan Steede persuaded Ashish Bagai to offer a simple caught and bowled but the respite was short-lived as Qaiser Ali helped Billcliff add a further 67 runs, during which the latter reached his hundred, and Canada passed Bermuda’s first-innings total. In the last hour of play, Steede dismissed Sunil Dhaniram and Billcliff to give him a return for the day of four wickets for 75. On the third day, Abdool Samad and Umar Bhatti batted throughout the morning sesssion and 13 minutes into the afternoon, adding 149 runs for the eighth wicket, aided by two dropped catches. Samad became the third centurion of the innings as Bermuda’s bowlers increasingly lost control of line and length. Not even Dwayne Leverock, with 48 overs and four balls of slow left-arm spin, could trouble the Canadians on a good batting wicket, although he picked up his second wicket to bring the innings to a close at 588, the highest innings total in the competition to date, and a lead of 254 runs. As soon as Bermuda began their second innings, the weather deteriorated. Rain clouds gathered and the light worsened, causing the umpires to suspend play at 5.00 pm with Outerbridge and Romaine batting well, after Delyone Borden had fallen with the score on 30. Despite losing Outerbridge, who added only nine to his overnight total, Bermuda seemed to be playing confidently for a draw. Romaine and Smith took the score to 135 for two at lunch and continued their effort well into the afternoon, putting on 109 for the third wicket. Umar Bhatti broke the partnership with a short-pitched ball which Romaine hooked straight to substitute fielder, Don Maxwell, on the boundary. Whilst Smith remained, there was still hope for Bermuda, but Janeiro Tucker was the only reliable partner, helping to add a further 50 runs. Cann played another aggressive innings but Umar Bhatti, in an inspired spell either side of the tea interval, polished off the tail for a return of six wickets for 104 and a match analysis of ten for 195. Bermuda’s last seven wickets went down for 73 runs. Canada had no difficulty in compiling the 57 runs needed to win, a target which was achieved with 16 overs to spare. Ryan Steede broke down in his second over, aggravating an old knee injury which he sustained in a bicycle accident some years previously. Umar Bhatti was named Man of the Match for an outstanding bowling performance, match figures of ten for 195, in conditions which favoured batting. 94 ICC Intercontinental Cup 2006-07