Bermuda Under-19 pair Terryn Fray and Joshua Gilbert shone with the bat and ball in a losing cause at Somerset Cricket Club over the weekend.

Off spinner Gilbert snatched four wickets while opening bat Fray stroked the season's second century for the second straight year.

Yet despite their superb efforts, Bermuda Under-19s plunged to an 82 run loss against hosts Somerset in this Cup Match Trial.

Berkeley Institute student Gilbert claimed four for 27 and bowled with exceptional control while Saltus Grammar School student Fray grafted nine boundaries in a determined knock of 100 achieved off 142 balls.

"Joshua bowled extremely well. He was flighting the ball with good variation and was turning the ball," said Bermuda Under-19 assistant coach Andre Manders.

"The four wickets he got were all top order batsmen; guys that can hit the ball."

Last summer Gilbert was chosen to represent an Americas Development XI at the Clico International Under-15 Tournament in St.Kitt's where he performed admirably with bat and ball.

"Joshua was able to put the ball in the right areas. It was a small field and I thought he bowled exceptionally good," added Manders.

"His flight and variation was good for a player under the age of 16, and he has been bowling like that all season for us and we are very pleased with his bowling."

Manders was also impressed with the performance of batsman Fray who led the Bermuda Under-19s resistance at the crease.

"Terryn is not a big hitter of the ball and that is what we need. He almost batted right through the innings until he got out," he said.

"Terryn is the type of player who grafts and runs between the wicket pretty good.

"What we are trying to encourage him to do now is put away the bad balls and it appears as though that is now what is he trying to achieve."

Last summer the 17-year-old Fray hit an unbeaten 142 against Somerset Bridge to celebrate a maiden century at the senior domestic level.

He also represented Bermuda at last year's Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia and will lead his country's bid to re-qualify for the World Cup in Canada in July.

"Terryn's confidence is growing each game and really looks good," added Manders.

Bermuda's Under-19s are currently playing in Bermuda Cricket Board's Premier Divison 50 Over League and earlier this month recorded a one-wicket win against Somerset in the West End. They also gave Bailey's Bay and PHC a good scare before going down to defeat.

Overall, Manders is generally satisfied with the team's progress but admits there is room for improvement, particularly in the batting department which has yet to fire on all cylinders.

"There's still a lot of work to be done in the batting because out of the 157 runs we made against Somerset, Terryn scored one hundred of them," he said.

"Some of our senior batsmen are not performing and they know it.

"We are trying to get our batsmen to be more serious in their roles.

"We need to get the other batsmen to bat long like Terryn and we already scheduled a meeting to discuss what is happening to our batting.

"The guys are not spending the necessary time out in the middle, they are going for the big shots."

Still to be drafted into the squad are senior batsman Chris Douglas, leg spinner Tre Govia and UK-based all-rounder Greg Maybury jr.

Douglas stroked a memorable half-century (53) against Chris Gayle's West Indies last summer, Govia made his Cup Match debut last summer at just 16, while 15-year-old Oakham School student Maybury had trials with Leicestershire County Cricket Club's Under-16 squad earlier this year.

Bermuda's 14-member squad that will compete in July's Under-19 World Cup qualifiers will be finalised early next week.