Leeward Islands 258-4 Somerset 158-8 Stuart Williams smashed 125 as the Leeward Islands opened their three-match tour of Bermuda with am emphatic 100-run win over Somerset yesterday in a game reduced to 35 overs because of the visitors' late arrival.

Williams, who broke into the West Indies Test team in the three years since he last toured here with West Indies Select, showed his class from the outset after Somerset captain Dexter Basden had won the toss and sent the visitors in to bat.

Punishing anything short and off line, the opener reached his first 50 off 32 balls and in 40 minutes and then got to his 100 with a single through extra cover off Janeiro Tucker. Williams, who batted for 175 minutes and faced 91 balls, hit 16 fours and four sixes before being stumped by Roger Trott off Tucker in the 30th over of the innings.

The damage had already been done by then, as Williams and Merlin Liburd posted 108 in 66 minutes for the opening stand before Liburd went for 40 in the 17th over, caught behind by Trott off spinner Andre Manders' first over. He hit seven fours and faced 59 balls.

The Leewards headed straight to the ground after arriving in Bermuda just before noon. The match, which started at 1.48 and was reduced to 35 overs per team, got off to a quick start when Williams and Liburd put on 42 in the first five overs and by the 10th over were scoring at a rate of 6.6 an over.

After 25 overs the visitors were well placed on 159-1 and with 10 overs still to come a total of more than 200 was inevitable. Those final 10 overs yielded 99 runs and effectively put the match out of the reach of a Somerset side that was weakened by the absence of five members of the Cup Match team.

The Leewards' first 100 came in 15.5 overs and the 200 in the 30th over. The innings contained 36 boundaries with 158 of their runs coming in boundaries.

Number three bat Junie Mitchum chipped in with 40 from 48 balls and Earl Waldron 18.

Garry Williams, wicketless in his first spell, came back to claim the last two wickets on his way to figures of two for 61 from six overs -- the most expensive of the Somerset bowlers -- while Tucker and Manders took one each, giving up 36 and 37 runs respectively.

Because of the absence of bowlers Roger Blades, Corey Hill, Hasan Durham and Kevin Fubler and the unavailability of Del Hollis and Wayne Richardson, Somerset struggled for recognised bowlers. The only two were Williams and his Southampton Rangers team-mate Janeiro Tucker who shared the new ball, with Treadwell Gibbons coming on as first change.

Just three overs into their chase of the Leewards total, Somerset lost their first wicket when captain Dexter Basden was bowled by Troy Mills for two.

Gibbons and Manders added 38 for the second wicket by the 12th over when Manders mishit a hook off Auriel Kirnon and was caught by wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs for 15 which came off 40 balls.

Jeff Richardson promised to make it interesting with a couple of hooked fours but that stroke would lead to his downfall as he was trapped lbw trying to dispatch a short Kirnon delivery to the square leg boundary.

Kirnon, the quickest of the three fast bowlers for the Leewards, then had Tucker caught behind for seven in the 18th over to make it 71-4.

Gibbons departed soon after when he was caught inside the long-off boundary by Mills off spinner Earl Waldron's first over. He scored 34 from 46 balls with two fours and two sixes.

And though the required run rate had crept up to 11.18 with 16 overs remaining, signalling the end of Somerset's hopes of victory, Roger Trott carried on where Gibbons left off and put some respectability in the defeat with a dogged 57 not out.

Trott reached his 50 in the penultimate over and finished with seven fours and a six, as he and Troy Symonds (17) put on 39 for the sixth wicket in 23 minutes, which was the team's biggest stand.

Mills was the best bowler for the Leewards with three for 31 from his seven overs while Kirnon took three for 40. Lesroy Irish, who shared the new ball with Mills, was the most economical, giving up only 19 in seven overs.