Bailey's Bay 117-3 Bailey's Bay made light work of Cleveland in this Eastern Counties second round match at Sea Breeze Oval on Saturday after the challengers' hopes were dashed by a low score.

Winning the toss and deciding to bat first in a match that was delayed by 30 minutes because of a slightly damp wicket, Cleveland suffered an early setback when opener Carlton Smith was caught at slip by Cal Dill off Anthony Braithwaite's third delivery of the day.

Cleveland, usually confident with any total just under 200, lost two more key wickets in the 10th and 12th overs when Irving Romaine took two superb catches to dismiss Jermaine Postlethwaite and Curtis Jackson to make it 36-3.

Postlethwaite was caught at square leg for 14 by the diving Romaine after hooking a short delivery from Corey Hill and in Hill's next over Jackson drove at a ball outside off stump and Romaine took a low catch at cover point to put Bay firmly in control.

Cleveland's hopes of posting a challenging total rested largely with captain Aaron Adams, colt Jason Simons and veteran Allan Douglas.

Adams, who had already seen three partners go in the space of 48 minutes, lost another in the 23rd over when Simons went for nine after lasting 48 minutes.

The 35 they added for the fourth wicket was the team's biggest stand.

Adams was also at the other end when Douglas' 29-minute knock came to an end with a return catch to Clarkie Trott. Douglas threatened an explosive innings with a six but his contribution of nine failed to rebuild the damage as Cleveland sunk deeper into trouble at 83-5 after 27 overs.

Adams and former captain Peter Philpott carried the team to lunch at 91-5 but three overs after the resumption Adams went for a top score of 41, bowled by Noel Gibbons who got the first of his three victims. Cleveland's hopes of a respectable total went with that dismissal.

Adams hit three fours and a six during his lengthy stay and he and Postlethwaite were the only two Cleveland batsmen in double figures as Gibbons and Trott made sure there would be no late rally by running through the Cleveland tail with the last five wickets going down for 18 runs.

Trott, who came on in the 20th over, finished with four for 13 from 8.1 overs while Gibbons -- introduced the over before -- claimed three for 16 off 14 overs.

Corey Hill had two for 33 while Braithwaite bowled the last 14 overs of his spell without a wicket to finish with one for 48.

Cleveland played their last trump card when they opened their bowling with wrist spinner Johnny Richardson, but that failed as Bay made a big stride towards victory by scoring their first 50 in 40 minutes, half the time Cleveland took to reach the same total.

Ricky Hill and Roger Trott put on 67 for the first wicket in 55 minutes, seeing Richardson and Andre Smith off the ball after just two overs each as Gregory Talbot came on in the fifth over and Hasan Durham in the sixth.

Hill, outscored by Trott, went for 28 in the 14th over after hitting three fours and a straight driven six into the water off Smith.

That stroke ended Smith's spell at two overs, which cost 15 runs, and those were the only two overs that were not bowled by a spin bowler as Cleveland shuffled around their slow bowlers in a bid to reap some reward.

Their most significant achievement on the field was getting Glenn Smith after just two balls when Hasan Durham followed up the brilliant stumping of Hill by Douglas by bowling Smith in his fifth over.

Durham finished with two for 36 from 15 overs.

Colt Gregory Talbot, whose first delivery in the counties was hit over mid-wicket by Roger Trott for six after he had trouble gripping the new ball, picked up his first wicket in the competition when he had Trott caught behind for 61 just five runs short of victory.

Trott, batting for two hours and 22 minutes, hit six fours and two sixes in his knock of 61 while Charlie Marshall was not out at the close on 15.

Bay will meet St. David's in the final on August 31 and regardless of the outcome the 1997 matches in the Eastern Counties will be played at St. David's after an agreement was reached between the four teams this year to alternate the games each year between Sea Breeze Oval and Lord's.