Connection Wanderers 141-6

Bermuda 142-7

Bermuda scratched and clawed their way to a three-wicket victory in a seesaw battle with hosts Connection Wanderers that went right down to the wire in Trinidad yesterday.

The tourists required four runs off the final over of a rain shortened contest, reduced to 30 overs per side, and were equal to the task with burly allrounder Delyone Borden (ten) hitting the winning runs off spinner Sanjuy Gooljar to see his team home with one ball to spare.

That Bermuda prevailed owed much to timely contributions from top order bats Fiqre Crockwell (28) and Stephen Outerbridge (44) and middle order batsmen Jekon Edness (12) and skipper Irving Romaine (25).

Chasing a target well within reach, Bermuda were forced on the back foot early when openers Chris Douglas (0) and Lionel Cann (one) both fell cheaply, trapped leg before in front by right-arm seamer Theodore Modeste.

A timely 79-run third wicket stand between Crockwell and University of Wales Institute Cardiff student Outerbridge repaired the early damage.

But the host team regained the upper hand when they picked off the prized wickets of Outerbridge, Crockwell and Janeiro Tucker (one) in the space of one run.

Bermuda, however, refused to buckle under pressure and with skipper Romaine in aggressive mood motored their way to victory in their first practise match on tour of the Caribbean.

Top scorer Outerbridge faced 53 deliveries and hit five fours while Romaine, who was relieved to see his team-mates hold their nerve when it mattered most, belted four boundaries off 25 balls.

"It was a very close battle and it felt good to finally get out in the middle," he told The Royal Gazette last night.

"We fell behind a bit towards the end.

"I hit a couple of boundaries before Delyone and Jacobi brought it home.

"It was a good game of cricket and I'm sure this result will do our confidence the world of good."

Seamer Modeste was the pick of the Trinidadians bowling with figures of two for 12 off four overs while spinners Nicholas Ramjazz (two for 27) and John Rossjaggergar (two for 19) also collected two wickets each.

Earlier Bermuda's hosts recovered from a nervous start after being asked to bat on a sluggish track and heavy outfield to post a decent target with skipper Gooljar top-scoring with 31 runs in his team's middle order.

Spinners Romaine (two for 39) and Borden (two for 21) led Bermuda's bowling attack with two-wickets apiece while seamers Kyle Hodsoll (one for 20) and Robinson (one for 29) claimed one each.

Romaine, though, bruised his right hand diving to take a return catch off opposite number Gooljar and as a precautionary measure was pushed lower down the order to number seven.

"I came in a little late because they (coaching staff) decided best to hold me back a bit," he said.

"But I felt okay and it was a good knock. It felt great to get a few boundaries when the team needed them most."

Bermuda are scheduled to meet University of Trinidad and Tobago today, with seamers George O'Brien jr, Kevin Hurdle and Justin Pitcher and spinners Rodney Trott and Dwayne Leverock expected to get their first taste of action on tour.

Earlier this week Bermuda's opening two fixtures against Trinidad's Under-23 national team were postponed due to inclement weather.