Jimmy Powell Oval (Bermuda won toss): Bermuda beat Cayman Islands by 30 runs

Bermuda bounced back from defeat against Canada in their first match of the North American Cup by beating host nation Cayman Islands tidily on Sunday.

Dominic Sabir was named player of the match after hitting a quickfire 19 not out and taking three wickets for 14 runs as Bermuda rattled through Cayman’s middle order, and he was pleased with his performance.

“I was pleased to get off with the bat and put up a few more runs than I have coming into the tournament,” Sabir said.

“Being able to come in and get comfortable for a few balls and after the seventeenth over to have a bit of a go and express myself with the shots I know I’ve worked on was nice.

“With the ball I hadn’t been bowling much but I definitely want to cement my spot as one of the best bowlers in the team, so it was good to be given the opportunity to come in and put some pressure on the other side. I was able to show my captain and my team that I am quite capable and I hope to do more in the future.”

Captain Terryn Fray again won the toss and chose to bat, with Bermuda making just one change from the opening game with Jarryd Richardson coming in at No 3 for Onias Bascome.

Alex Dore was again given the opportunity to open the batting alongside captain Fray and was aggressive, scoring 20 off 16 balls with four boundaries, before he became Bermuda’s first wicket to fall when trapped leg before by Adrian Wright in the sixth over.

While Bermuda’s batters struggled against Canada a day earlier, Cayman’s bowlers offered an easier test, with Fray continuing to take advantage, but just when Richardson was looking set he was caught by Demar Johnson off the bowling of Alistair Ifill.

That brought Delray Rawlins to the crease with Bermuda at 65 for two after 10.2 overs and he and Fray combined to put on 34 runs in 4.3 overs before was caught by Johnson off the bowling of Conroy Wright for 38.

Rawlins, who looked capable of making a big score, was caught on 27, from 20 balls, just as he was starting to accelerate, so it was left to Dominic Sabir to pick up the pace inside the final few overs.

The all-rounder struck 19, off 12 balls, and was unbeaten at the end of the innings, while Allan Douglas Jr, 13 off 14 balls was bowled with the final delivery of the innings as Bermuda completed their 20 overs on 137 for five.

In response, opener Jermaine Baker started aggressively alongside Cayman captain Sacha de Alwis, who did not last long after being caught by Rawlins off the bowling of Douglas for one.

Baker then threatened to pull Cayman close to the Bermuda total and produced the game’s highest individual score before being caught by Douglas off the bowling of Sabir by 54.

With Baker gone and the score standing at 75 for two, Cayman were still in with a chance of a shock win but they lost their next six wickets for just 12 runs.

Kevon Fubler and Dominic Sabir, who was named man of the match, both picked up three wickets with only captain Conroy Wright offering any resistance with the bat by scoring 21.

Bermuda’s next match comes on Monday against pre-tournament favourites USA, who have won their first two matches impressively, at 4.30pm Bermuda time.