Onias Bascome has called upon Bermuda to continue upsetting the odds and dispel their “underdog” tag as they stand on the verge of securing a spot in the final ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier in Dubai in October and November,

After the first round of the ICC T20 World Cup Americas Qualifier, unbeaten Bermuda have been the somewhat surprise package, sitting second in the standings behind Canada on net run rate, with five points, after claiming victories against the United States and Cayman Islands, and claiming a share of the spoils against their nearest rivals after their encounter was abandoned because of rain.

Bermuda will secure progression, as one of the top-two finishers, with another victory against the US today at White Hill Field, and while Bascome is adamant Bermuda will not get carried away, he has challenged his team-mates to continue to showcase their talents against the region’s bigger nations.

“We just have to stay positive heading into the next group of matches,” said Bascome, who claimed a four-wicket haul in the six-wicket victory against Cayman Islands yesterday.

“It felt like we came into the tournament as underdogs but if we keep positive and showcase the talent that we have, we can make it easier for ourselves and prove a point. We can’t go into the next game over confident, we need to stay grounded and show everyone what we’re capable of. The support from Bermuda over the week has been brilliant.

“We don’t normally see that level of support that often, so we have to thank them as well; they’re making us want to play that much better.”

One major boost for Bermuda, has been the introduction of Sussex all-rounder Delray Rawlins, who added vital knocks of 63 and 49 in the wins over the US and Cayman Islands, respectively, and both at White Hill Field. Kirk Higgins, the United States team manager, has highlighted Rawlins as their rivals main “danger man” before today’s match, with the player himself just content to play his part for Bermuda.

“There are little periods in games where you look to kick on and try and score a little faster and luckily I’ve got a few good boundaries,” Rawlins said.

“It’s a pretty nice wicket here [White Hill Field] and the field is a decent size, so I’ve just tried to be smart about which ends I attacked. It’s nice to have been able to add some runs for the rest of the team.

“Having that points cushion is massive for us. We’ve struggled over all formats in recent years but we have probably the best squad we could have selected and it’s nice to be at the top looking down, rather than stuck at the bottom looking up and having to scrap.”