DUBAI SPORTS CITY(Bermuda won toss)Uganda, 194 for four, beat Bermuda, 193 all out, by six wicketsBermuda left Division Two of the World Cricket League in much the same manner in which they entered it two years ago, in defeat.Yesterday’s loss to Uganda was their second of the week, and meant that they finished last in a competition that they were demoted to after a similarly poor showing at the Division One tournament in 2009.There has been little to celebrate in the intervening period, which has been characterised by defeat after heavy defeat, and maybe it is for the best that they now find themselves in Division Three.Not even in a game without pressure, where all they had left to fight for was their pride, were they able to muster enough intent to beat Uganda, a team who will be following them down into cricket’s backwaters.On a day when neither side had much enthusiasm for the task at hand, Bermuda lost batting first and muddling their way to 193 all out. David Hemp (44) posted his highest score of the week but even with Fiqre Crockwell (32) and Rodney Trott (25*) getting starts, they couldn’t make it past 200.Uganda, whose energy in the field was conspicuous by its absence, were hardly any more motivated but still managed to ease to victory with 3.4 overs to spare on the back of an unbeaten 62 from Benjamin Mukose and opener Arthur Kyobe’s 65.The nature of the defeat, the poor decision making that reared it’s ugly head, and the slow scoring, were all examples of problems that have plagued the team this week.Bermuda might point to the early loss of Malachi Jones to injury or crucial moments in matches that might have gone there way in mitigation. But, in a couple of weeks, when the dust has settled and the ‘what ifs’, and ‘if onlys’, have been laid to rest, a few cold hard facts will still remain, and they make for difficult reading.Of the six teams that played, Bermuda conceded the most runs, 1207, with Hong Kong second worst on 1107. Papua New Guinea, conceded the third most, 926.Bermuda had just four partnerships of 50 runs or more over the five games that counted, and none of 100 runs or more. And only one batsman made a century, Jason Anderson against Hong Kong.In three of the games they failed to score off more than 60 percent of the balls that they faced, and while they reached a high of five runs per over in their 89-run defeat against Namibia, they failed to score more than four an over against either PNG or Hong Kong.The bowling was little better and they only managed to dismiss one side in the entire tournament, and that was during their 69-run win over Hong Kong.So the question of course, is where do Bermuda go from here.Given the team’s continued decline over recent years, and there is an argument, one which is almost irreproachable, that they have been headed that way since 2005, there is a very real danger that they could continue to go backwards.The heavy financial losses the Bermuda Cricket Board have suffered means staffing levels are likely to be cut, and a full-time head coach might be viewed as a luxury they can ill-afford.Perversely this is exactly the time when Bermuda need someone of David Moore’s ilk, as a return to the ways of the past, infrequent and indisciplined training, will not halt the decline, but merely hurry it on its way.Any member of the national team will tell you that they are better prepared and better trained than before, and there was enough evidence to suggest that the basic skills; batting, bowling, and fielding, are not where the Island’s weaknesses lie.It is in game management, in mental toughness, and in making the right decisions as the right times that this team is weak.The natural ability that used to get Bermuda past the better Associate nations is still there. Dion Stovell finished as the second highest run scorer in the tournament, with 234 runs, second only to Namibia skipper Craig Williams, who had 335 runs to his name.Unfortunately, as has been proved this week, that is no longer enough.Bemuda’s bad decision making when batting, which more than anything led to their downfall, can be traced directly back to the domestic game on the Island.As Moore pointed out earlier this week, there are too many easy escapes on small grounds against bad bowling in the Premier Division to allow the players to properly develop their skills.On a number of occasions, including in the defeat that eventually relegated them against UAE on Thursday, the default setting for many is to try and hit their way out of trouble.This invariably leads to batsmen being caught on the boundary in a foolish attempt to accelerate the scoring, and has stifled the ability to work the ball into gaps or manufacture runs against good bowling.Having taken 107 balls to score 38 against Uganda the first time around, Jason Anderson took 42 balls to score his 14 runs yesterday. While the PHC man might be this week’s poster child for slow scoring, he is by no means the only culprit in the side.Hopefully the creation of the Elite Players’ League will go some way to solving that issue, and will help bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket.Being in Division Three will undoubtedly be painful, but it might just be the reality check that Bermuda needs. Things cannot go on as they are, and as PNG and Hong Kong have proved this week, countries can emerge stronger from the experience.