Dubai International Stadium (Netherlands won toss): Netherlands (2pts) beat Bermuda by 92 runs

A winless Bermuda bowed out of the ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier in the United Arab Emirates with a sixth successive defeat against a highly professional Netherlands on Saturday.

As one of just two teams without a win, alongside Nigeria in group B, Bermuda finish the tournament bottom of group A.

Despite the disappointing results on the pitch, captain Rodney Trott believes that testing themselves against this calibre of opposition will only benefit Bermuda’s squad in the long run.

“I think this has been a great experience for our players,” said Trott, who captained the final three games of the competition after Dion Stovell stepped down.

“The results didn’t go our way, but that’s sport. In our respect, our team is lacking a bit of experience in tournaments like this and in pinnacle conditions you have to be at your best.

“We knew what we were coming up against before the tournament even started, but I just feel like some of these teams, when they get in pressure situations, they deal with it just a little better than us.”

Before the toss Kamau Leverock, who has starred with the ball in Dubai, and belatedly the bat, called on his side to “try to compete and show a bit of pride” as Bermuda set about getting on the board at the final attempt.

But they started poorly after being put in the field, bowling too short and too wide early on as Dutch openers Max O’Dowd and Ben Cooper, who both hit 58, got their side off to a strong start.

Both were imperious, putting on 123 for the first wicket and it took a superb George O’Brien catch to remove O’Dowd in the thirteenth over. It was a crucial breakthrough and when Cooper fell in the next over, bowled by Trott, Bermuda were finally able to attempt to exert some control.

But Ryan ten Doeschate (28) and Colin Ackerman (43 not out) picked up where their team-mates left off, putting on 52 runs from 31 balls for the third wicket as Netherlands finished on 206 for three. It meant Bermuda conceded the highest score of the tournament for a second match running.

In reply, both openers were, once again, back in the hutch inside four overs. Oronde Bascome (6) was followed closely behind by Stovell (7), who has scored just 24 runs at an average of 4.8 in a disappointing tournament for the 35-year-old.

Leading run-scorer Rawlins again looked good with the bat before being bowled by Paul van Meekeren, whose roaring celebration perfectly personified the importance of Rawlins’s wicket.

Leverock top-scored with 31 towards the end, adding to his 43 against Scotland. The 25-year-old saved his most noteworthy batting displays for the two most established sides in the group, and in front of the TV cameras, but with the tournament over.

The total proved too great a task to chase down for the Gombey Warriors against a side with a fully professional set-up and who have featured in four 50-over World Cups and three T20 World Cups.

Compared with Bermuda’s sole World Cup appearance in 2007, it serves as a good reminder of how well the country has done to get to this stage of the competition despite their six defeats on the bounce.

SCOREBOARD

Netherlands

M P O’Dowd c O’Brien b Rawlins 58

B N Cooper b Trott 58

R N ten Doeschate c O O Bascome b Leverock 28

C N Ackermann not out 43

†S A Edwards not out 9

Extras (lb 5, w 5) 10

Total (3 wkts; 20 overs) 206

R E van der Merwe, *P M Seelaar, T van der Gugten, S Snater, F J Klaassen and P A van Meekeren did not bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-123, 2-129, 3-181.

Bowling: O’Brien 3-0-28-0; Leverock 4-0-43-1; Stovell 3-0-25-0; Brangman 1-0-11-0; Trott 4-0-31-1; Rawlins 4-0-50-1; Tucker 1-0-13-0.

Bermuda

O O Bascome lbw b Van der Merwe 6

D C Stovell lbw b Ackermann 7

A C Douglas c O’Dowd b Seelaar 23

D M W Rawlins b Van Meekeren 16

J J Tucker b Van der Merwe 12

D A P Darrell c Van der Merwe b Seelaar 7

K S Leverock c Ackermann b Van der Gugten 31

†O Bascome c Klaassen b Van Meekeren 6

D L Brangman b Van Meekeren 0

*R J Trott not out 0

G H O’Brien not out 5

Extras (b 1) 1

Total (9 wkts; 20 overs) 114

Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-18, 3-36, 4-59, 5-65, 6-103, 7-104, 8-109, 9-109.

Bowling: Klaassen 2-0-11-0; Van Meekeren 4-0-26-3; Van der Merwe 4-0-23-2; Ackermann 2-0-6-1; Van der Gugten 3-0-29-1; Seelaar 4-1-10-2; Snater 1-0-8-0.

Umpires: Rashid Riaz (Pakistan) and S Ravi (India).

Match referee: G S Lakshmi (India).

Other matches

Today

Group A

Dubai International Cricket Stadium (Kenya won toss): Papua New Guinea 118 (19.3 overs; E B Ringera 4 for 18); Kenya 73 (18.4 overs; A Vala 3 for 7, N Pokana 3 for 21). Papua New Guinea (2pts) beat Kenya by 45 runs.

Dubai International Cricket Stadium (Netherlands won toss): Scotland 130-8 (20 overs; M H Cross 52); Netherlands 131-6 (17 overs; R ten Doeschate 51 not out; M R J Watt 3 for 18). Netherlands (2pts) beat Scotland by four wickets.

Group B

Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi (Nigeria won toss): Nigeria 81-8 (20 overs); Hong Kong 82-5 (7.1 overs). Hong Kong (2pts) beat Nigeria by five wickets.

Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi (Oman won toss): Jersey 141-7 (20 overs; N J Ferraby 41; Mohammad Nadeem 4 for 23); Oman 127-9 (20 overs; Zeeshan Maqsood 56; E J B Miles 3 for 22, D G Blampied 3 for 27). Jersey (2pts) beat Oman by 14 runs.

Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi (Canada won toss): United Arab Emirates 154-5 (20 overs; Muhammad Usman 89 not out; Saad Bin Zafar 3 for 21); Canada 140-5 (20 overs; N S Dhaliwal 41, N R Kirton 37 not out; Waheed Ahmed 3 for 21). United Arab Emirates (2pts) won by 14 runs.

Saturday

Group A

Dubai International Cricket Stadium (Singapore won toss): Namibia 191-8 (20 overs; M G Erasmus 72, J P Kotze 36; Amjad Mahboob 3 for 29); Singapore 104 (17.1 overs; J N Frylinck 4 for 21, C Viljoen 3 for 14). Namibia (2pts) beat Singapore by 87 runs.

Group B

Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi (Nigeria won toss): Nigeria 66-9 (20 overs; C A Young 4 for 13). Ireland 67-2 (6.1 overs; K J O’Brien 32). Ireland (2pts) beat Nigeria by eight wickets.