Farmers Cricket Club Ground, St Martin (Hong Kong won toss): Hong Kong (2pts) beat Bermuda (0) by 119 runs

Bermuda emerged from a tenth defeat in 11 outings with a modicum of pride today despite being outclassed throughout by a Hong Kong team chasing the lone qualification spot from ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League B.

With another crushing loss in Jersey on the cards after Hong Kong negotiated a slow start to get to 311 for seven in their 50 overs, Bermuda battled virtually to the end to effectively cast aside the brittleness that had embodied their batting performances throughout the Uganda leg of this 15-match series in June.

Batting into the 49th over when Dominic Sabir was last out, leg-before for 44, to end a valiant tenth-wicket stand of 56 with Cameron Jeffers (24 not out) has to be seen as some form of progress, but nevertheless a sign of how much farther the national team have still to travel.

Thanks to early waywardness from Hong Kong with the ball, openers Terryn Fray and Ras Solomon Burrows took a watching brief through wide after wide to get their eye in. The pair added 42 for the first wicket, when Burrows, on 16, edged to the wicketkeeper when attempting to force Haroon Arshad through the off side off the back foot.

After Steven Bremar Jr’s brief stay ended without troubling the scorers, going back to one when he should have been forward and trapped palpably in front, Bermuda looked at their most imperious with captain Kamau Leverock joining a settled Fray.

The pair seemed determined to bat time, with Leverock hitting the odd shot of real intent, but the game changed at 79 for two when the captain was done for bounce trying to cut off spinner Ehsan Khan and feathered one behind. His 22 from 32 balls had included four fours.

The game looked up at this point. For all the sturdiness that Fray epitomises, he was never going to threaten Hong Kong without a gun batsman at the other end — and Bermuda coach Niraj Odedra has too few of them at his disposal on this tour.

Sabir, though, is one for the future and appeared to have learnt from the follies of Uganda with a disciplined performance. He and Fray had added 28 for the fourth wicket when the senior man, nearing a first fifty for Bermuda in this tournament since Tre Manders scored 51 in the abandoned match against Kenya on December 8, 2019, was hit in front attempting a sweep.

Fray’s 45 included three fours and took 86 balls, which in a normal setting would be derided as woefully slow but in this Bermuda side is gold dust.

It was at this dismissal that discipline went out the door for a spell and the ghosts of Uganda were revisited, as the next five wickets fell for 31 runs in nine overs while Sabir — the youngest of the lot at 19 — watched on in frustration at the other end.

Thankfully, for him and Bermuda’s confidence going forward, he found a partner in Jeffers who mixed application with common sense.

Mohammad Ghazanfar was the chief beneficiary among the Hong Kong bowlers with four for 30, while Ehsan and Arshad took two wickets apiece as all but one Bermuda batter fell to spin.

Hong Kong, whose out-cricket will need to improve significantly if they are emerge from this six-team tournament, surrendered 19 wides among the 24 extras conceded.

Earlier, they owed their big total to a commanding 139 from 128 balls by Kinchit Shah coming in at No 4 — the third Hong Kong hundred in succession against Bermuda from that position in the order, and Shah’s second after an unbeaten 116 helped to chase down 291 in Oman on December 3, 2019.

Leverock had caused a few palpitations with the new ball in his hands by striking twice within the first powerplay to reduce Hong Kong to 30 for two on a track that appeared tired from previous use but had some early juice in it.

Hayat, who had smashed Bermuda all round the Kyambogo ground while scoring 135 in a 194-run win on June 23, came one place higher up the order this time around. But he found himself first in a salvaging role before he and Shah slowly began to exert their influence.

The pair had put on 108 when Charles Trott had Hayat caught for 56 off 68 balls with six fours and a six.

Shah was 53 from 63 at the fall of that wicket on 138 for three from 28 overs. The left-hander then turned on the afterburners in dominating each partnership before he was the ninth wicket to fall, caught by Sabir in the deep off the returning Leverock, with two balls left in the innings. He had smashed 13 fours and two sixes with no Bermuda bowler spared.

Leverock was the best of them with three for 66 and Trott the most economical of the frontline options with two for 49.

The captain was keen to take the positives from this second defeat in Jersey. “If you look at our results, we haven’t really batted long, but today the guys showed that they can play in international cricket,” he said in the post-match interview. “It’s about small margins. Our team is quite young, quite new to this. I think the boys put up a good account.

“I was pleased with the number of partnerships. We tend to lose wickets in clumps and today we showed we don’t do that any more.”

Bermuda are back in action tomorrow against hosts Jersey in St Saviour.