Farmers Cricket Club Ground (Bermuda won toss) Kenya (2pts) beat Bermuda (0) by seven wickets

Bermuda suffered a fourth straight loss in Jersey in the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League B match yesterday despite an improved batting performance.

The new-look Bermuda side managed to post 234 for seven in their 50 overs with all-rounder Charles Trott leading the way with a boundary-filled 58 off 46 balls.

However, the other Bermuda bowlers did not back up their captain Kamau Leverock who claimed all three Kenya wickets as the East Africans reached their target with 7.5 overs to spare.

Collins Obuya scored the winning runs when, with the scores tied, he pulled a short ball from spinner Cameron Jeffers for four on the first ball of Jeffers’s ninth over.

Bermuda used five bowlers in trying to protect their total, with all five for more than 40 runs. Leverock, who opened the bowling with Jabari Darrell, gave Bermuda some early hope when he had opener Alex Obanda caught by Dominic Sabir at mid-on off a full toss on the third ball of the first over. It was the first ball Obanda faced, attempting to flick it off his pads.

A century partnership (126) in 26 overs between Rushab Patel and wicketkeeper Irfan Karim turned the tide as Kenya gained control with runs on the board and wickets in hand midway through the innings.

Patel was out for 70 on 127 for two, caught by Zeko Burgess as Leverock picked up his second wicket. However, another big stand, this one of 91 between Karim and Rakap Patel for the third wicket, brought up the 200 for Kenya.

Patel departed for 42 off 39 balls on 218 for three in the 41st over, hitting four fours and one six before giving Leverock a return catch when he pulled a short ball outside the off stump straight back to the Bermuda captain.

Less than two overs later the match was over.

Karim, the wicketkeeper, finished as the top scorer for Kenya with 80 notout from 122 balls, hitting seven fours and one six.

Jeffers was the most expensive of the Bermuda bowlers, giving up 55 runs off 8.1 overs while Zeko Burgess went for 50 runs in his eight overs and Jabari Darrell 45 off six overs. Leverock and Trott were the only two bowlers to bowl their maximum ten overs, the former finishing with three for 45 while Trott, the fifth bowler used, gave up 42 runs off his ten.

Earlier Trott and Leverock led the Bermuda batting after Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat. Terryn Fray went for just six in the eighth over, before the next five batsmen scored 20 or more to lay a good foundation.

Ras Solomon Burrows (28) and Zeri Tomlinson (20) put on 43 for the second wicket before Tomlinson was trapped leg-before. He faced 46 balls and hit three fours.

Leverock, in at No 4, scored a valuable 47 off 54 balls with four fours and two sixes as he and Sabir (39) carried the score from 76 for three to 138 for four in 12 overs.

After Leverock was stumped over-balanced playing forward, Sabir and Trott brought up the 200 in the 48th over, before some big hitting by Trott in the last couple of overs produced 31 runs. Trott was the last wicket to fall, bowled for 58 on the last ball. He faced 46 balls and hit four fours and four sixes.

Three Kenya bowlers claimed two wickets apiece as they used eight bowlers. Shem Ngoche took two for 39 off ten overs, Obuya two for 27 from ten and Tanzeel Sheikh two for 13 off just eight balls after finishing an over from opener Eugene Ochieng, who suffered an injury in his fourth over.