North Field (Bermuda won the toss): Americas Select beat Bermuda by seven wickets

Allan Douglas smashed 61 runs off just 34 deliveries and picked up two wickets in three overs but his efforts proved fruitless as an Americas Select XI eased to victory over a Bermuda Xi in their first T20 friendly match yesterday.

In the first cricket match to be played at North Field since the Bermuda Smash Invitational in May, Douglas came in to bat at No 5 and thumped two fours and six sixes in his time at the middle. His half-century aided the home side to 118 for seven in 20 overs after they won the toss and chose to bat.

No other Bermuda batter could compare with the 37-year-old as Marcus Scotland contributed the next-highest score of 16 at the top of the order.

In reply, the Americas Select XI were barely troubled on their way to victory, with the US pair of Sanjay Krishnamurthi (53) and Kwame Patton Jr (51) scoring the bulk of the runs to take the tourists over the line with 22 balls to spare.

Dougles felt that Bermuda were at least 30 runs short of a match-winning score on a moist track.

“I think if we had scored 150 we would have won this game,’’ Douglas told The Royal Gazette.

“I thought it was possible to defend what we scored because of how hard it was for some our batsmen to take on spin. As it turned out, these guys could handle spin a lot better and that’s why I think 150 would have been a good target.

“We started picking up wickets at the tail-end, so our second half was really good. With a good score to defend, we should have been fine.”

Douglas is expecting a better display in the second match on Thursday in what should be improved conditions.

“The wicket was a bit damp with a lot of grass and it took a little bit of turn,’’ he said.

“Hopefully, they cut a little bit off for tomorrow and there’s not too much rain tonight, so we should be better tomorrow. If we start early and block them off in the power play, we should be all right.”

Cal Waldron, the Bermuda coach, showed his respect for the way the Americas Select side approached the game.

“Overall I was thoroughly impressed by the opposition and the quality of the players,’’ Waldron said.

“They showed us some few basic cricket skills such as how to run between the wickets and how to find gaps.

“From our point of view, it was a new bunch of players we put together. We were looking at specific players in certain positions and taking a look at things differently.

“We’re not too focused on the loss; it bothers us that we lost, but it’s how we lose nd there are some things that we talked about that we need to improve on for tomorrow.

“We need to give a better account of ourselves. I don’t think we adjusted too well to the conditions. It’s about time that we step it up and look to be better than what we did today.

“It’s been quite a while since we had any cricket at North Field, but the pitch played well despite the rain this morning.

“We won the toss, batted and there was a slow period somewhere where we didn’t score. That’s what we need to look at, how we find ways of scoring the runs.

“We didn’t lose wickets in the power play, now we need to look at how we score more during that period.”

Americas Select captain Ali Sheikh, who is leading a fairly young side, was delighted to start off their tour with a win.

“It feels good for us to win our first game out in Bermuda,’’ the American said.

“We didn't know what to expect and we feel like our bowling was really good, restricting them to 118.

“Especially on this wicket, I feel like our fast bowlers gave us a really good start in the power play. Our spinners also bowled really well in the middle overs.

“We fielded well and our chase was excellent, the guys batted through and the top five finished the game.

“The wicket wasn't that easy to bat on. Strike rotation and then hitting the bad balls, I feel Sanjay and Kwame batted brilliantly and smartly according to the conditions.

“I feel like intensity on the field won it for us. Everyone was involved and the way we bowled, line and length, we didn’t give the opposition anything. Chasing our target in 16.2 overs with three wickets down is a commanding win.”

The 21-year-old welcomed the initiative to bring together an Americas side to play matches in Bermuda.

“It’s great exposure playing against the Bermuda players,’’ Sheikh added. “Our team is like an under-21 side, mostly emerging players so it’s appreciable for all of us.”