Bermuda ready for Argentina in T20 qualifier
Bermuda will aim for a strong start when they face Argentina in their opening match at the ICC T20 World Cup Americas Sub-Regional Qualifier in Buenos Aires this morning (9.30am Bermuda time).
A victory over the host nation would set the tone for Cal Waldron’s side in the nine-team competition, where three teams will join Canada in next year’s regional final. Speaking after their final training session yesterday, Waldron declared the team ready for action.
Bermuda, the highest-ranked team in the qualifier, come into the tournament buoyed by wins over Argentina and Mexico in warm-up matches. They are scheduled to face Surinam and Panama in quick succession before taking a rest day on Monday.
“We have prepared ourselves to play competitive cricket and to get the win at the end of the day,” Waldron told The Royal Gazette.
“It’s important to get a good start, but we still need to recognise the improvements we need to make in each match. We are not taking Argentina lightly, so we’re going to do our proper analysis to see what threat they pose to us and prepare ourselves accordingly.
“We had a look at them the other day in the practice match. We do expect things to be different since we’re playing on a different field and with a different mindset.
“Morale is great in camp; everybody’s working for one another. We had a great training session and the weather’s good, so things should work out for us.
“We have acclimatised well since we arrived here. The weather’s just warmed up; when we arrived, it was a bit chilly, so the mood has been lifted.”
The two warm-up fixtures allowed Bermuda’s players to get back into match rhythm.
“All our players got a chance in the two matches that we played,” Waldron said. “It’s good to see where everybody’s at, and we’re now ready to hit the buttons and go.
“Our bowlers had ample time to acclimatise to the conditions and work on their line and length. It’s now time to put the ball in the right areas and create the pressure for the opposition batters.
“The tracks we played on for the warm-up matches were slow, but we didn’t use the actual match venues. Our players should be able to make the necessary adjustments depending on how the wickets are playing.”
Bermuda enter the tournament without former captains Kamau Leverock and Delray Rawlins. The retired Leverock scored 213 runs in Bermuda’s unsuccessful bid to qualify for the last T20 World Cup, while Rawlins has made himself unavailable, ceding the captaincy to Terryn Fray.
Onias Bascome, Kevon Fubler and Dion Stovell have been recalled, while Alex Dore and Jonté Smith are making their international debuts. Fray will look to the experience of Stovell, Bascome, Derrick Brangman, Tre Manders and Zeko Burgess to ease his second stint as captain.
“We have great cohesion in the team; the guys that have come in have added a new dimension to the side,” Waldron said. “Jonté and Fubler bowled really well in the warm-up matches, Onias also had a good knock the other day, and Alex is good to go, so everyone knows what’s expected of them in this tournament.
“It’s now just a matter of going out on the day and putting it all together to reach the team’s set targets.”