Zeko Burgess was the star of the show as Bermuda finished the ICC T20 World Cup Americas Sub-Regional Qualifier unbeaten in Argentina.

Burgess contributed a quickfire 14 not out to help Bermuda reach 139 for six in their 20 overs after they won the toss and elected to bat before taking three wickets for 20 runs as Cayman Islands were restricted to 126 for nine in their reply.

Cayman Islands needed 27 off the final two overs to end Bermuda’s winning streak, but Burgess, who had earlier been involved in the dismissal of Cayman danger man Sacha De Alwis, took wickets with successive balls to effectively end any chances of an upset in Buenos Aires.

Burgess was the final Bermudian to pick up an MVP award, with a different player named best in each of their eight matches, and he was pleased to be the latest to be recognised.

“It feels good and the whole tournament I’ve felt good bowling,” Burgess said.

“Sometimes I’ve been hard on myself but ultimately those are the standards that I’ve set for myself and today I showed that with my skills with the ball and also with the bat that I can definitely fit in.”

A fixture in the Bermuda team in recent years, Burgess has been valuable in this tournament with bat and ball, providing one of the few pace alternatives in the bowling attack and catching the eye with his yorkers.

“I’ve always had a sense of responsibility,” Burgess said.

“However, today showed myself that I can definitely push myself further and do a little bit more for the team. It’s always about the team for me and when the team is pulling together it looks way better.

“This past year has shown me what I need to work on and I have been practising the yorker a lot more. Obviously, it is hard to execute that over and over. However, when it comes off it definitely feels good and looks good.”

Having chosen to bat first openers Terryn Fray and Tre Manders made a solid start with a partnership of 24 before the latter was bowled by Demar Johnson for 11.

Alex Dore came in at No 3 and made just eight runs in a 29-run partnership with Fray before being caught by Conroy Wright off the bowling of Alistair Ifill. Dore’s departure brought to the crease Onias Bascome, who had failed to score in his last two innings, but there was to thankfully be no hat-trick of ducks for the St George’s captain.

Fray fell for 32, becoming Ifill’s second victim to leave Bermuda at 62 for three after 10.5 overs, with Cup Match rivals Bascome and Stovell looking to produce a telling partnership.

But their combination managed to add only 15 runs before Stovell was caught behind by Jermaine Baker for five attempting to force Ronald Ebanks’s off spin away. At 77 for four after 13.2 overs, Bermuda’s innings had reached a pivotal stage when Dominic Sabir joined Bascome at the crease.

The pair teamed up to produce 47 runs in just five overs before Sabir was caught by De Alwis on 20. Burgess then kept the run-rate ticking along before Bascome became the last Bermuda man to head back to the pavilion after being run out with just two balls remaining.

Chasing 140 to win, Cayman suffered an early blow when opener Baker was caught by Manders off the bowling of Stovell for five before Bermuda got the key wicket of De Alwis, who had scored 150 against Brazil a couple of days earlier.

De Alwis smashed Derrick Brangman for a huge six at the start of the fifth over but just three balls later he was trudging off after another attempted huge blow was hauled in by Burgess on the boundary.

Decent contributions from Akshay Naidoo (33), Ramon Sealy (18), Samuel Foster (22) and Romeo Dunka (23) kept the game in the balance until late on as the Caribbean side reached 101 for five in 16.4 overs.

But the next five batters made only seven runs between them as Cayman stuttered to a final total of 126 for nine from their 20 overs.

Every Bermuda bowler got among the wickets, with Brangman finishing with two for 23 from his four overs, while Stovell, Jonté Smith and Kevon Fubler picked up one apiece.