Captain Lamar Richardson is adamant Bermuda should fear no one after qualifying for the last 16 of the team competition at the International Bowling Federation World Cup in Hong Kong.

Building on three wins from six on the first day of the team event on Saturday, Richardson, Dayvon Tucker, David Maycock and LeVinc Samuels secured another five victories from seven on Sunday to finish fifth in group B and seal one of the eight qualifying spots.

With that sequence of wins including a morale-boosting victory over the highly fancied Malaysia, the captain believes his team have proved that they can be a match for anyone, heading into the knockout phase on Monday.

“I’m very proud of the boys because we wanted this and we executed our game plan,” Richardson said.

“We don’t normally put expectations on ourselves, but we know what we’re capable of and I think we’ve shown that.

“To beat one of the powerhouses in Malaysia just proves that we can compete at this level and we don’t take victories like that lightly.

“We definitely don’t fear anyone. We always strive to be the best and that is what we will continue to do and see how far we can go. Confidence can be such a huge thing in this sport and for sure this definitely gives us something to build on.”

While morale is high throughout the team, Richardson was quick to warn against inconsistency, fully aware of the threat of changing fortune on the lanes.

“Consistency is the key thing for us going forward,” added Richardson, whose team secured their place in the knockout stages only after victory over Thailand in their final match.

“You can go from a massive high like beating Malaysia to then find yourself still having to battle for qualification with a couple of defeats. We made it a little harder for ourselves than we perhaps should have.

“However, that is what makes bowling unique at times and people sometimes don’t really realise the pressure and stress that we go through, even in the space of just a few matches.

“Overall it was a great display across the two days and we should all be proud to be moving on.”

Another bowler determined to build on momentum is Tucker, who after struggling for form in the singles competition was delighted to have made a telling contribution in the team event.

“On a personal level it feels great,” said Tucker, who after failing to get out of his group in the singles has proved to be one of Bermuda’s most consistent performers over the past two days.

“I struggled in the singles event but throughout this team competition I’ve felt better and definitely more confident in my game.

“Momentum is definitely building, not just for me but as a team, so hopefully we can keep on going.”

Reflecting on the mental aspects of the game, Tucker conceded his mindset does not only have a major impact on his own performance, but on his team-mates as well.

“I just feel so much better in myself and I’m really proud of how I performed the last two days,” he said. “I was starting to doubt myself a little but now I’m feeling good again.

“I’m kind of the hype man for the team and so I’m glad if I can be a good sort of mascot for the rest of the team.

“When I feel down I can sense that the team sometimes feed off of that, but if I’m feeling good and confident then we seem to build off that excitement that I have.

“I just feel so much better when I can have a positive impact on the rest of the team both in my performance and with my energy.

“We’ve shown we can beat anyone. The only thing that can get in our way is ourselves and so we can’t beat ourselves up if things are going badly, we have to just keep on pushing forward.”