An under-strength Bermuda were brought back down to earth with a bump yesterday when they were annihilated by Zimbabwe by a massive 194 runs in the scorching heat of Trinidad.

In the context of the Tri-Series this was a meaningless result, with both sides already through to the final tomorrow following consecutive victories over an under-prepared Canada.

Even still, the way in which Janeiro Tucker?s men were so comprehensively outplayed must give cause for concern, though it should be noted that they were without Wednesday?s heroes Lionel Cann, Dwayne Leverock and George O?Brien jr who were being rested.

Having won the toss and elected to field, Bermuda?s bowlers were all over the place from the outset, making it impossible for Tucker to defend the boundaries by bowling both sides of the wicket, with the Zimbabwean batsmen cashing in without hesitation.

Set an imposing 339 to win and needing to score at close to seven an over, Bermuda were on a hiding to nothing when they batted, although their decision to treat the innings as nothing more than a glorified net ? never scoring at more than three runs an over ? meant the margin of defeat was more considerable than it needed to have been.

If this was an attempt to get the top order batsmen into some much-needed form ahead of tomorrow?s final, then it was largely a failure, as only Irving Romaine (62) and to a certain extent Treadwell Gibbons jr (33) responded.

Opener Kwame Tucker tried to be aggressive, skipping down the track to seamer Anthony Ireland and depositing the medium pacer back over his head for a one-bounce four.

But when he tried to repeat the shot off the quicker Brendan Mahwire in the third over, he was totally beaten for pace and succeeded only in chipping his shot to Sibanda at mid-on.

Demoted to number three, Daniel Morgan registered his third failure of the tour soon after when he was caught behind off Ireland for two, before Gibbons, who had batted patiently, was bowled leg stump by a ball which skidded through at him from the gifted off-spinner Prosper Utseya.

Romaine, meanwhile, clearly determined not to throw his wicket away as he had done the day before against the Canadians, batted beautifully for Bermuda?s only half-century of the match and was typically savage on anything over-pitched outside off stump.

He was supported ably by his skipper Janeiro Tucker (17) for a while before the Southampton Rangers all-rounder holed out to mid-on for 17 ? his second ugly dismissal in as many days.

Azeem Pitcher, another young batsman looking to establish himself, came to the wicket looking to make his first meaningful contribution of the tour. But once again he looked unsure of himself outside the off stump off the spinners and was caught at point for a solitary run.

By this stage it was 136 for five with only 12 overs left, and when Romaine eventually went, bowled by Mahwire, any remaining interest in the game drained away.

In the absence of Bermuda?s two best bowlers in Leverock and O?Brien, the key to holding their own with such a limited bowling attack was to field like champions.

Yet in stark contrast to their opponents, Bermuda were decidedly lacklustre in this regard, allowing far too many easy singles and putting down three crucial chances over the course of their 50 overs in the field.

Excluded from the important game against Canada, Kevin Hurdle and Ryan Steede were given a chance to open the bowling and asked to stake a claim to a place in the full strength side.

Struggling with his run-up early on, Hurdle was wayward and lacking in confidence, though Steede fared better and was unlucky not to have an early wicket under his belt after his skipper Tucker shelled a straightforward chance at slip from opener Piet Rinke in the second over of the day.

That blunder was quickly forgotten, however, when Rinke got a feint touch on a ball angled down the leg side from Hurdle and was caught behind for five.

Despite that early success, Zimbabwe never once dropped below five runs an over through the first 20, with both Chamunorwa Chibhaba and Vusi Sibanda batting with consummate ease as they crucified anything misdirected while rotating the strike at will.

Chibhaba then patted a delivery from part-time off-spinner Romaine straight to Janeiro Tucker at midwicket to leave Zimbabwe on 120 for two off 22 overs while Steede returned for a second spell soon after to claim the important wicket of Sibanda, who threw away a glorious opportunity for a hundred with an ugly scythe across the line and was trapped lbw for 78.

But any chance of Bermuda wresting back the initiative was then quashed by a 98-run fourth-wicket partnership between Brendan Taylor and captain Terry Duffin, both of whom struggled during the West Indies series and were no doubt grateful for an opportunity to plunder an ordinary attack.

Duffin eventually perished for 60, top edging a slog-sweep off Janeiro Tucker and being caught by the wicketkeeper while both Elton Chigumbura and Keith Dabengwa also fell as Zimbabwe hit out.

But Taylor continued to pummel the Bermudian bowlers into submission, ensuring his side posted a score in excess of 300 ? even if he suffered the disappointment of being bowled by Tucker off the last ball of the innings just two runs shy of a century.

Both teams have today off to prepare for the final, and Bermuda will have to improve in all areas of the game if they are not to be embarrassed for the second match running.