A lacklustre Bermuda suffered the ignominy of a series whitewash in Mombassa yesterday after losing the third and final One Day International to a Steve-Tikolo-inspired Kenya by a crushing 104 runs.

Having already lost the opening two games and the series, Irving Romaine?s men went into the final game in the poverty-stricken coastal city looking only to restore some confidence and some pride after what has been a mediocre start to their six-week stay in southern Africa.

But on a benign surface where batsmen could happily trust the bounce, Bermuda?s hapless bowlers were put to the sword in the morning after Kenya had won the toss and predictably elected to bat.

Regarded as easily the most accomplished batsman outside mainstream international cricket for the past decade, Tikolo proved a thorn in Bermuda?s side yet again with a majestic and unstoppable 111 off only 98 balls ? though he was let off the hook early on in his innings when dropped on only 22. Tikolo was helped along the way by the precocious middle-order batsman Tanmay Mishra, with the duo sharing in a partnership of 117 for the fourth wicket to put the visitors well and truly on the ropes.

For the most part, Bermuda?s bowlers were not up to the task once again, with the two young seamers Stefan Kelly (nought for 34 off three overs) and Malachi Jones (nought for 65 off six overs) coming in for some particularly savage treatment.

In an unusual move, captain Romaine opted to open the bowling with the left-arm spin of Dwayne Leverock in tandem with the medium-paced Saleem Mukuddem.

And though at first glance this tactical innovation might look to have been a success ? after the burly Leverock recorded figures of five for 53 off his ten overs ? in reality his first spell was expensive and his last three wickets came with Kenya?s score already in excess of 250.

In reply, meanwhile, Dean Minors was asked to fill Bermuda?s problem area at the top of the order for the second ODI in a row ? doing so with distinction by putting together a well-crafted 68 off 91 balls.

But once again, any chance Bermuda had of reaching their imposing target was scuppered by the frontline batsmen?s inability to turn solid starts into genuinely big scores with Romaine (43), Janeiro Tucker (36) and David Hemp (25) guilty of this all-too-familiar shortcoming.

With wickets falling at regular intervals and the run rate climbing above ten runs an over by the innings? half-way point, the instruction was issued to simply bat the overs out ? something Mukuddem (10 not out) and Jones (six not out) succeeded in doing.

Having been on the losing end of a rain-interrupted draw with Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup, together with the one-day series whitewash, consistently terrible weather and a fatal shooting outside their hotel in Nairobi last week, Bermuda no doubt departed for South Africa this morning with a collective sigh of relief.

They now have a week to regroup at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria before beginning the final and inconsequential Intercontinental Cup game against Holland next Tuesday, which is followed by four ODIs against the Dutch and regional rivals Canada.