Hill came in and hit a couple of sixes of his own, and with Jemeiko Marshall (41) going strong, Bay certainly took the game to Cleveland. But by that time they still needed 100 runs to win, with little more than 30 minutes of play remaining.

With Bell returning to claim Hill's wicket, and with Shaki Darrell running out Dennis Pilgrim, Cleveland seemed on the cusp of victory.

But time, and a little gamesmanship from Romaine, who wasted three minutes bringing Marshall some water in the gathering gloom, eventually conspired to leave them just short of the outright win they so richly deserved.

Afterwards Cleveland skipper Musson praised his side's heart and said that the controversy that had dogged the competition for much of the year should be thrown out of the window.

'When it comes to Eastern Counties our players bleed Blue and White, that's what we bleed. Eastern Counties is different from Cup Match," said Musson.

"Lavar (Talbot) and Damali (Bell) they came good, them guys had the heart, no matter where they batted.

"If our top-line batsmen don't perform, our tail would. Our tail wagged today.

"Personally, I got a one-ball duck, myself, so I knew I had to come good with the ball and the job got done.

"And now, nobody can't say we weren't the better team. With all the controversy and everything, you can throw that out the window."

n Bermuda Under-13s have finished fifth out of seven teams at the St Kitts and Nevis Cricket Festival.

Clay Smith's side lost their last group game against Barbados on Saturday by 54 runs.

Christian Gibbon starred with the ball for Bermuda taking two wickets for 22 runs as Barbados made 117 for five.

In reply, Bermuda were bowled out for 63, with Khairi Joyiens top-scoring with 14.