Logie hopes Hemp's form rubs off on teammates

Bermuda coach Gus Logie hopes vice-captain David Hemp's current form, boosted by a maiden ODI century against Kenya at the World Cup Qualifiers (WCQs), rubs off on the other batsmen in the team.

Though Hemp's unbeaten 102 could not prevent a seven-wicket victory for Kenya in Potchefstroom on Monday, Bermuda still have a slender chance of making it to the 2011 World Cup, after their maiden appearance in the tournament in 2007.

Bermuda's loss to Kenya, coupled with the United Arab Emirates' victory over Denmark, has left them in danger of not only being eliminated from the WCQs but losing their ODI status as well. Bermuda need to beat in-form Netherlands in their final game on Wednesday and hope Afghanistan lose to UAE to keep their hopes alive in the tournament.

Much of their hopes, Logie feels, depend on Hemp, 38, a former Glamorgan captain with a lot of experience in county cricket. "Congratulations to David for reaching another milestone," Logie said. "Hopefully, other players will get jealous and follow suit the next game."

Hemp has enjoyed his promotion to the opening slot in Bermuda's last two matches, after false starts in the first two. An unbeaten 76 in a nine-wicket victory against Denmark over the weekend, the precursor to his century, augurs well for Bermuda as they look to make a late charge towards the Super Eight stage.

"I was obviously pleased but unfortunately it just wasn't to be our day," Hemp said. "Kenya played well. They got in and got a good start and managed to keep scoring."

Hemp added 107 runs with fellow opener Fiqre Crockwell, who chipped in with a fighting 45. "We laid quite a good foundation but we got bogged down when the spinners came on," Hemp said. "The pitch was a bit damp and it made playing the spin quite difficult. I thought the Kenyan spinners bowled quite well in the middle overs but batting did become a bit easier later on."