Romaine stands alone as Bermuda wilt

Netherlands 152 for 0 (de Grooth 70*, Kervezee 69* ) trail Bermuda 183 (Romaine 103*, Panchal 5-34) by 31 runs
Scorecard

Bermuda's nightmare European tour continued with an abject performance on the first day of their Intercontinental Cup match against Netherlands at Amstelveen. Only a battling hundred from their captain, Irving Romaine, spared them from complete ignominy, but it was still a fairly one-sided affair as Netherlands closed on 152 for 0 in reply to Bermuda's 183.

Bermuda, already seriously weakened by retirements and other absences, came to the Netherlands on the back of two one-day defeats by Denmark, and there was nothing to today to suggest that they have turned the corner.

Invited to bat in bowler-friendly conditions, they struggled from the off, and when Romaine walked out to the middle they were 32 for 3. With the exception of a brief attacking cameo from Lionel Cann, thereafter he was left to battle on his own. Roderick Master kept his end up but took 62 balls to make 2, but aside from him, there was precious little resistance.

When Bermuda's eighth and ninth wickets fell within three balls, Romaine abandoned caution and cut loose. In the next over he hammered Adeel Raja for two sixes and a four, and then cracked three successive fours off Mark Jonkman. But no sooner had he brought up a gusty hundred than Mangesh Panchal wrapped up the innings and secured his first five-for. The last-wicket stand was worth 49, the highest of the innings.

As the World Cup showed, Bermuda's bowling lacks penetration. George O'Brien was fast but failed to make the breakthrough, while the usually reliable Dwayne Leverock, brought on as early as the fifth over, came in for some punishment and was quickly withdrawn.

Alexei Kervezee, at 17 a really bright prospect, and Tom de Grooth gave little succour to the bowlers and punished the bad balls, of which there were plenty, efficiently. The hundred came up in the 23rd over, and either side of that the batsmen brought up their fifties with boundaries off O'Brien.

Kervezee and de Grooth were still there at the close. Both have a highest first-class score of 98 and unless Bermuda offer much more tomorrow than they did today, both should go on to complete their maiden hundreds.