Bermuda trails by 186 runs with nine wickets on hand

Having achieved some success in the final session of play yesterday there was reason for the Bermudan bowlers to believe they could wrap up the tailenders and gave their batting side a modest total to erase.

But things have not come easy to the Bermudan bowlers so far in this match and the first session before lunch was no different, Overnight batsman , Abdool Samad (on 1 not out) was joined by Umar Bhatti as play began today.

Umar , better known for his quick, left arm outswingers, took on a new role today and in the process another Canadian batting record was broken. The eight wicket partnership of Samad and Bhatti produced 149 runs and gave Canada a substantial first innings lead. Bhatti scored his 50 in just over two hours and hit 6 fours and 1 six before being bowled by left arm spinner Dwayne Leverock. The Canadian total was 535 ,a huge lead of 201 runs .

Abdol Samad, a member of the 2003 World Cup squad, was recalled for this game to replace the injured Harinder Dhilion and he made the best of his opportunity by scoring the third century of the innings-119. This explosion of batting power by the home side finally ended when Leverock bowled Ravishankar without scoring. It was the only "duck" of the entire innings which lasted 135.4 overs and included 66 fours and 4 sixes. With the score at 588 Bermuda needed 254 runs just to avoid an innings defeat.

When the Bermudan innings resumed the weather began to change for the worse. The light began to fade and rain clouds surrounded the ground. Borden and Outerbridge looked more comfortable than the first innings until the score was 30. Borden failed to get behind a Bhatti delivery and gave wicket keeper Ashish Bagai a catch. Outerbridge was joined by his skipper ,Irving Romaine. The pair continued to play superb shots, especially Outerbridge who had reached 35 when the rains came. The umpires came off at 3.45 pm local time with Bermuda at 68/1 still trailing by 186 runs. Play was suspended for the day at 5.00 pm.

When play resumes tomorrow at 10.00am local time, it will be an interesting session to lunch as both teams try to achieve their goals- for Canada it is an outright win, for Bermuda a draw.