Canada romp to easy victory

Cayman Islands 159 and 212 lost to Canada 340 for 9 dec and 151 for 6 dec by 120 runs
Scorecard

Richard Done ICC HP Manager presenting the MOM to Canada's Henry Osinde who took 7/53 in the first innings © ICC

Canada easily defeated the Cayman Islands by a margin of 120 runs in the third and final contest of the Americas Region Intercontinental Cup.

The competition which was played over the past 11 days at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club saw Bermuda dethrone the defending champions Canada winning both of their games.

The match that ended today was well in Canada's control but what was interesting was the remarkable improvement as the tournament progressed by the Cayman Islands squad. Playing for the first time in three day competition, the Caymanians struggled adjusting to the longer version of the game especially against Bermuda. While never a threat to Canada there was a remarkable improvement. With very little time to prepare for this tournament due to the late withdrawal of the invitation to the USA and limited facilities in the Cayman Islands as they try to rebuild after Hurricane Ivan last year, the Cayman team was eager for the opportunity to gain valuable experience. They did extremely well considering those two major hurdles.

Sunil Dhaniram - 5 for 20 © ICC

When the day began, Cayman was chasing a massive total of 295 to win. For the first time in the entire competition all seven batsmen reached double figures. Pearson Best with a solid 53 was supported by Franklin Hinds (35), and skipper Ryan Bovell with 18. Earlier in the innings Steve Gordon (14), Ainsley Hall (30) ,Marc Chin (14), and Roland Ebanks (26) all reached double figures.

But the day really belonged to Canada's spinners Sunil Dhaniram and Kevin Sandher who took a combined total of eight wickets as the pitch finally gave some turn.

Sandher ended with 3/51 from eighteen overs while Dhaniram took 5/20 from 15.5 overs. Henry Osinde's brilliant bowling in the first innings when he took 7/53 earned him the Man of the Match.

The final points table sees Bermuda with 62 points, followed by Canada with 51 and the Cayman Islands with 23. Bermuda will now represent the Americas at the semi-finals in Namibia in October.