Romaine defends World Cup place after thrashing

Irvine Romaine, Bermuda's captain, defended his side after an embarrassing 241-run loss to England and insisted they deserved their place in the World Cup. Romaine, who did not bat as he was suffering from a concussion sustained while fielding, told reporters at Kingstown: "Half the time we've done well. You can't overlook the fact that we did field well. We just didn't bat as well as we should have and we have the chance to bat better than we did."

Bermuda, one of five associate nations included in this year's World Cup, were dismissed for 45 in 22.2 overs. In Trinidad, Ireland nearly shocked South Africa when they bowled out the No. 1 one-day side for 192 and eventually lost by 35 runs. Romaine shot back at critics of minnow nations participating in the World Cup by saying: "People say the associates shouldn't be here but, realistically, this is the only thing they can dream for, a chance to play against these guys. The rules were made and we qualified."

Michael Vaughan, the England captain, added: "It's hard to know how a team like Bermuda will fare in the World Cup but their left-arm spinner bowled very well."

Dwayne Leverock was the pick of the Bermuda bowling with an impressive 2 for 32 from his 10 overs, the victims being Paul Collingwood and Kevin Pietersen. "I just try to bowl a steady line," said Leverock, a member of Bermuda's police force. "The wicket gave me some turn and bounce. I'm 270 lbs. I used to be bigger but I lost weight for the tournament."

Romaine said that team medics advised him rest ahead of Bermuda's second and final warm-up match against Zimbabwe on Thursday. "When I took the catch, I hit my head on the ground and my vision was blurred in my right eye. The physio passed it on to the ICC doctors and they declared I couldn't go back to play. They said they would come back to the hotel tonight to see if I could train tomorrow. I had concussion and whiplash in my neck."