Cricket: ICC Team Preview Of Bermuda
The ICC have released a ‘team preview’ of Bermuda, saying that the island is ”banking on their string of experienced players to recreate some of their notable performances from the past decade.”
The ICC website report:
Making their first T20 World Cup Qualifier appearance in six years, Bermuda would be banking on their string of experienced players to recreate some of their notable performances from the past decade.
Bermuda are one of the lowest-ranked teams in the Qualifier [30th] – only, Nigeria, at 37, are placed worse. Since 2010, they have dropped from Division One to Division Four in the ICC World Cricket League.
A number of Bermuda veterans have earned a spot in the squad – the list includes 44-year-old Janeiro Tucker, their first ODI captain, and Malachi Jones, who also played in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2007 as a teenager. Lined up alongside them will be some of their most exciting young talents, including 22-year-old Delray Rawlins, one of their most recognisable faces.
Dion Stovell, captain for the Qualifier, believes that the tournament could be a stepping stone in reviving Bermuda cricket. “We are here to showcase our talent and we are looking to move Bermuda cricket forward,” he said in the pre-tournament press conference in Dubai.
How they got here
Hosts of the America Regional Finals, Bermuda qualified from the sub-region group alongside Cayman Islands. With nine points in six games, they made it to the main qualifiers as the second-placed team, along with winners Canada.
T20WC history
Bermuda have made three T20 World Cup Qualifier appearances, in 2008, 2012 and 2013, but are yet to play the T20 World Cup.
One to watch out for
Onias, one of the three Bascome brothers in the team, was their highest wicket-taker in the America Qualifiers, picking up eight wickets from six games. The medium-pacer, who also opens the batting, blends in his youthful exuberance to a side replete with players who are 30-plus.
Key Player
Bermuda’s line-up portrays a stronger look with the inclusion of Delray Rawlins, their 22-year-old all-rounder. The first Bermudian to play Championship cricket, he played three games for Sussex this season, scoring 58 in his final game last month. Their highest run-getter in T20I cricket, Rawlins’ canny left-arm spin lends an incisive edge to their bowling attack.
Schedule
- 19 October: v Papua New Guinea, ICC Academy, Dubai
- 20 October: v Singapore, ICC Academy No.2, Dubai
- 21 October: v Kenya, ICC Academy, Dubai
- 23 October: v Namibia, ICC Academy No.2, Dubai
- 24 October: v Scotland, Dubai International Cricket Stadium
- 26 October: v Netherlands, Dubai International Cricket Stadium
The ICC didn’t quite get it right as Okera tends to open the batting not Onias – that said good overview