Canada v Bermuda, Intercontinental Cup, King City, 3rd day

Samad and Bhatti take Canada to strong position

Eddie Norfolk

August 15, 2006

Bermuda 334 and 68 for 1 (Outerbridge 35*) trail Canada 588 (Samad 119, Bhatti 50, Steede 4-127) by 186 runs
Scorecard

Buoyed by a 149-run eighth wicket stand between Abdool Samad and Umar Bhatti, Canada ended the third day against Bermuda on a high - eventually dismissed for 588 - with a first-innings lead of 254.

Samad made his maiden century in first-class cricket, eventually falling to the bowling of Kevin Hurdle for 119. Bhatti made 50 and gave great support as Canada achieved a dominant position in the match. Bermuda fought back, before the rains came, to reach 68 for the loss of one wicket, that of Deloyne Borden. Opener Steven Outerbridge remained unbeaten on 31.

The morning session saw Samad and Bhatti establish themselves and take the fight to the opposition. Samad hit 18 boundaries, combining solid defence with periods of controlled aggression. Bhatti 's 50 included an impressive pull for six, and his knock served as a thorn in Bermuda's side, thwarting their hopes of bowling out Canada quickly. Canada did not lose a wicket in the morning session of play.

A couple of chances to break the eighth wicket stand went begging for Bermuda, and they paid a heavy price. Dwayne Leverock, the slow-left arm bowler, bowled a substantial 48.4 overs, taking 2 wickets for 136 runs.

Samad, a member of the Canadian squad in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, expressed satisfaction at proving himself after such a long wait. . "I played my own game", he said. "The ball was not doing much. There was not a lot of movement - it is a batting track."

Andy Pick, the Canada coach, was happy to see the batting come together and hoped for the best on the final day. "Hopefully we can finish them off tomorrow", he said. "We've had three days of very good cricket; we need to stick one more to end it. If we do, we will have come out on top from our home games."

Gus Logie, the Bermuda coach, admitted that his bowlers lost the plot against the lower order. "Rain saved the day for us. It was one of those days we dreaded. Number 8 and 10 (batsmen) added so many runs. Young Samad batted very well. We didn't stick to our line. We didn't control the game and they got away.

"In the end, with the rain, we appear to have saved the game. We still have nine wickets left and if we bat like we did on the first day, we should be able to draw the match."

The loss of play due to rain on Monday means that play will commence half-an-hour earlier, at 10 am on Tuesday, the fourth and final day.

© Cricinfo

Add to del.icio.us | digg this | Stumble It What's this? If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content on cricket, you may use these buttons. When you add them to any of these sites, you "social bookmark" them for others to find and rate. More on del.icio.us>> More on digg>> More on stumbleupon>> Close

Live scores, results, news, features and more - a click away Download the Cricinfo Toolbar Current Cricinfo fantasy games - SL v Ind, Eng v SA & County Cricket Login and check the standings Live scores from across the world on your mobile phone Cricinfo Mobile

Stories

Bhatti bowls Canada to nine-wicket win

2nd day bulletin

1st day bulletin

Matches

Canada v Bermuda at King City (NW)

Players/Umpires

Umar Bhatti

Abdool Samad

Series/Tournaments

ICC Intercontinental Cup

Teams

Bermuda

Canada