After a disappointing loss to Papua New Guinea yesterday, Bermuda opted to bat against Hong Kong in the hopes of posting a decent total for the Division 3 winners to chase. It was down to captain David Hemp and his team to turn the side's fortunes around after yesterday's loss and Hemp began the side's innings well, making 36 runs while his opening partner Dion Stovell managed only eight runs after falling at the hands of Nadeem Ahmed.
Jason Anderson broke through the ranks for the Americas side, scoring the team's first century of the tournament. The 32-year-old arrived at the crease in the second over and remained until the end of the innings to finish 106 not out before lunch.
Anderson was ably assisted in adding to the side's total by veteran batsman Lionel Cann who smashed a half-century in 35 balls, hitting four boundaries and two sixes in the process.
Hong Kong's Hussain Butt secured the two run-outs of the day - of Hemp and Irving Romaine, but Hong Kong's bowlers failed to repeat it's economical bowling figures of the day before, with Nizkat Khan's bowling proving to be expensive with 1-41 in comparison to his 4-14 yesterday.
In reply, Hong Kong's Roy Lansam made amends for yesterday's performance with the bat, with the 30-year-old smashing seven boundaries on his way to 40 runs. However, the right-handed batsman was not assisted in the run chase by his fellow top-order batsmen with only captain Najeeb Amar adding runs of note.
Bermuda's bowlers - Damali Bell and Rodney Trott walked away with the prize wickets of Courtney Kruger, Nizakat and Waqar Barkat to name but a few while Delyone Borden walked away with the wicket of schoolboy Mark Chapman whom he clean bowled for just five runs.
The target proved too great for the promoted Hong Kong side to chase down coupled with the Asian team losing its last four wickets in just 20 minutes and some economical bowling by the Bermudians helped secure the side its first win of the tournament.
Hemp commented on today's victory: 'Today we played incredibly well - and you know you always hope that one of your top four batsmen will bat through, creating a platform for a high score. We played well and we stuck with it, Anderson laid a great foundation for us to keep pushing through whilst defending a target.'
Commenting on the difference between yesterday's loss and today's victory, Hemp added: 'Yesterday we spent the whole day chasing a total - whereas today, thankfully, we didn't have to deal with the pressure. Yesterday we let them bowl and squeeze us. It did happen at certain points today, however we managed to pull away in good time. Failing to bowl at the start yesterday allowed for Papua New Guinea to set a good platform and squeeze us in the middle. Unfortunately yesterday we spent the whole time chasing a score, and thus failed to really succeed in our batting.
'Today we were far more consistent in our bowling: in terms of lines and lengths. We had a superb start, which gave us momentum for our bowling Power Play. This also ensured that some pressure was relieved off our bowlers - so they could focus on doing their job right. The great beginning meant we gave ourselves a chance to bowl well.'