Bermuda Men's Senior National Cricket Coach Cal Waldron praised his team's mindset and execution after they recovered from an opening-match setback to thrash host nation Cayman Islands by 10 wickets.
Following weather disruptions, Bermuda finally got their tournament campaign under way with a demanding double-header against Cayman. The day yielded mixed fortunes, leaving Bermuda 1-1 in the standings after a disappointing opening loss was answered by a clinical, ten-wicket masterclass in the afternoon.
Waldron admitted his side were caught off the pace in the first fixture, where a lack of ruthlessness with the bat left them short of a defendable total.
"In the first game we probably lacked the intensity to execute ourselves and make slight adjustments to finish off with a higher total which would have enabled us to defend it," Waldron said. "We were probably 30 runs short in the first game, if that, which would have enabled us to come across the line with the victory."
Following an honest debrief between matches, Waldron noted that his squad completely transformed their approach for the rematch.
"Kudos to the players," Waldron reflected. "We talked about what we needed to adjust. They went into the second match with a different mindset, and as you could see, both teams applied different tactics and strategies to the game because they ended up scoring more runs, which was probably a par score on that pitch."
Cayman's improved total proved well within reach thanks to Bermuda's opening pair.
"We were fortunate enough to come away with a good 10-wicket victory," Waldron said. "Our batters, Dominic and Delray, spearheaded crossing the line and ensuring that we got things right, in a sense that we were able to execute the game plan."
With Bermuda and Cayman both sitting on 1-1 records heading into their respective encounters with the Bahamas, Waldron emphasised the importance of tournament permutations. Finishing in the top spot of the group phase is crucial to avoiding Saturday's play-off and advancing straight to Sunday's final.
"We’ll see how things pan out with their result tomorrow, Bahamas and Cayman," Waldron explained. "We can tactically approach Friday’s game when we play Bahamas — looking to do this and do that, and what’s required of us, so that if anything is possible, we avoid having to play on Saturday, which will give us another break.
"If not, we would end up playing Friday, Saturday, and then hopefully on Sunday in the final."
Despite the logistical challenges and tight schedule, the Bermuda coach expressed satisfaction at getting competitive overs completed.
"We finally were able to get outside, get a run up and down, get cricket played," he concluded. "The players responded well, and we’re looking forward to going into the next match on Friday."
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