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By Peter Della Penna in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Scorecard powered by New Inning Foundation

Medium pacer Christion Gibbons-Wade dashed USA’s hopes of chasing the biggest total of the tournament with 5 for 35 as Bermuda defeated USA by 24 runs on Wednesday in the 2011 ICC Americas U-15 Northern Division Tournament at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Gibbons-Wade was named Man of the Match for his crucial spell in the field along with an efficient innings of 23 not out in 11 balls. USA suffered their first loss to go to 2-1 while Bermuda registered their first win to go to 1-2, now tied for second with Canada.

Bermuda won the toss and elected to bat first on a warm and very windy day. Rutvij Bhise made the first breakthrough for USA when Keishun Smith was hit on the toe by a yorker and given LBW for 1 to make it 8 for 1 in the third over. All-rounder Delray Rawlins joined Joshua Commissiong at the crease and the two built an attritional 74-run partnership for the second wicket. Commissiong went through stretches of 12 and 14 deliveries without scoring while Rawlins was even more defensive, enduring a period of 20 straight dot balls early in his innings as extras were the only way to keep the scoreboard ticking for Bermuda. After 16 overs, the score was 36 for 1.

However, the scoring rate began to surge dramatically beginning in the 17th over when Rawlins attacked Vibhav Altekar with a boundary and a six hooked behind square as part of an 18-run over. Another 12 were taken off the following over bowled by leg-spinner Mihir Athavale as the Bermuda batsmen gained confidence. Both men looked set for a long stay at the crease until Commissiong ran himself out for 17 when he smacked a delivery from left-arm spinner Brandon Dat straight to Athavale at cover and set off for a run. Rawlins rightly stayed put and the throw from Athavale to Gordon Makin over the stumps was there in plenty of time to make it 82 for 2 in the 20th.

Rawlins departed six balls later for 39 when he slogged leg-spinner Vivek Narayan to deep midwicket where Altekar held on to a simple catch. Bermuda U-15 captain Antonio Darrell was out for a duck in the 21st over to make it 84 for 4 when he played across a flighted delivery from Dat and was hit on the back leg to be given LBW.

Just when it appeared that USA was back in control, Alex Dore and Janhoi Bean-Wilson produced another solid partnership for Bermuda, 59 runs for the fifth wicket. The two batsmen cruised along with ones and twos before targeting Narayan and Dat for 10 runs each in the 28th and 29th over to hit them out of the USA attack. Dore was unlucky to be given LBW for 24 to make it 143 for 5 on the first ball of the 35th when he appeared to be hit on the thigh while playing back to a good length ball from Athavale. Bean-Wilson was run out five balls later for 30 when he tried to steal a run off a misfield but Rohit Mogalayapalli recovered in time to fire a throw to Makin over the stumps as Bermuda fell to 147 for 6 after 35.

It appeared that USA was on the verge of bowling Bermuda out, but Detre Bell and Gibbons-Wade unleashed a stunning counterattack in the next four overs. The pair added 64 runs from the 36th to the 39th as they punished the USA attack for continuously bowling a leg-stump line. Momentum swung dramatically when Bell pulled Mogalayapalli for four straight boundaries behind square on the first four balls of the 36th over.

Bhise only conceded 10 runs off his first five overs, but gave up 20 after coming back on for a second spell in the 38th. The over ended in controversy when Bell was awarded a boundary while USA’s fielders claimed he had been bowled. Due to the high winds throughout the innings, the bails kept on falling off the stumps and after a certain point in time the umpires elected to play on without the bails. Bell walked across his stumps to flick a good length ball from Bhise and the delivery appeared to shave leg stump before traveling to the fine leg boundary. After a discussion between the two on-field umpires, the original signal of four was upheld.

Bhise got his revenge on the first ball of the 40th when Bell pulled a full toss to Mogalayapalli at deep midwicket for 37. Two byes were stolen during the over but no more runs came off the bat as Bermuda finished on 213 for 7 in 40 overs. Extras top scored in the innings with 42 including 30 wides as USA’s bowlers never fully adjusted to the gusty conditions.

Compared to Bermuda’s start, USA batted positively to stay in line with the asking rate throughout the chase. Unlike Bermuda though, they failed to build enough quality partnerships to keep the fielding side under pressure. Karanjit Singh was bowled by Joshua Liyanage for 6 to make it 22 for 1 in the seventh when the batsman failed to connect with an expansive drive to a good length ball.

Controversy returned to the match in the 12th over when fellow opener Jason Gobin was given out for 22 to make it 56 for 2. Gibbons-Wade was in his first over when he bowled a short and wide ball that Gobin attempted to cut. There was a definite edge and the keeper Bean-Wilson claimed a catch diving forward but the ball did not appear to carry. Initially the umpire gave the decision as not out on the basis that there was no edge, but the Bermuda U-15 captain Darrell approached the umpire for a few words which resulted in the leg umpire being consulted for his opinion. After a brief deliberation, Gobin was given out leaving the USA bench fuming.

Things went from bad to worse for USA when number three batsman Neil Tagare was out for 13, edging behind an attempted drive off Gibbons-Wade to make it 65 for 3. USA U-15 captain Dave Parikh was out LBW for 5 when he missed a knee high full toss from Gibbons-Wade to make it 76 for 4.

Gordon Makin was given a promotion to number six and made the most of it by constructing a 59-run stand with Vibhav Altekar. Makin took very little time to get his eye in and peppered the leg side boundary with a series of pulls and hooks while nudging into the off side to rotate the strike with Altekar. At the start of the 26th over, USA needed 90 to win at a run a ball and it seemed victory was achievable until Altekar was struck on the pads playing back to a good length ball from Liyanage and given LBW for 26 to make it 135 for 5.

Image (above) - Gordon Makin swipes through midwicket on his way to 65 for USA. [Courtesy: Peter Della Penna/DreamCricket.com]

Mogalayapalli arrived for a scratchy stay at the crease, doing his best to give Makin support. Makin brought up his 50 in 46 balls with seven boundaries as USA entered the final 10 overs needing 54 to win. But on the first ball of the 31st bowled by Rawlins, Makin drove a ball straight to cover and Mogalayapalli took off in a panic when there was no run to be had. Dore fielded and calmly threw to Rawlins to dismiss Mogalayapalli for 5 and it didn’t take long for USA’s chase to spiral out of control from there.

With no more recognized batsmen left to come, Makin began to swing for the fences on virtually every ball. He was dropped at point on 59 in the 32nd over and then got a second life on 62 off the last ball of the 33rd when Rawlins was let down by his fielders for the second day in a row after a simple chance was spilled at deep midwicket. After an initial spell of seven overs, Gibbons-Wade returned to bowl his final six balls in the 35th and the move worked to tremendous effect. Brandon Dat was claimed for 2 when he top edged a bouncer to the keeper to make it 179 for 7. Two balls later, Makin went for a slog to midwicket and was bowled for 65 as USA fell to 180 for 8. Gibbons-Wade’s fifth wicket sealed USA’s fate with only the tail remaining despite just 34 runs in 32 balls needed to win.

Bhise was bowled by a Darrell yorker for 2 to end the 36th and two balls later, Narayan was run out without facing a ball after responding slowly to Athavale’s call for a run. USA was bowled out for 189 in 36.2 overs. Extras were second top score behind Makin with 37.

Despite the loss, USA can still clinch the tournament title with a win over Canada on Thursday at Assiniboine Park. A loss would put them at 2-2 and move Canada to 2-1. USA would then need Canada to lose to Bermuda in the final round-robin match on Friday at which point all three teams would be deadlocked at 2-2 with net run rate deciding the winner. Entering Thursday’s match, USA has a +1.075 net run rate, Canada is at -0.475 while Bermuda is in the worst position of the three at -0.759. Thursday’s match is scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. start.