Emotions boiled over between USA fast bowler Ali Khan and Bermuda wicketkeeper Okera Bascome during one of multiple hot-tempered moments in USA's 23-run win over Bermuda. 

Image credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna in Antigua (Twitter @PeterDellaPenna)
 
In a hot-tempered encounter at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, USA exacted revenge for a pair of losses to Bermuda in 2019 by defeating their regional rival by 23 runs on day two of the 2021 ICC Americas Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier. The victory took USA to 3-0 at the event following lopsided 10-wicket and nine-wicket wins on the opening day against Belize and Panama respectively. 
 
But the match against Bermuda will remain a talking point for both countries for some time after a series of physical altercations erupted during Bermuda’s chase of a target of 173. While USA was on the receiving end of several sendoffs in their innings, most notably the dancing celebration produced by Malachi Jones upon dismissing Xavier Marshall, those exchanges were mild compared to what erupted when it was Bermuda’s turn to bat.
 

The tone was tempestuous from ball one when Bermuda opener Tre Manders was given not out off the first ball of Bermuda’s reply. Video replay evidence showed a clear edge behind to USA wicketkeeper-captain Monank Patel off a good length ball from Rusty Theron. USA’s entire inner ring charged forward in a raucous appeal, but umpire Arnold Maddela did not uphold the numerous appeals, which resulted in furious remonstrations from multiple USA players. 
 
Things became even more heated in Theron’s second over, the third of the chase, after fellow Bermuda opener Allan Douglas Jr was hit in the ribs by a rising delivery from Theron. Marshall ran all the way from his position at mid-off to have words with Douglas Jr, who responded by pointing his bat at Marshall. Both umpires then had a word with USA captain Monank, who then subsequently spoke to Marshall before he returned to mid-off. 
 
The first wicket fell when Douglas Jr was bowled for 10 by Ian Holland’s first ball of the match in the fourth over, playing around a straight ball that clipped leg stump after Monank came up to the stumps to tie Douglas Jr to the crease. Holland’s magnificent over continued three balls later when Curt Stovell attempted a misguided charge and was defeated back of a length for a sharp stumping by Monank to complete a four-ball duck. Only a glide behind point by Delray Rawlins which turned into overthrows for 2 spoiled a would-be double-wicket maiden for Holland. 
 
Rawlins and Manders continued to work methodically through the end of the Powerplay, taking Bermuda to 34 for 2, before Rawlins took on Karima Gore’s left-arm spin in the ninth for Bermuda’s first big over of the chase. Taking advantage of the ball turning in, Rawlins smashed Gore for two boundaries while Manders added another in a 16-run over. Rawlins was at it again in the 11^th against Saurabh Netravalkar’s medium pace, driving two overpitched deliveries back down the ground for six in a 15-run over that took the score to 85 for 2. A 12-run over followed in the 12^th off Steven Taylor as Manders heaved him over the leg side for six and four. 
 
Another 14 runs came to Bermuda in the 13^th, but they came at a price as Nisarg Patel jolted the Bermuda pace by taking the wicket of Rawlins for 45 off 28 balls. One ball after slog sweeping Nisarg with the turn over midwicket for four, Rawlins tried to repeat the shot but wound up chipping a top edge tamely toward Taylor at deep square leg, who took a safe catch 10 yards inside the rope to make it 102 for 3. 
 
Taylor then struck twice in the following over to swing the pendulum even further in the direction of USA. Bermuda captain Kamau Leverock then fell for 3 at the start of the 14th, slicing a drive off Taylor high over backward point where Aaron Jones ran back to take a diving catch on the edge of the ring. Having been controversially given not out on the first ball of the chase, Manders finally fell for 49 two balls later, driving a low full toss back to Taylor at knee height to make it 115 for 5. 
 
Jones was bowled for 1 by Theron to start the 15^th, capping a sequence of 4 for 15 off 11 balls, to make it 117 for 6. Khan then returned and after peppering Onias Bascome back of a length to start the 16^th, followed it up with a pinpoint yorker to bowl him for 6, making it 125 for 7 as Bermuda needed 48 off the last 25 balls to win. 
 
It was after Okera Bascome’s first ball to end the 16^th over facing Khan that tensions then boiled over once again. Okera arrived to the crease without a helmet to face Khan and after flicking the final delivery of the over through the leg side for a single, Khan and Okera got into a heated confrontation during which umpire Leslie Reifer Jr had to hastily step in between both players, who had come face to face. After briefly being separated and walking away, the two then aggressively approached each other again. USA teammate Jaskaran Malhotra and Marshall along with umpire Reifer Jr had to pull Khan away from Okera while the other Bermuda batter at the crease, Macai Simmons, had to physically restrain Okera. After a brief lull, Okera then began to gesture with his bat pointing at USA captain Monank, who had arrived to try to calm the situation. In an extraordinary scene, the umpires then summoned Bermuda captain Leverock – who had been dismissed several overs earlier – to come back out onto the field for another discussion about the deteriorating state of affairs. 
 
The waters remained calm for just nine deliveries as another altercation broke out during the 18^th over. Following a single hit down the ground by Simmons off Khan, the two combatants had to be separated once again by umpire Reifer Jr as the pair could be seen to make physical contact. The sequence caused another delay as fellow umpire Maddela joined Reifer Jr to summon USA captain Monank and have one more lengthy chat about player conduct while third umpire Emmerson Carrington of Bermuda simultaneously spoke to Leverock, who had moved from his position in the Bermuda bench area to come to the edge of the boundary. 
 
After things finally simmered down, Theron took the last wicket to fall as Okera was bowled for 7, followed by very muted reactions from the USA fielders, to make it 144 for 8 with eight balls remaining. Needing 29 off the remaining deliveries, Bermuda’s tail could only muster five runs off of Theron and Netravalkar to end the game. Unlike the on-field theatrics, the post-match handshake line was handled in uneventful manner. 
 

Holland and Taylor both finished with 2 for 21 while Theron claimed 2 for 31 in his four overs. Khan bowled marvelously to finish with 1 for 12 in four while Nisarg took the key scalp of Rawlins in his only over to finish with 1 for 14. Karima Gore and Netravalkar went wicketless with 0 for 16 in one over and 0 for 28 in three overs respectively. 
 
The USA victory was set up by a tremendous Powerplay from Taylor and Monank followed by a half-century in the middle overs by eventual Player of the Match Jones. After winning the toss and choosing the bat first, USA’s opening pair blitzed their way to a 53-run opening stand off the first 28 balls. Taylor clattered Jones for a hat-trick of fours in the third over before Monank did the same to Leverock in the fifth. But the Bermuda captain struck back with a clever slower ball that Monank chipped to Rodney Trott at short midwicket for a sharp low catch to fall for 30 off 16 balls. Taylor fell off the final ball of the Powerplay for 25, skying a slog off of Douglas Jr’s spin before it finally came down in the hands of wicketkeeper Okera. 
 
Marshall and Jones then added 42 for the third wicket before Marshall heaved Jones to Manders at deep midwicket for 19. It sparked the dancing celebration from Jones as Marshall walked past the Bermuda bowler on the way to the pavilion, becoming the first domino to fall in the series of emotional displays on field throughout the day.  
 
Malhotra fell next for 11 to become Leverock’s second victim of the day in the 14^th over, chipping a catch to Dominic Sabir at long-on. Holland could only scratch out 4 before he fell in the same manner to Rawlins in the 16^th. Jones finally fell one ball later for an even 50, edging an attempted cut off Rawlins behind to Okera. 
 
Trott was on a hat-trick in the 19^th as USA began to stumble at the death. Nisarg fell slicing the offspinner to Manders at point before Khan tried to heave his first ball over the leg side and was pouched at deep midwicket by Leverock. Gore then flicked a skyer to Manders at deep midwicket for 12 to begin Leverock’s final over before the Bermuda captain bowled Netravalkar with a yorker for 2 to end the USA innings with two balls remaining, though it wound up not coming to matter in the final margin. 
 
Leverock finished with 4 for 28 in valiant effort to bring his team back into the match with the ball. Rawlins recovered from a rocky pair of overs in the Powerplay to end with 2 for 28. Trott ended with 2 for 31 in his four overs while Douglas Jr claimed 1 for 13 in two and Jones ended with 1 for 35 in four. 
 
On day one of the tournament, USA steamrolled their opening pair of opponents at Coolidge Cricket Ground beginning with the 10-wicket win over Belize in which USA chased a target of 65 in just 4.2 overs. Taylor was named Man of the Match after taking 1 for 5 in two overs with the ball including a maiden before clobbering an unbeaten 39 off 15 balls, including four sixes, during the brief chase. Holland, Theron and Gore also helped set up victory with the ball after USA won the toss and chose to field first. Theron led the way with 3 for 16 in his four overs to help restrict Belize to 64 for 9 while Holland took miserly figures of 2 for 4 in four overs with a maiden. Gore also claimed 2 for 13 in his three overs. Glenford Banner top-scored with 28 for Belize. 
 
USA followed that up by chasing a target of 86 in 9.2 overs to secure the nine-wicket win over Panama, who opted to bat first at the toss. Holland’s spectacular day in the field continued with figures of 2 for 3 in three overs including a maiden before he pulled off a stunning catch at long-on to complete a wicket for Nisarg in the 19^th over. 
 
Malhotra and Marshall were sent out to open the chase in order to give more players an opportunity for time in the middle. Marshall was dropped twice, at extra cover on 5 and again skying a pull to short fine leg that was spilled one over later when he was on 9. He eventually went on to score on unbeaten 47 off 35 balls. Malhotra similarly was given a life at short fine leg on 15 before he was bowled behind his legs for 19 walking too far across his stumps to heave the spin of Dineshbhai Ahir. Jones survived a sharp low return chance driven back to Ahir on 6 before ending unbeaten on 14 off nine balls. 
 
All teams had a rest day on November 9. USA returns to action on Wednesday, November 10 against Canada at Coolidge Cricket Ground scheduled for a 1 pm start local time.