Bermuda v South Africa, World Cup Qualifier

Bermuda make 13 ... and lose in four balls

Cricinfo staff

February 18, 2008

South Africa 15 for 0 beat Bermuda 13 (Loubser 6-3) by ten wickets
Scorecard

	Bermuda were bowled out for a paltry 13 © ICC

Bermuda's women carved an unwanted niche in the international record books with one of the most abject performances in the game's history. In their opening match of the World Cup Qualifiers at Stellenbosch University, they were bowled out for 13 and then South Africa took only four balls to sweep to a ten-wicket win.

Bermuda's men haven't made much of a positive impact in the game either - eleven months ago, they conceded 413 for 5 against India in the World Cup and lost by 257 runs, the biggest margin in one-day history. But their women have just lowered the bar by several notches.

They crawled to 7 for 2 after ten overs, but that represented the high-water mark. By the time drinks were taken after 15.5 overs they were 13 for 7 and had lost their 42-year-old captain, Linda Mienzer, for a determined 1 off 48 deliveries. Such was the confusion that when play resumed the batsmen returned to the wrong ends.

The last three wickets failed to add to the score as Sunette Loubser finished with 6 for 3, including 5 for 1 in 12 balls.

Terry-Lynn Paynter opened Bermuda's attack but struggled to find the cut strip, conceding nine wides and a no-ball. Olivia Anderson did manage to reach one, which she dispatched for four.

The statistics of the match are mindboggling. Eight Bermudans failed to get off the mark, and the three that did only managed a single each. Ten of the runs that helped make up their meagre score were extras - 71%. South Africa's score of 15 for 0 was also made up of ten extras - nine wides and a no-ball. Anderson scored 50% of the runs scored off the bat in the match, and 80% of her side's runs.

Unfortunately for South Africa, but mercifully for the record-books, Bermuda's debacle does not count towards the official statistics because they are ranked outside the world's top ten countries. "I am disappointed that today's stats don't count for nothing," said Loubser, "but I would say it was a team effort to win the opening match of the tournament.

Bermuda's captain, Mienzer, tried desperately to put a positive gloss on the performance. "I am extremely proud and our team is very proud to be here," she said. "Just a year and a half ago there was no women's programme so we went to Canada and qualified to come here which is an achievement in itself. In terms of women's cricket in Bermuda, it has come a long way but we still have a long way to go."

South Africa's next match is against equally unheralded opponents, Papua New Guinea, on Tuesday. "We are taking one match at a time and we are happy that we are off to a good start," said Loubser. "It should augur well for the whole tournament. We don't know anything about our next opponents, but that doesn't mean we should rest on our laurels. We should be ready for anything."

© Cricinfo

 Read Comments (42)

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Comments have now been closed for this article It's a paid vacation for the officials and the team. It looks like. A waste of public money. If I was a Bermudan, I would be livid that all the good money spent on players who can't hold a back. The posters on this site who cannot see the playing of a farce and think it's a team starting out are missing the point completely! No one can be this bad! But on a second thought SA leting them bat for 15 good overs doesn't show incisive bowling anyways! Posted by SportySpice on February 20 2008, 09:14 AM GMT That Bermuda qualified is a big achievement. Sure they were miserable today but if they get a good coach and get some cricketing experience, they can be a bit more competitive than this. But they can be proud of their achievements. After all,they got a chance to play against a top-quality team. The team should be a role model for girls in their country and inspire them to participate in sports. Posted by lordricha27 on February 19 2008, 18:23 PM GMT i think they should go ang play some list A & first class matches to work on their game after that performans these girls should quit before it's to late Posted by 438434 on February 19 2008, 17:27 PM GMT No point in commenting on the cricket... there wasn't enough to make any meaningful assessment. But a word to "windiescricetfan"... we have it on good account that the South African women were bowling underarm... gentle lollies... but as you can see despite their trying to take pity on the Bermudian dames, even their pity failed miserably! :) Posted by McPiggle on February 19 2008, 04:48 AM GMT doncrintonss is a little ignorant... 'You cannot blame the Bermuda team.Cricket isn't famous there.' Actually cricket is the most popular sport in Bermuda. They even have a 2-day national holiday for a cricket match. The problem is that they are just too small of a country to produce enough good cricketers. Posted by OriginalDaVe on February 19 2008, 04:23 AM GMT REgarding RajivGowers comment....hong kong played in the asian cup some 4 years ago 2....they werent that bad....id say if they played Bermudas mens team....theyd beat em Posted by Breathe000 on February 19 2008, 02:48 AM GMT Windiescricetfan, you shouldn't say that. OK, it's completely true, what you say about South African cricket, but you still shouldn't say it. Poor Bermuda. This seems to be what you get when a nation with virtually no cricket history gets an unexpected financial windfall. The Bermudan Government threw lots of money at the men's cricket team, to prepare for the World Cup, and it's only fair that women's cricket gets more money, too. Unfortunately they have nothing worthwhile to spend it on. Posted by Paullie on February 19 2008, 01:38 AM GMT Ha ha ha ha. PMSL. Gold. This is an amazing day for cricket, and Bermudian cricket in particular. They've come a long way? You've got to be kidding us ... if this is a "long way" then you still have not a long way but light years to go. Posted by HH_pink on February 19 2008, 01:08 AM GMT I think the biggest losers in all this is South Africa, who must be feeling pretty sad that they had the highest score for Bermuda with 10 extras Posted by bkhan420 on February 19 2008, 00:33 AM GMT Not long ago, everyone and their dog were complaining that bangladesh shouldn't be allowed to play at international level.. They've come back to beat the best of the best.. and how refreshing is it? Everyone has to start somewhere, and if Bermuda can take a loss like that with a grain of salt what are the rest of you desk jockeys crying about? Can't blame anyone for trying! Posted by fortheloveofthegame on February 19 2008, 00:16 AM GMT Read all 42 Comments  Top ^

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Stories

Speight denies Bermuda is in crisis

Slick Pakistan sink Ireland

Matches

South Africa Women v Bermuda Women at Stellenbosch

Players/Umpires

Sunette Loubser

Linda Mienzer

Series/Tournaments

ICC Women's World Cup Qualifying Series

Teams

Bermuda

South Africa