Samad made his maiden century, eventually falling to the bowling of Bermuda's Kevin Hurdle for 119 runs. Umar Bhatti then added 50 runs to put Canada in control of the match.

"Hopefully we can finish them off tomorrow,'' said Canadian head coach Andy Pick. ``We've had three days of very good cricket; we need to stick one more to end it. If we do, we will have come out on top from our home games.''

Canada established a first-innings lead of 254 runs, but Bermuda fought back in its second innings to reach 67 runs for the loss of one wicket before rain halted play.

The morning, though, belonged to Samad and Bhatti, who cut-up Bermuda's bowling. Samad hit 18 boundaries, combining solid defence of the stumps with controlled aggression.

Samad, who last played for Canada at the 2003 World Cup, hoped his performance would help him secure a place on the squad with the 2007 World Cup on the horizon.

Bhatti's 50 runs included an impressive pull for six runs and six other boundary shots, including one six and five fours. His play prevented any chance of Bermuda bowling out Canada quickly as Canada did not lose a wicket in the morning session.

"It was nice to see the batting come together. We've got the runs we wanted on the board," said Pick on his team's batting.

Bermuda coach Gus Logie believed that the situation could have been worse if not for the rain. "Rain saved the day for us. It was one of those days we dreaded. (Numbers) 8 and 10 (batsmen) added so many runs. Young Samad batted very well. We didn't stick to our line. We didn't control the game and they got away."

Despite the runs barrage, Logie was optimistic about Bermuda's chances of getting back into the match.

"In the end, with the rain, we appear to have saved the game,'' said Logie. ``We still have nine wickets (left) and if we bat like we did on the first day, we should be able to draw the match."

The loss of play to rain on Monday means that play will commence 30 minutes earlier at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the fourth and final day of the match.