Bermuda national cricket team fly to Dubai tonight for the Twenty20 World Cup Qualifiers with hope of claiming one of the six available places that are up for grabs.

This past weekend seven of the Bermuda England-based cricketers met at Horsham Cricket Club for a weekend of intense training.

I managed to have a chat with Delray Rawlins who was at the camp, but on standby for the tour, and Kamau Leverock who will be actually meeting up with the squad tomorrow morning.

The following is what they had to say about the training camp and the tour:

Delray Rawlins

Q: How long did you train each day and what was the primary goal of the sessions?

A: On Saturday we trained from 10am– 4pm and Sunday we trained 1am-6pm, and the primary goal being how to manipulate the spinners with a variety of strokes.

Q: What did you do that was different to what you normally do when training in Bermuda?

A: Most times at home we bat to the bowling machine in the nets, but our session here was done in the centre of the gym with cones laid out as fielders so that we can actually try to manipulate the field against spin bowling, while using a variety of shots.

Q: What is the one piece of advice that stands out in your mind from the coaches?

A: Actually there were two. The coaches talked to me about being more balanced when batting and being more aggressive in my stroke playing.

Q: What has it been like playing for Bermuda at such a young age and was you disappointed to be left out of the T20 squad?

A: Playing for Bermuda has been amazing as I never knew the importance of playing for your country until I played my first game. Unfortunately, I wasn’t selected for the T/20 but in some ways I don’t mind because this is a very important year for me in school as I will soon be sitting my GCSE’s.

Kamau Leverock

Q: What was the training like for you in Horsham and what did you gain from it?

A: The training was excellent. I learned how to play a variety of different shots against spin bowling. The coach also did theory on bowling to a variety of scenarios and then we practised trying to execute each plan.

Q: Not only have you been to Horsham, but last week you also went to MCC Lord’s for three intense days of training. How do you feel about your game with the tournament being just around the corner?

A: I am feeling very confident, my batting has improved. The coach had me hit over 500 balls playing a minimum of at least six different shots. He also video-taped my bowling action and tweaked it a bit to decrease injury, while increasing my bowling accuracy.

Q: What role do you see yourself playing for Bermuda in this T20 tournament?

A: Last tournament I opened the bowling and then bowled again in the power play and I came in late in the game, batting to increase the run rate at the end.

However, we have a new coach and a new captain so I am more than willing to do whatever they see fit, as I am a team player.

Q: Lastly, and the question all of Bermuda want to know is do we really have a realistic chance of qualifying?

A: Yes, we do have a realistic chance providing the entire team is focused and have a positive mindset and we will need to be able to overcome minor setbacks.

• • • •

One thing I have learned about cricket is that anything is possible.

Who would have thought that Kenya would ever beat the West Indies or that Ireland would defeat England? It just goes to show, cricket is played on the field and with the right training and preparation anything is possible on the day.

The question is have we had the right preparation? Are our coaches able to get the best out of our players? How will the team respond after all this controversy surrounding players playing football? Only time will tell!

The initial goal for the team right now should be to get to the play-off stages.

The coaching staff must do their homework during pre-tournament and scout teams and come up with game plans to nullify their opponents.

However, this is T20 and not always are their plans going to work so they must encourage the players to be resilient and fight through the tough times while still trying to execute to the best of their ability.

Here are four reasons why Bermuda have hope — Dion Stovell, Janeiro Tucker, Lionel Cann and Malachi Jones. Yes, cricket is a team sport and the remainder of the team will have a vital part to play but the reality is these four players will decide our fate in this tournament.

If they play well we have a chance as these four players are, in cricket terms, match winners. They have the ability on their day to single handily win a game.

Prime example of this was in the ICC World Cup qualifiers 2012 when Janeiro Tucker came in and scored 52 runs off of only 35 balls to lead Bermuda to a win over Papua New Guinea, with merely three balls to spare.

Realistically, many around Bermuda and the world are not giving us a chance of qualifying. Some say we will be lucky if we win more than one game.

This is considered to be mission impossible by most cricket fans and purists, but those of us who see the glass half full knows there is always a chance, just like David and Goliath.

Quote of the week: “Never say never because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion” – Michael Jordan