At 42 and 39 respectively, Lionel Cann and Janeiro Tucker, know their time at international level will soon come to an end, but they still get enjoyment from representing their country and helping to develop the young players coming through.

Both will travel to Malaysia with the Bermuda team this month — Tucker as captain — for the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division Three Tournament, hoping to help guide the team into Division Two and helping to lay a good foundation for a national team in transition.

Bermuda are missing some top players, through either lack of availability or commitment, but there are encouraging signs with the inclusion of Terryn Fray, Kamau Leverock, Tre Manders, Christian Burgess and Delray Rawlins, who represent the best of the young crop coming through at international level.

“Bermuda has never really had their best team, but what is the best team?” Cann questioned.

“It’s a changing team and Bermuda is on the right path as far as the youngsters go. These are the best youngsters, with people like Terryn Fray, Tre Manders, Kamau Leverock and young Delray Rawlins.

“I’m sure their addition to the team is going to be good and we have to pass on a new culture to them: basic things like them wanting to play for their country and not accepting mediocrity, but instead pushing themselves and leaving their mark on international cricket.

“I have always been keen to pass on my knowledge. I’m a person who is approachable on tour and I have always pushed myself to keep up with them in training or in performances. Now I’m playing in a team where half the players are younger than my son. It makes me feel good when I see youngsters out there who are learning the game and having success.”

Cann and Tucker played key roles when Bermuda qualified in 2005 in Ireland for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, where teenager Malachi Jones made an immediate name for himself by taking a wicket off his first ball in the tournament against India when he dismissed opener Robin Uthappa, even though the dismissal lives in the annals for Dwayne Leverock’s stupendous catch at slip.

Seven years after his World Cup appearance, Tucker still has international aspirations. He was appointed Bermuda captain last year and has placed leading the Island into Division Two as one of his main goals.

“It’s just a matter of getting mentally and physically prepared and ready for the tournament,” Tucker said. “Now that the team has been picked, individual players have to step up their own game.”

Tucker will long be remembered for the 132 he scored for Bermuda against the United States when standing in as captain for the injured Clay Smith. It was a performance that made certain that Bermuda would be going to the World Cup for the first time.

Now the baton is being passed on to others in the team such as Dion Stovell, who has had another outstanding season with the bat domestically. He will get the chance to test himself again at international level.

“Stovell has had a couple of good seasons in Bermuda and also had some good international matches over the last few years, showing his maturity as a cricketer,” his captain said.

“Hopefully Terryn can carry on from the hundred he got in Cup Match and others like Tre and Delray also. They have all the ability and they really work on their game a lot, especially Terryn, and it will benefit the team going forward. Getting the team to qualify for Division Two is my main objective.”

Cann warns that nothing can be taken for granted at Associate level, where the lesser teams are getting stronger and stronger. Bermuda, he says, cannot afford to stand still.

“You can see how cricket is evolving with teams like Singapore and Malaysia moving up the ladder, and the face of cricket is changing where teams are getting better and better,” said the veteran batsman, who celebrates a birthday today.

“We have to look at the successes of other teams, rather than say Bermuda is failing. How about giving credit to other teams that are moving up. We want to move up to Division Two but we also need to maintain where we are; we don’t want to go down to Divisions five or six.

“Talent-wise, we are in the division we need to be in order for the younger guys to learn. In another three or four years, with the young guys getting the exposure, there is no way that we won’t be back up into Division Two. We have about seven or eight guys playing overseas and we are in a good place with them.”

Arnold Manders, the national coach, is upbeat about the team’s prospects going into the tournament. “We’ll probably go up to four nights [training] a week once the season finishes,” Manders said recently.

“There is a little hindrance with the players in England and we’re supposed to have somebody working with them. We need to make sure they are getting high-performance coaching so when they come into this tournament they are not caught short. I don’t want them coming [to Malaysia] not prepared.”

Fray and Tre Manders have scored centuries in the past two Cup Matches, while Delray Rawlins had a memorable debut this year for St George’s at Somerset Cricket Club, scoring an impressive half-century at the age of 16. “I think they’re all talented and I’m disappointed some of the other players didn’t make themselves available, but there is nothing you can do about that,” Manders said.

“Right now this is the best team available to Bermuda and we’ll prepare and try to move to Division Two. If not, make sure we don’t go down to Division Four.

“Unfortunately David Hemp had to pull out because he just got a new job and it will be hard for him to commit this year.

“We still have experience with Janeiro and Lionel, and I’m expecting a lot from Dion in guiding the younger ones. Hopefully they’ll be up to the task.”