Bermuda will take to the skies in their quest for World Cup success ? with a staggering ten weeks of touring cricket to be played in 2006.

On the day that Gus Logie put pen to paper on a four-year deal to lead the Island team through to the qualifiers for the 2011 World Cup, the Bermuda Cricket Board released the hectic schedule that will see Clay Smith?s men arrive in the West Indies in 2007 with plenty of cricket under their belts.

Although the dates and matches are all subject to funding and changes, the BCB have three separate trips to Africa in their plans as well as three short hops to Canada, a Caribbean training camp and possibly a trip to the sub-continent.

The team, who head off to Namibia next month for the semi-finals of the ICC Intercontinental Cup, will have to show an incredible commitment to the cause if they are to fulfil their obligations to the team, with Logie conceding there will be many more financial and family sacrifices to be made.

?We are asking a lot of the players,? said a smiling Logie, shortly after signing his new contract at a Press conference alongside BCB president Reggie Pearman and Bank of Bermuda Foundation director David Lang.

?They have already had to make quite a commitment and we are going to be asking more of the same from them in the future. There is a lot of cricket to be played in our ambitious plans.?

With around ten weeks of cricket on the agenda, the BCB are continuing their sponsorship drive to assist players ? and their employers ? with financial assistance with the huge time commitment required.

Although this has been seen as one of the major problems with preparing an amateur team for a tournament against professionals, Logie played down the problem.

?Yes, of course it is something that we have to think about carefully and plan for,? said the former West Indies Test star, who will now definitely not play in next year?s 20-20 World Cricket Classic, passing up competing with former international team-mates to coach his ambitious side.

?But I don?t like to think of it as an obstacle. Yes it is a challenge to be overcome but we are going to work with the players and the Board and their companies and make sure the players are able to fully participate in what we are asking of them.

?There is a lot of cricket here but that is how you prepare for something like the World Cup. When we qualified, I don?t think any of the players realised the sort of international exposure that we would be looking to give them but this is our plan and hopefully everyone can come on board and take us to the next level.?

As well as the Americas Cup, normally a qualifier for the ICC Trophy but this time a stand alone tournament, Bermuda will participate in the new World Cricket League in one-day games against other Associate members as well as the new-format of the ICC Intercontinental Cup which moves to a four-day, non-regional arrangement next year.

Bermuda will now take on Kenya, Canada and Holland, with two of those matches to be played in Africa late next year ? that continent chosen because of the climate and type of wicket.

The multiple weeks of cricket lead up the World Cup itself but even beyond that there are some provisional plans with Bermuda hoping to host games against those touring the West Indies for Tests. Provisional schedules suggest Australia and Bangledesh could be persuaded to make stops here the following year.

But back to the short term and the first trip for the national side is to Namibia on October 18, to take on Kenya in the three-day Intercontinental semi-final, and Logie is confident that the team will be ready despite him taking a two-week holiday beginning on Sunday.

?I will give the squad to the Board by Friday and then I go away,? continued Logie, whose contract was only completed after Government stepped in to help find the coach and his family three-bedroom accommodation.

?I am happy that with what we have already done and with the able assistance of people such as Wendell Smith and a number of other key individuals we are going to be ready for that tournament.

?I don?t want to pre-empt things but there will be some changes from the squad that we took to Canada due to the differing players available.?

Logie added that the players had spoken about the lack of runs from the top order that the side suffered in Canada and that ?everyone knows their expectations and what standards we should be producing?.

In relation to his decision to stay on in Bermuda for another four years, which includes bringing his wife Lisa and three children up to live on the Island, Logie had nothing but positive things to say about the Island and its cricket programme.

?I am delighted to be committing to Bermuda and to this cricket team,? said the coach, who has lifted the team to new heights since taking over from Mark Harper earlier this year on an initial six-month contract.

?It wasn?t a difficult decision for my family and I to make and I look forward to the next four years of taking the cricket programme in Bermuda as far as we can.?

Pearman was no less enthusiastic.

?The ability to secure a coach of Logie?s stature is an essential element in the continued development and progress of cricket in Bermuda,? he said.

?Gus has already proved what a great coach he is and what a motivator he has been for this team. He has already achieved much including taking us to the World Cup and also getting us into the Intercontinental Cup semi-finals.

?We are delighted that he has committed to staying on with us and we are sure he will bring further success to Bermuda cricket.?

He also was quick to thank the Bank of Bermuda Foundation, who hosted yesterday?s Press Conference, and underpinned the funding of the full time national coaching position,