On the face of it there is no reason to believe that Namibia won't beat Bermuda in their ICC Intercontinental Cup match, starting at the National Sports Centre this morning.

The visiting team have won five out of five in the competition so far this season and another win this week would almost certainly see them take a spot in November's final.

For Bermuda, who are bottom of the table, there is nothing at stake except pride and the knowledge that a win would see them move up two places, above the United Arab Emirates and Canada.

In the last four years, Bermuda have never beaten Namibia and there is still a certain amount of animosity between the sides with Bermuda securing One-Day International status ahead of a team that have comfortably beaten them in all forms of the game in recent times.

A win for the visiting side would go a long way to proving a point and Namibia coach Johan Rudolph has made sure his side are fully prepared for today's game.

"We are well-prepared for this. Everyone is fit and ready to go and I am very happy with our preparations," said Rudolph.

"To get to the final or win this tournament would be huge for Namibian cricket. It would mean a hell of a lot to us and our sponsors.

"We are competing as a (ICC World Cricket League) Division Two side against Division One teams in this competition and we are competing well. If we win it, it will be great for the sport in our country.

"Beating Bermuda will not guarantee us a place in the final so if we want to be the best we will have to beat the best and that is why we will not fear Ireland when we play them in October. Ireland have some really good players and that will be a really big game for us. But, first we must beat Bermuda.

"Our strength probably lies in our seam attack. We are able to put sides under pressure with our consistency and pace. Then we have a few individual batsmen capable of scoring big runs. Altogether I am very happy with how we are developing."

Louis Burger leads a strong Namibian side that is not short on confidence and while some teams have found it difficult to bring a first-choice squad on the road in this competition, Namibia's selectors had a full complement to choose from, brimming with potential match winners.

Apart from a quartet of Burgers (Louis, Sarel, JB and Kola), the Africans boast Gerrie Snyman (who scored 230 out of a total of 282 to set up victory against Kenya in January), as well as Louis Klazinga and Bjorn Kotze, who have also performed well in the tournament so far.

Also included in the squad is 18-year-old Bernard Scholtz, a slow left-armer who impressed during this year's ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia.

Scholtz, whose 21-year-old brother Nicolaas is also in the squad, could well make his debut for the senior team today.

"Bernard was one of the top bowlers in Malaysia last February and I have been impressed with him," said coach Rudolph from the team camp in Bermuda.

"He is still in school and very young but we thought he would benefit from being here. Whether he makes the final eleven for the match will depend on pitch conditions and how he goes in the nets, but he is certainly one to watch for the future," he said.

Squads:

Namibia (from): Louis Burger (captain), Raymond van Schoor, JB Burger, Sarel Burger, Gerrie Snyman, Deon Kotze, Bjorn Kotze, Tobie Verwey, Craig Williams, Kola Burger, Nicolaas Scholtz, Bernard Scholtz, LP van der Westhuizen, Louis Klazinga.

Bermuda (from): Irving Romaine (captain), Rodney Trott, Jekon Edness, Lionel Cann, Dwayne Leverock, Stephen Outerbridge, Ryan Steede, Christopher Douglas, Deloyne Borden, Oronde Bascome, Tamauri Tucker, Stefan Kelly, George O'Brien, Kyle Hodsoll.

ICC Intercontinental Cup table

(as of September 1)

P W L D A Pts

Kenya 6 4 1 0 1 96

Scotland 7 3 1 2 1 82

Namibia 5 5 0 0 0 82

Ireland 5 3 0 2 0 72

Netherlands 7 3 4 0 0 48

UAE 7 1 5 1 0 29

Canada 7 1 5 1 0 29

Bermuda 6 1 5 0 0 26