Joel (Big Bird) Garner and Gus Logie might be retired from the Test arena, their reflexes slightly dulled by the passing of time. But local fans who enjoy cricket at its best can still expect a quality show when the West Indies pair step out tomorrow for the third annual Testimonial match at Somerset Cricket Club.

The two former Test stars arrived on the Island yesterday, excited about their appearance in Saturday's game.

And apart from from the odd grey hair, there was no significant difference in appearance from when they played prominent roles in helping the West Indies to dominate the Test scene from the mid 1970s to the early 90s.

Six foot eight inch Garner, however, pointed out with a grin that looks could be deceiving, joking that he no longer generated the devastating pace which struck fear in the heart of so many a Test batsman.

"I am now medium to slow, but not yet degenerated to the extent where I am a spinner,'' he laughed.

More active than his former team-mate, the five foot four inch Logie keeps in shape through his chores as youth coach for the West Indies Cricket Board.

But the towering stature of Garner alone might be sufficient to worry a few of the local batsmen tomorrow -- players themselves who haven't performed in a while and who still have vivid memories of the paceman's legendary international conquests.

Both Garner and Logie admitted their playing these days was restricted to charity and testimonial matches. But they insisted they took each match seriously since it was an avenue through which they could travel to put something back into a sport which had shaped their lives.

"As former players, we always feel that it is good to support fellow sportsmen and it wasn't a problem to come to Bermuda and give support on this occasion,'' said Garner. "We appreciate the things that the Testimonial committee are trying to do.

"Most of the fellows play a lot of benefit games around the world, travelling as far as Australia to play charity matches. We remain open for these invitations. I was last active in a benefit game in Australia for sickle cell back in 1995. But as recently as a few weeks ago I was playing in a one-day competition in the West Indies.'' Garner, however, played down his personal role in such matches.

"There is no need to warn anybody here about limiting me to only a few overs.

Nobody has to worry about me because I am quite an old man,'' he chuckled.

As a member of the WICB, Garner keeps abreast of cricket affairs in the Caribbean, noting that, as in Bermuda, there was a move to concentrate on development programmes.

He said that changes in the WICB's administration during the past 15 months had seen the focus shift towards youth development more than ever before.

"The whole focus is now on development more so than just running the Board's activities. We are looking at developing the Under-15, Under-19 and also the senior level,'' said Garner. "It's an ongoing thing. We are trying to make the players more aware of their duties to cricket, trying to make it interesting and trying to get things in order.'' With so many new sports being introduced in schools and with highly televised sports such as basketball becoming more attractive to youngsters, Garner recognises cricket is under threat.

"It is going to survive, but you have got to be realistic. We have been threatened by other sports but at the end of the day it has been only cricket that has really been successful for the players (in the Caribbean).

"When you look at the National Basketball Association you don't see many West Indians playing there, it's still hard to get into that market and I think cricket will survive. Mind you we have some problems, and we need to tackle them from grass roots level.'' Asked about the West Indies' difficulty in producing quality spinners while regularly developing top batsmen and pace bowlers, Garner said: "That's a difficult question. Perhaps our emphasis over the years has always been on pace. We've always had quality fast bowling. What has happened is that you have seen one or two slow bowlers come into the game, but they have not been that affective. It takes quite a bit of hard work and dedication for a young fellow to be bowling spin.

"If you look at the history of West Indian cricket you can count on one hand the number of successful spinners they have had in the last 50-60 years.'' On the subject of smaller countries such as Bermuda and Cayman Islands entering the more prominent knockout tournaments in the West Indies, Garner said he thought it was good for cricket on the whole and for the further development of the sport.

"We have been looking at it for a long time. If you look around, Bermudians have been following West Indies cricket in large numbers for a while. They realise that the cricket is good and of a high standard. But when it comes to development there must be a concentration directed towards the primary to secondary school level. You must start building from there.'' Logie agreed it was a privilege to play in testimonial matches and to honour former players.

"Like Joel, I felt it necessary to accept an invitation to come here because it's nice to put something back into the game. As past players we advocated that respective countries recognise the contributions others have made and we can support that,'' said Logie.

Although he still resides in Trinidad and Tobago, Logie's role as youth coach takes him all over the West Indies. He is currently coaching in the Windward Islands, having interrupted his duties there for this trip.

"I have been employed by West Indies Board for the past year. I am responsible for their representative teams at every youth level and the A team level if necessary. I am expected to prepare those teams and to take them on tours and give advice if necessary,'' he said.

"At the moment the Windwards are making use of this service. I am based in Trinidad, but I am travelling a lot. My family doesn't see me much, I am all around the Caribbean and very busy.'' The job enables him to see a lot of top youngsters and he reckons that the talent remains rich in abundance.

"We do have a lot. But the game has gone away from concentrating on talent alone. It's become more scientific and systematic,'' said Logie.

"Joel has talked about the development of the players but we also are concerned about their personal development not only as players but also as human beings. I think that if we can incorporate that in the sport we will be able to turn out a better overall player in the long run.'' TWO OF THE BEST -- Former West Indies Test stars Joel Garner (left) and Gus Logie will be the main attraction at tomorrow's annual Testimonial cricket match in Somerset.