At the age of 53, former West Indies right arm fast bowler Colin Croft still loves a challenge.

And although he may no longer possess the pace to really make batsmen smell the leather, as he did in his heyday, the Guyanese national ? who resides in Trinidad ? can hardly wait to take the new ball during next week?s 20/20 World Classic at the National Sports Centre.

?Physically I am not in bad shape as I exercise every day and run two or three miles. So I am in as good shape as I probably could be at 53 years old,? Croft told this week.

The former Windies paceman made his Test debut against Pakistan in 1977, claiming seven wickets for 132 runs. Croft also represented his native Guyana in regional competition and English county side Lancashire before taking up a new career as a newspaper columnist and cricket broadcaster in the Caribbean.

Between 1977 and 1982 he took 125 wickets in 27 Test matches for the West Indies and 428 wickets in 121 first class games.

Croft, who holds various West Indies and English coaching certificates, remains active in the sport, having recently competed in a Masters cricket series in Florida.

?For me, going to Bermuda, even at this stage having travelled around the world, is like becoming Robinson Crusoe,? he added. ?So it?s a new thing for me and I am very excited.?

Croft, good friends with senior national team skipper Clay Smith, is due to arrive in Bermuda on Friday. ?I have done commentary all over the world and so I have met a lot of Bermudians over the years,? he said. ?And I am very pleased to have been given this opportunity to come to Bermuda to put something back into the sport.?

Croft will have the chance to share the new ball with another legendary West Indies fast bowler, Joel Garner.

Speaking from his native Barbados by phone, Garner told ?We usually play together at least two or three weekends a year. But I really think 20/20 cricket is for the younger people.?

Between 1977 and 1987 Garner, or Big Bird as he later became known, took 259 Test wickets in 58 matches and another 146 wickets in 98 One Day Internationals (ODI).

Armed with a devastating yorker, Garner also represented South Australia and Somerset in the English County Championship with the likes of Viv Richards and Ian Botham.

At six foot, eight inches tall, he remains the tallest bowler ever to play Test cricket.

Now 53, he previously formed one of the most lethal bowling attacks in Test cricket along with the late Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Croft.

?Anything I do now is for enjoyment because I already had my opportunities and challenges when I was a young cricketer. So I am coming to Bermuda to enjoy the week,? Garner added.

Other former West Indies cricketers who might make the trip include Stuart Williams, Carlisle Best, Kenny Benjamin, Nehemiah Perry and Collis King, Garner said.