Bermuda?s bid to host World Cup 2007 games has been thrown into severe doubt by a change of dates for cricket?s international showpiece.

At a press conference in Jamaica today, World Cup organisers will announce the teams for up to six warm-up games to be played on the Island, but there is a question mark over whether Bermuda will be able ? or willing ? to host matches now the tournament is due to start in February.

When Bermuda submitted their bid for World Cup matches, they did so for a tournament beginning in March, but the one-day-international tournament is now scheduled to begin a month earlier ? one of the wettest times of the year in Bermuda.

?Here they are, moving the goalposts again,? said Bermuda Cricket Board president Reggie Pearman.

?We have a lot of questions that needed to be answered and this is another one of them. It might be a bit dicey in February ? there is nothing you can do about the weather.

?We did host an England ?A? tour in February a few years back and we had ten days of wonderful sunshine. The games were played in Somerset ? we asked permission for the football to be halted to allow us to prepare the pitch ? and we had no problems at all.

?Originally we were led to believe we would be hosting games here in March or April. The delegation down there will have a lot of issues to deal with and questions to ask.?

One leading Bermudian groundsman told yesterday? ?It is not a great time to be playing matches here. The pitches will be too soft and it does rain all the time in February.

?The weather is always unsettled and does not lend itself to cricket.

?We would be better off saving our money than trying to get games on here at that time of year.?

A delegation from the BCB as well as Sports Minister Dale Butler flew to Jamaica yesterday for the announcement at the Ritz-Carlton in Montego Bay.

As well as seeking clarification on the new dates, the group will also have a number of questions about the first alternate status that Bermuda was granted at last week?s venue announcement.

The Island bid ? which included an endorsement by film star Michael Douglas ? missed out on the original list of eight venues announced by ICC President Ehsan Mani.

But a ray of hope was offered as Bermuda were guaranteed warm-up games and a chance to host first round matches if another venue failed to complete its development plan in time.

The BCB have sent a letter to the ICC seeking clarification on what first alternate status means and whether the proposed upgrade of St. David?s for World Cup games would still need to take place ? and, if so, who would be pay for it.

It is understood that it would cost around $30 million to sufficiently prepare Bermuda to host games in the World Cup although it is not clear how the money would be raised.