International Cricket Council (ICC) Associates, United Arab Emirates (UAE), have appointed former England, Sussex and Derbyshire all-rounder Colin Wells as coach.

The 48-year old, who amassed 14,000 first class runs and also claimed 428 wickets at that level, will now spearhead the Arabs' charge to claim one of the four World Cup qualifying spots on offer in South Africa.

Bermuda, currently on a month-long tour of the Caribbean, will face UAE in their opening World Cup qualifier in South Africa April 1, where the top six finishers following the Super Eight stage will earn ICC High Performance status and top four automatic World Cup qualification.

Despite fine bowling from seamers Malachi Jones and Kevin Hurdle and an unbeaten 174 from the bat of ex-English County batsman David Hemp, Bermuda came up 138 runs short in their previous meeting with UAE in an Intercontinental Cup contest in Abu Dhabi.

Like Bermuda, UAE have placed heavy emphasis on their World Cup qualifying preparations as they are scheduled to tour Sri Lanka and clash with English County sides Essex, Middlesex, Lancashire, Surrey, Sussex and Yorkshire in a 50 over Pro Arch series in Abu Dhabi next month.

Bermuda, whose first tour match in Trinidad against a Trinidad and Tobago Under-23 XI was rained yesterday, will also face local opposition from St.Lucia, Grenada and St.Vincent before returning home next month when a final World Cup squad of 15 players will be announced.

Powerhouse Kenya, Denmark, the Netherlands and recently crowned World Cricket League Division Three winners Afghanistan have also been pitted in Group B for World Cup qualifiers along with Bermuda who made history nearly four- years ago when they became the smallest country to qualify for world cricket's premier showpiece.

Meanwhile, former West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) regional development officer Ingleton Liburd as been appointed interim CEO of Cricket Canada.

Born in Trinidad, Liburd made a name for himself playing at the Under-19 level for the Leeward Islands and St.Kitts.

After relocating in Canada, Liburd appeared in three ICC Trophy (World Cup qualifiers) for his adopted country who he had the honour of captaining at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

He joined Cricket Canada as a development officer last year.