The rainy conditions may have hampered Bermuda’s preparation for the ICC Americas Under-17 Match Play tournament, but the squad remains in good spirits ahead of next week’s matches at the National Sports Centre.

A total of 18 players have been picked to attend a weeklong camp, with three players, Alex Dore, the captain, Delray Rawlins, the vice-captain, and seam bowler Micah Simons set to join the squad today and tomorrow after arriving yesterday from Guyana where they had been representing the ICC Americas team in the Regional Under-19 Tournament.

Rawlins claimed three for 38 in the Americas team’s last game on Tuesday against the Leeward Islands to finish with seven wickets in five matches, while Dore had scores of 13, 13 and six in his three innings.

Simons had limited opportunity, bowling in two matches and taking one wicket.

“We started on Monday with an introduction of what is expected of them and we have a fairly comprehensive training programme which entails tactics, mental toughness, planning of a batting innings, bowling plans, fielding plans and we have people coming in to assist us,” said Terry Fray, the team’s director.

Terryn Fray, the Cup Match MVP and a former Under-19 captain, spoke to the players about his experiences as a youth player.

The squad will be cut to 14 tomorrow for the triangular tournament against Canada and the United States which starts on Monday with a match between Bermuda and the US. The tournament will serve as a build-up to next year’s Under-19 World Cup qualifiers and the Bermuda players have been playing together all season, taking part in the First Division and Evening League.

The squad had one casualty recently when Nairobi Carmichael suffered a foot injury and had to withdraw. But the squad remains well-balanced with four spin bowlers in the mix, led by Rawlins and also including Nzari Paynter, Cameron Jeffers and Jordan Smith.

The four seam bowlers vying for places will be Sheldon Caesar, Micah Simons, Christion Gibbons and Chare Smith. Dore will be the key man in the batting department along with Rawlins, Shakeal Outerbridge and San’j Dill.

“This team is a young team and has beaten First Division teams, but they still have a lot of work to do,” Fray said.

“This tournament against Canada and the United States will give us a measuring stick of where they are and then we can reassess after this and come up with another training strategy for the winter in preparation for the qualifiers next April.

“They are young but very talented and once they get their processes right you’ll see even more improvement in them as individuals and ultimately as a team.”

The under-17 were set to play Western Stars on Saturday but that match has been rescheduled ahead of the gruelling schedule next week, which will see the three teams playing four 50-over matches in six days.

“We didn’t want to take the chance of anybody getting injured so I asked the Board to reschedule that game,” Fray said.

“That will give us the opportunity to do two light sessions on Saturday and Sunday where we will be fine-tuning them. They have played a lot of competitive cricket in both the First Division and Evening League and we want them to be ready for battle when they go out on the field on Monday morning.”

The US and Canada both arrive in Bermuda on Sunday. All matches will be at the National Sports Centre starting at 10.30am each day.