Pace bowler Stefan Kelly will almost certainly get the chance to emulate the heroics of his teenage team-mate Malachi Jones when Bermuda step out for their final World Cup group match against Bangladesh at the Queen’s Park Oval on Sunday.

Coach Gus Logie hinted yesterday that he wanted to give all 15 of his squad members an opportunity to perform on the world stage and that would mean that 18-year-old student Kelly and back-up wicketkeeper Kwame Tucker, 30, the only players to have been left out for both the Sri Lanka and India matches, will be included in the starting team.

Jones’ dream debut against the Indians, when he collected the wicket of opener Robin Uthappa with his first delivery, suggests he’ll also get a second chance against the Bangladeshis with Logie well aware that the team’s future now rests firmly on the shoulders of his younger players.

“I think it’s fair to say that at this stage of our development it is necessary to give everybody an opportunity,” commented Logie at the end of a three-hour training sessions at the Sir Frank Worrell grounds yesterday morning.

“A lot of the players have come here with high hopes of being involved in the World Cup, it’s the first time Bermuda’s been in the World Cup and you know to have 15 players have a chance to go back and say they got the chance to play in a World Cup would certainly be the ideal situation.

“I think all of the players are working hard and proving themselves and I think it’s only fair that we as selectors give them the opportunity to perform out in the middle.”

Although mathematically, following Sri Lanka’s victory over Bangladesh yesterday, Bermuda could still qualify for the next stage providing Sri Lanka defeat India on Friday and Bermuda then turn the odds upside down by annihilating Bangladesh, Logie said that scenario wasn’t something he was thinking about.

“I think to a point the intensity has gone,” he admitted. “We just have to keep the players motivated. We have one game to go and still have a lot to gain from this experience. You never know, if they go out and give a good performance against Bangladesh, you just never know what can happen.

“But I don’t think so much about us going through, I think a good performance is what I’m looking for.

“We’ve got to bat 50 overs in one of these games, we’ve got to look to get partnerships. We’ve had a 70-odd (David Hemp) in our last game, other guys now want to score 50 and 60 and get their name on the scoresheet. We have guys who have been having trouble scoring since they came here. I think it’s upon them to do something before they leave here. “As far as our bowling is concerned we have obviously tried a few new things with the younger players and I think we want to continue with that. It’s the future we’re looking at at this point.

“There are opportunities for players to make their mark in this last game. I think there’s still a lot to play for, pride is very important. We want to leave here on a high note and give Bangladesh a run for their money.

“Depending what happens today (Sri Lanka v Bangladesh) and the game on Friday (India v Sri Lanka) we will have a clearer picture of which teams can go through to the next stage.

“But for us, this is not about that, it’s about developing some kind of cricket culture, professionalism and a never-say-die attitude no matter what the situation.”

Of obvious concern after the 257-thrashing to India was the failure of five Bermuda batsmen to get off the mark. Logie said it was now up to those players to make the most of their last World Cup opportunity.

“We made 150-odd and five or more established players have not performed,” lamented the coach . . . “not only in the last game (against India) but in the previous game (against Sri Lanka). It’s not only of concern to myself but of course to the individual players themselves . . . we have these extended net sessions where we give the batsmen a run in the middle. It’s up to them to sort their game out and build an innings.

“They need to get in there, look at the bounce, look at the pace, assess where they’re going to score and we hope that’s what they’re doing . . . it may not always be a reality but we hope that’s what they’re doing.”

Bermuda’s choice of bowlers, the rotation of the bowlers and field placings all came in for criticism by certain segments of the media after the India onslaught, but while Logie agreed there might have been some tactical mistakes he wasn’t about to point the finger at his skipper, Irving Romaine.

“It’s up to the captain to make changes and we can discuss beforehand what we want but on the day the captain has to be in charge out there in the middle . . . looking at the bowling options we have and making sure the right individuals are used.

“In the middle even the best of captains sometimes get confused, and make decision which might not be in keeping with strategy and what the situation demands. But I think it happens, we see it all the time. We continue to work at it, we continue to plan and try to execute on the day. There’s very little one can do sitting inside when things like that happen. You just have to trust the individuals out there making the decisions and trust that they make the right ones.”

Meanwhile, Logie admitted that the thought had crossed his mind that during the national squad’s last two major tournaments the players had managed to lift themselves for the final game, beating Holland convincingly in a tri-series in South Africa in early December and then surprising Scotland in their final World Cricket League match in Kenya in February.

“But Bangladesh . . . this is a different opposition we’re talking about,” smiled the coach. “The mindset has to be right, all I’m going to take comfort from now is the fact that Hemp got 70-odd for us against India and we hope that he will continue in that vein and that others will want to emulate him. “People must want to succeed and that’s the message for individuals at this time, you must really want to succeed and do whatever is necessary, whatever is required for your team to be successful. And we hope in the next few days they will do that.”