A 15-man national cricket squad has been selected for the tour to Dubai in late January ? although the names will not be unveiled until after the New Year according to coach Gus Logie.

It is understood that Logie and his fellow selectors settled on a squad before Christmas, but the official announcement has been delayed until the Bermuda Cricket Board?s top-brass return from their festive holidays.

But apart from skipper Clay Smith, whose troublesome knee will soon be going under the knife, and new-boy David Hemp who is in the middle of the 100-day residency qualification process, everybody has made themselves available for the nine-day trip which begins on January 28.

Bermuda are set to play five limited over matches against the United Arab Emirates during their brief stay in the Middle East, none of which will be official One-Day Internationals because of the UAE?s failure to qualify for the 2007 World Cup.

Much of the training in the run up to Christmas has centred around intensive fitness work, although Logie told yesterdaythat he intends to get his charges into the nets and hopefully onto the square at the National Sports Centre early in the New Year.

?We will be looking to get the guys doing a lot more cricket related work as soon as the holidays are over,? he said.

?But morale overall is good and I?ve been very happy with the guys? commitment and attendance at training. We are obviously coming up to what is going to be a very busy year and although the guys have enjoyed the success they?ve had and cricket?s new-found status, I think they have a sense of the responsibility they are under to achieve and to perform.

?Mental toughness is crucial at the higher level at which they are going to be playing and there is no room for complacency.?

Logie refused to be drawn on the make up of the squad itself, although he hinted that he would exploit the opportunity of using a broad range of players in the five successive ?friendly? games.

?It is important that we look at every option we have,? he said.

?We need to get in a position where we have looked at everybody and given them a chance to impress. We haven?t got a Michael Holding or a Joel Garner so we need to maximise resources.?