Bermuda's national cricket team will be reduced to 18 players over the weekend.

With July's all-important International Cricket Council (ICC) Trophy Tournament in Ireland fast approaching, chairman of the national team selectors Arnold Manders confirmed that the first of two axes will fall upon Clay Smith's squad immediately following Sunday's training session at the National Sports Centre.

A final squad of 14 players will then be selected on May 14 to compete in Ireland later this summer and submitted to ICC officials by May 31.

Time, Manders stressed, was now of vital importance.

“We want to get things finalised so that we can begin working with the players that are actually going,” the former Western Stars skipper told The Royal Gazette.

Overall fitness and attendance records of national team players will be closely scrutinised and will have a major say in determining just who survives the dreaded chop and accompanies the squad to the UK, added Manders.

“We will go by what they have done in the past,” he continued. “And we already have sufficient criteria to select the team.”

National squad members have been involved in an intensive training programme over the winter months and only last month underwent a ten-day camp in Trinidad, the home of new coach Gus Logie.

Speaking to The Gazette yesterday, Logie explained: “We still need to get everybody onboard and get reports from the physiotherapist (Daniel Morgan) on one or two players who are still away.”

National team selectors will rely heavily upon Morgan's final assessments to determine which players will last the duration of the rigorous tournament from which five teams will qualify for the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Emphasis will be also be put upon players' individual roles and overall team objectives within the squad.

Logie, himself a former West Indies vice captain and coach, is still waiting for the likes of Charlie Marshall, OJ Pitcher and Kevin Hurdle to return from overseas. Marshall and Hurdle are currently in the Caribbean on tour with Social Club while Pitcher is reportedly away on vacation.

Logie added: “That has kept us back from naming the actual 18 players but I can assure you that all of the players will be back in training by Sunday and we will make our decision then.

“I wouldn't want to say this is a setback in terms of individual players not knowing for sure who's in or out. But in terms of training . . . training continues and everybody is coming out.

“So something will officially be announced by Sunday and then the final squad of 14 players will be selected next Saturday.”

Bermuda's national cricket squad depart for the UK on June 19 for a series of ICC Trophy warm-up fixtures in southern England before officially opening their World Cup bid with a tough match against host country Ireland.

Four years ago at the ICC Trophy tournament in Toronto, Canada, Bermuda suffered an eight wicket thrashing from Ireland after being skittled out for 115.

Current squad members Albert Steede, Clay Smith, Janeiro Tucker, Charlie Marshall, Dennis Archer, Kwame Tucker and Dwayne Leverock all featured in that match.

This year's final tour party will boast 14 players, coach Logie, manager and selector El James and team physio Morgan.