NOBODY in world cricket expects Bermuda to qualify for World Cup 2007 in the Caribbean ? so it is up to the players to confound global cricketing opinion.

So said Bermuda captain Clay Smith last night, talking candidly with a little over three months to go until the ICC trophy in Ireland where five, highly-coveted World Cup berths are up for grabs to the 12 teams taking part.

Whatever his youthful indiscretions and despite the not infrequent, much-publicised run-ins with authority in a long, glittering career in local cricket, there is no doubt that Smith has developed into an outstanding skipper who commands the respect and admiration of all who come across him.

A man of strong convictions who has never been afraid to speak his mind, it has always been a pleasure talking to him and a wonderfully refreshing change to come across someone in Bermuda who speaks such cricketing sense. Articulate, thoughtful and deeply patriotic, the man was quite simply born to lead.

But impressive character aside, Smith's reputation will burst through the stratosphere if he manages to drag a perennially under-achieving team from the depths of mediocrity to the game's premier stage. Some say it is an impossible task ? tiny Bermuda, a mere fleck in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, taking on countries far larger and backed often by more considerable investment, in a tournament at which they are destined to fail.

There are others, this writer included, who believe their preparation, in terms of regular match-practice at least, has not been ideal.

There are yet more who say that Bermuda has never had such a good chance given the International Cricket Council's decision to expand the number of qualifying slots ? a decision which has been serially panned by the world's cricketing heavy-weights and neutral cricket followers, but will do little old Bermuda very well thank you very much. While you would expect the skipper to be overflowing with positive spin in the months preceding the Irish adventure, there is undeniably a sense that Smith himself genuinely believes in the potential of his charges, despite the odds ? in the eyes of the rest of the world at least ? being stacked heavily against them. Unlike some local politicians, his words do not appear to be empty ones.

"I know the rest of the world does not rate Bermuda," he said.

"They do not expect us to turn up in Ireland as a force to be reckoned with. And certainly the ICC rankings might reflect that. But I have faith in my team and I believe we can do well. Local expectation is always high. The Bermudian public expects us to do well. We expect to do well. I believe the players are ready to stand up and be counted."

But what of his troublesome knee which flared up so painfully in Trinidad only a few weeks ago at the national team training camp? Is he confident about recovery and is he certain to be leading Bermuda out when they take on hosts Ireland in the first round on July 1?

What silly questions.

"There is absolutely nothing that would stop me from going," he declared.

"It is a life-time dream to captain my country at the ICC trophy, but also to get to the World Cup. All the players share that dream. But as far as my knee goes it's getting there. I have had a lot of physio on it with (team trainer) Daniel Morgan. I've still got a way to go but I'm not going to let it affect me. I've been working on my flexibility a tremendous amount to make sure I'm still mobile in the field and able to get around. And I'll put myself in positions out in the field where my knee will be protected and not overworked."

While at the camp in Trinidad, the players were able to put the stresses and strains of their daily lives to one side and submerge themselves in cricket.

Smith admits it has been difficult since the team's return for the players to balance the commitments to their families and work with the ever-increasing demands on their time and energy that the training is placing.

"It has been hard," he said.

"But in general the spirit in the camp is excellent. Everybody is working for each other and I have been stressing commitment and focus on the task ahead since we arrived back home. We have to make sacrifices to achieve our goal ? it's as simple as that."

On the subject of practice games ? or rather, the lack of them ? Smith legitimately pointed out the national team saw an awful lot of cricket last summer with the Americas Championship, and the visits of both Barbados and the (woeful, exhausted, disinterested) West Indies. He conceded nonetheless that given greater finances he would have liked to have played more.

"It's always possible to look back at the way you've done things and decide you could have done it a little differently," he argued.

"I think the Board have done a tremendous job in the circumstances given the finances at their disposal and we did play a lot together last year and we've been on a training camp. It is going to be very important to maximise the time we will get in England before the tournament starts, really acclimatising and putting the final touches to our games."

With only a few weeks before the squad gets whittled down to the final 14 ? a selection process guaranteed, if past experience is anything to go by, to be drowned in a murky sea of debate and controversy ? Smith is fairly certain in his own mind of what his starting XI for Ireland would be.

As one of several selectors, however, his views will have to balanced against those of others. It is anybody's guess whether the captain will take the field with the team he personally desires.

Opinion is split over whether a captain or a coach should sit on a selection panel. In Australia for instance (and who, it could be tentatively suggested, is going to argue with a system which has nurtured arguably the greatest team in the sport's history?) the captain and coach are merely handed a team sheet and told to get on with it. In countries like South Africa, however, caught in the choking grip of accumulated racial guilt and the controversial quota system, this style of selection has caused problems, most notably of late, a seething friction between coach and the constantly under-fire selection panel.

But whatever transpires in the BCB's boardroom in a few weeks time, Smith is adamant that one of the key principles he will fight for is that the team bats deep, preferably as far as number ten.

"I've seen it in the past at ICC tournaments where we lose a few wickets early on and we haven't got the personnel down the order who can dig us out of a bit of a hole. So I will be pushing for the inclusion of plenty of allrounders who can make valuable contributions even as far down as number nine or ten. But the other selectors will obviously have their own views on matters so we will have to see how it goes."

Furthermore, Smith said he would be looking for a blend of youth and experience ? conscious as he is that too many creaking bodies or a over-preponderance of naive colts could prove fatal.

But while some openly voice their concern over the supposed dearth of local seam bowlers boasting the proven ability to exploit the conditions in Ireland, where pitches tend to err on the soft and green side, Smith is not quite so pessimistic.

"To be sure we have a collection of very good spinners," he said.

"I rate the likes of Saleem Mukuddem, Denis Archer and Kevin Hurdle very highly and I know they can all do a job for us in Ireland. But whatever the nature of the wickets, I'm convinced that spinners in one-day cricket are a trump card because the ball does not come on and batsman are forced to generate their own power, move their feet and take risks. But while I want us to bat deep, we also need to bowl well. Too often in the past we have ended up having to chase scores of 300 plus, which puts far too much pressure on our batsman."

In conjunction with new coach Gus Logie, who Smith and the players talk about in glowing terms, the skipper is adamant a environment of hard work and excellence has now been fostered and he remains absolutely desperate to do his country proud.

"I'm very keen to go and so are all the players," he said.

"The work we've been doing in terms of fitness and nets has been great so far and we've really closed in as a unit. It's now just a matter of ensuring we peak at the right time and that we peak collectively. To qualify we're going to have to put it together with the bat and ball on a consistent basis and I really hope we're ready to turn it on."