Southampton Rangers pair Janeiro and Kwame Tucker have received invitations to rejoin the senior national cricket programme, chairman of selectors Arnold Manders confirmed yesterday.

The two veteran cricketers made themselves unavailable on Bermuda's ill-fated tour of Denmark, Holland and Ireland last month, but have now apparently had a change of heart prior to upcoming Intercontinental Cup matches in Kenya and Dubai in November.

Bermuda will also take part in three one day internationals (ODIs) against Kenya in Nairobi October 25, 27 and 28.

Manders said: "They have made themselves available and will certainly be a welcome boost to the team."

Kwame Tucker now looks set to battle for wicketkeeping duties with youngster Jekon Edness while cousin Janeiro will undoubtedly add depth to the squad's batting and another option with the old ball should he be given the nod.

However, national team selectors may still find their work cut out for them assembling a competitive squad as it is understood some players have encountered difficulties getting time off from work to tour with the squad, an all-too-familiar scenario that has long plagued the team.

Fast bowler Kevin Hurdle and batsman Azeem Pitcher were both selected to tour Europe and the UK last month with the senior national squad but were forced to sit out through work commitments.

Hurdle is now understood to be in discussions with employers Belco about the prospect of being given time off from work to fulfil national team duties for his country.

"It's frustrating when you are trying to get your best players out. But this is something we have to deal with and we are trying to get it all sorted out," Manders said.

Also unavailable at the moment are college students OJ Pitcher and Delyone Borden who have notified Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) of their unavailability for selection.

Promisingly, however, is the fact fellow students Edness and Stephen Outerbridge are keen to put their studies in the UK on hold to play a part in Bermuda's Intercontinental Cup plans.

"Jekon and Stephen will fly from school, however, OJ and Delyone have again made themselves unavailable," Manders added.

Edness was fairly tidy behind the stumps and impressed batting at the top of the order during the squad's previous tour which ended in a crushing innings and 144 run defeat in Dublin at the expense of hosts Ireland. Outerbridge also found himself among a shortlist of players who showed flashes of brilliance on tour, stroking fluent half-centuries during both innings against the Irish, a performance that drew high praise from manager Lionel Thomas.

Manders said presently a "handful" of players are actively in training ¿ among them the affable Dwayne Leverock and youngster Malachi Jones ¿ with coach Gus Logie still on vacation and yesterday revealed that a training squad consisting of between 18 to 20 players is expected to be announced and training to resume at the National Sports Centre (NSC) early next week. Bermuda's senior national squad are scheduled to play Kenya at the Gymkhana Club Ground in Nairobi November 1 to 4 before taking on United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah November 8 to 11 in their final two 2007 Intercontinental Cup fixtures.