Amid ongoing concerns over Clay Smith's fitness, chairman of national team selectors Arnold Manders has thrown his support behind the Island's skipper.

Reliable sources claim Smith is not up to par physically - only two days before a final squad of 14 players is to be picked following Saturday's practice session at the National Sports Centre (NSC).

Smith, who only last summer became the first batsman in Cup Match history to score three centuries in the annual mid-summer classic, has undergone multiple knee surgeries in the past and only last month suffered another setback when he injured himself fielding in the covers during the national squad's ten-day training camp in Trinidad.

However Manders, himself a former Bermuda skipper, has every ounce of confidence in Smith's physical ability to lead Bermuda's 2007 World Cup bid in Ireland in July.

Describing the embattled player as a “warrior”, Manders stated: “I have played before with two bad knees and a pinched rotator cuff. Clay (Smith) has played with that same injury for the last couple of years. Now what do we do, leave him here and pick somebody else?

“We have had a lot of instances where players have become injured and unable to train. So Clay is not the only one and I have faith in him that he will be fit and ready to do the job in Ireland later this summer.”

When contacted earlier this week, Smith moved swiftly to downplay concerns over his fitness, dismissing ongoing allegations as “rubbish”.

“It's ludicrous. I have nothing to prove to anyone and I will be in Ireland,” he told The Royal Gazette.

However, suspicions over the player's exact physical status were heightened during Tuesday night's practice session at the NSC during which it is understood Smith, for unknown reasons, did not undergo a final fitness test or take part in rigorous workouts with the remainder of the training squad.

Asked why the national team skipper did not undergo a final fitness test, Manders replied: “I can't answer that question.”

Smith could not be reached at press time last night while national team physiotherapist Daniel Morgan was scheduled to submit final physical analysis of all national squad training members to Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) authorities yesterday.

In the event Smith is omitted from the squad through injury, former skippers Charlie Marshall and Albert Steede or Janeiro Tucker could be get the nod instead and take over the reins of the team due to compete at July's ICC Trophy Tournament in Ireland.

Bermuda depart for the UK on June 19.

Meanwhile, Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) announced yesterday the draw for this summer's Combined Knockout Cup competition.

The following teams have been paired together in the opening round of the competition which begins on Sunday, May 22.

St.David's v Cleveland County CC at Lords; Police v Willow Cuts at Police Field; PHC v Somerset Bridge at White Hill Field; Somerset CC v Flatts Victoria at Somerset CC; Western Stars v Warwick Workmen's Club at St.John's Field; Leg Trappers v Social Club at Sea Breeze Oval; Devonshire Recreation Club v Bailey's Bay CC at Devonshire Rec. and Southampton Rangers v St.George's CC at Southampton Oval.

All matches begin at 11 a.m.