Bermuda Cricket Board of Control welcomes the Toronto under-17 team for five matches.

The Canadian youngsters arrived in Bermuda yesterday aboard the same Air Canada flight that brought back the Bermuda senior national team after their own five match tour in Toronto.

And some exciting cricket is anticipated as the young Canadians line up against the cream of the talent coming through in the youth league.

The tour begins this morning at Somerset with a BCBC Select XI taking on the young Canadians. It will be the first time the Bermuda under 17 team has played on local soil since the International Youth Tournament was played here two years ago.

After a previously dormant youth programme, board officials are excited about what has been accomplished in that area in the two years since the youth league was re-established.

Last year the Bermuda under-16 team had a successful tour of Canada and a number of players from that tour, including captain Stephen Outerbridge, Chris Foggo, Landro Minors, Mackie Crane, Philip Thomas, Kamen Tucker and Nasir Wade, will form the nucleus of the team to meet the visitors.

In fact Crane and Pitcher have been in Canada the past week with the senior national team.

Foggo is the only remaining player from the youth tournament here in 1997, while Canada's youngest player in that tournament, Ashish Bagai, is expected to be one of their key players.

Of Indian origin, Bagai is a wicketkeeper-batsman who scored a century against Bermuda's youth last year in Canada and was also top of the batting averages during the Nortel Youth Tournament in the Caribbean in 1998. He is the younger brother of Akshay who claimed four Bermuda wickets in their loss to the Canadian under-23s on Monday.

Most of the youngsters playing cricket in Canada are of either Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan or Guyanese descent. They expected to form the majority of the Toronto team.

BCBC president El James expects some keen competition for the local teams who will represent the national team, a BCBC Select and President's XI. "Canada have some quality youngsters, just like you saw in the under-23s,'' said James this week.

"The under-17s are not a whole lot different because some of the fellas who were in the under-23s will be in the under-17s. They have some quality players and our guys are really going to have to perform well.

"We have 18 players that we have named, however we will be using some other players who are involved in the Shell and BF&M Leagues to play in some of the other matches.'' A reception for the Canadian team was being held last night.

After today's opening fixture at Somerset, the visitors will have Saturday off to watch the second round of the Eastern Counties at Lord's between St.

David's and Flatts before the tour resumes on Sunday at Wellington Oval against the National Youth team. Further matches are scheduled for Monday involving the BCBC President's XI at Lord's, Tuesday at Sea Breeze Oval against a Select XI and next Wednesday against the Bermuda youth team at Southampton Oval.

Pride of Bermuda: The country's cricketers after arriving back at the island's airport following their successful tour of Canada.