As far as Tanae Tucker-Rayner is concerned, it doesn’t matter whether Bermuda win, lose or draw — her daddy’s still number one.

Tanae, the proud ten-year-old daughter of World Cup all-rounder Janeiro Tucker, has sent The Royal Gazette a heartfelt message of support for her father as he prepares for the biggest moment of his sporting life.

The youngster, who will be cheering her dad on in front of the television next week, told him not to worry because she won’t get mad at him — as long as he tries his hardest.

Describing her dad as Bermuda’s top all-rounder, her message states: “Even if you do not win you are still the best daddy ever.”

Dad Tucker last night declared Tanae his “good luck charm” — her e-mail reached its destination on the day he hit a half century in the Island’s warm-up match against Zimbabwe.

According to mum Tracey, St. David’s Primary School pupil Tanae was merely returning a compliment from her old man earlier in the week.

Janeiro had phoned home from the Caribbean with some words of comfort for the youngster after she received some disappointing news from a school test result.

“She was totally upset because it meant she might have to go to a different school than her friend,” said Mrs. Rayner. “Her dad called her and said he wasn’t mad at her because she tried her best. After that, she felt a bit better.

“Later, my mum told her she could send a message to the team, and Tanae asked me if she could use my e-mail.

“She was shouting into me in the shower asking for a few spellings as she went along. She wanted to give the same advice to her daddy as he gave to her. That little girl is a piece of work.”

Last night, we passed the message onto a delighted Tucker, who hit 56 from 88 balls yesterday.

“She’s my number one fan ... between her and my wife, they both give me a lot of support,” he said.

“To know that she wrote that on the day that I scored a half-century, wow, that gives me a lot of satisfaction — she’s my good luck charm.

“Now I know where my good luck’s coming from, hopefully I can carry on.”

Tanae’s was one of dozens of messages of support we’ve received so far from all over the world. You can see them on our Cricket World Cup page on www.theroyalgazette.com.

Messages should be sent to news[AT]royalgazette.bm and clearly marked as ‘World Cup message’ or they can be sent to our offices on Par-la-Ville Road. Alternatively, drop by and fill in one of our World Cup message forms.

Please keep messages to about 50 words and include your name, address and a contact telephone number.