Treadwell Gibbons jr has put country before club and decided against returning to Scotland to represent Division One side Arbroath Cricket Club this summer.

Gibbons, 20, retained his spot earlier this week in Bermuda?s 14-man national squad that will play two official One-Day Internationals against Canada and Zimbabwe in Trinidad later this month.

The left-handed batsman accompanied the national cricket team to the Caribbean island last month on a training exercise where he impressed national coach Gus Logie ? a native of Trinidad ? with some consistent performances batting at the top of the order.

Yesterday Gibbons received blessings from Arbroath executive and local Hall of Fame cricketer, Clarence Parfitt.

?His best bet is to stay there with the team, that?s what I suggested to him. That?s all he ever talked about while he was over here, making the national cricket team. And he has worked very hard to get to where he is now,? Parfitt said.

?He?s done the easy part of making the team . . . but now comes the hard part of trying to remain in the team. And the main thing Treadwell should be doing at the moment is concentrating solely on playing for Bermuda.?

So far Gibbons has performed admirably in his role as opening batsman, something that won?t have gone unnoticed by national team selectors who have struggled to find suitable candidates for the top of the order.

?We are just happy to see that he has made the team and appears to be doing fine,? Parfitt added. ?And there are other opportunities for him over here (in the UK) in the future.?

Gibbons, if he can retain his spot in the national team, could find himself logging plenty of frequent flyer miles as the national team face a hectic schedule that will see them tour England, Guernsey, Antigua, Canada, Kenya and South Africa this year.

?He?s (Gibbons) probably going to have to spend the entire summer back there with the squad. And to the people over here it is more important that he does that,? Parfitt added.

The domestic Two-Day League season officially kicks off today with eight matches scheduled across the Island.

Premier action sees defending champions St.George?s open their defence against Bailey?s Bay at Wellington Oval and Southampton Rangers at home to perennial rivals Western Stars ? now coached by former Rangers trainer, Milford (Ju Ju) Waldron.

Rangers will be without two key players, skipper Janeiro Tucker and all-rounder Lionel Cann, both suffering minor injuries.

The national team pair are due to travel to Trinidad next week to begin preparations for the Island?s first official One-Day Internationals later this month.

First Division actions sees St.David?s pitted against Willow Cuts at Lords and Leg Trappers at home to Social Club at Sea Breeze Oval.

Turning to the Second Division, Devonshire host PHC at Devonshire Recreation Club. The match involving Police and Warwick, scheduled for Police Field, has been postponed due an unprepared pitch.

Elsewhere Somerset host Cleveland County at Somerset Cricket Club while neighbours Somerset Bridge take on Flatts at White Hill Field, venue for this summer?s Western Counties series, in Third Division play.

North Village and Forties, last season?s leading teams, will get the Commercial Cricket League underway by competing for the annual Memorial Trophy at Shelly Bay tomorrow.

The trophy, a 40-overs-a-side game, which pits the defending league champions against the knockout champions, was donated to the league by North Village in memory of all former Commercial players who have died. It was won last season by the 2004 league champions Jamaican Association who beat Forties.

Hamilton Parish, without a cricket team for almost a decade, have launched their comeback by joining the Commercial League and will open their campaign on May 14 with an away fixture against Forties. Parish have replaced St. David?s who have pulled out of the league.

Long-time league president Al Seymour has stepped down and has been succeeded by his security firm boss Paul Field, a former player with Sandys Sports Club and later with his own team, Safeguard Security.