National team selectors are expected to unveil a training squad for July’s incoming tour by Lloyd’s Cricket Club possibly by the end of next week, national coach Gus Logie revealed yesterday.

Logie said he hopes to have a squad consisting of 25 to 30 players at his disposal and eager to commit themselves to July’s tour match against the visiting English side at the earliest convenience.

“We will have a team ready to showcase talent we have here against a team such as Lloyds. The selectors are going to meet in the next day or so and hopefully in the next week we can come up with a squad,” the former West Indies vice-captain and coach said.

Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) have made provisions in the 2007 schedule to accommodate what will be Lloyds’ second tour of the Island in three years. The English side last visited in 2004.

The tourists — who defeated Bermuda by four runs at Beckenham Cricket Club last summer — will open this season’s tour of the Island against Bermuda’s Under-19s on Tuesday, June 12 before taking on what promises to be a new-look national squad on Thursday, June 14.

The English club are also scheduled to meet Leg Trappers on Saturday, June 16 before closing out their brief visit with a match against a BCB Development XI.

There are tentative plans to stage all four matches at the National Sports Centre (NSC) — matches Logie intends to use as an opportunity to blood potential new talent ahead of international commitments in Ireland, Holland and Kenya later this year.

“When teams come to the Island we are going to make sure as many players as possible get an opportunity to play against them. This will be an opportunity for everybody to get a chance and show their worth,” Logie added.

National team selectors have now been given the task of trying to fill the void left by the retirements of top all-rounder Saleem Mukuddem and wicketkeeper-batsman Dean Minors, while Glamorgan skipper David Hemp and college students OJ Pitcher, Delyone Borden, Stefan Kelly and Stephen Outerbridge will also be unavailable for July’s tour match, Logie said.

“Obviously some of our players aren’t on the Island at the moment and will be unavailable through school commitments. So basically we intend to use the players that are here,” he added.

While Logie did not confirm who would be given the responsibility of captaining Bermuda against the visiting Lloyds, he did hint that World Cup skipper Irving Romaine could remain at the helm of the team.

“At this point in time the selectors haven’t decided anything, but I don’t really see any reason why he (Romaine) shouldn’t be,” said Logie, who coached Bermuda to the semi-finals of the ICC Intercontinental Cup in 2005 and a first Americas Championship title last summer in Toronto.

“So maybe it’s a situation where other people will get an opportunity to play as well as be involved in leadership positions.”

Meanwhile, the 2007 cricket season will officially start on Saturday, May 12 with the first round of the Two-Day league. The Limited Overs league schedule will kick off on Sunday, May 20 while the Under-10 youth league begins on Wednesday, May 2, the Under-13 league on Friday, April 27 and the Under-16 league on Saturday, May 5.

This year’s Belco Cup tournament involving the top four clubs in the Premier Division last season will be held on Saturday, June 9.