IF Bermuda's cricketers are getting nervous as the World Cup fast approaches, well, they're not alone.

As the biggest sporting event this tiny island has ever participated in, it presents new challenges for not only the players and all those involved with Bermuda Cricket Board, but also the media.

Here at The Royal Gazette, we too are gearing up for a monumental and hopefully memorable month of cricket coverage.

Much like the players themselves, we're entering uncharted territory.

Our preparation, too, has been intense.

What we have planned for our readers exceeds anything ever attempted in the 100-odd years of this newspaper's existence.

Our entire sports department complete with photographers will set up camp in Trinidad to produce, both on our website and in a special four-page pull-out World Cup special that will be published daily throughout the tournament, the type of comprehensive coverage our media rivals simply won't be able to match.

Ball-by-ball coverage complemented by an instantly updated scoreboard and reviews of the action every 10 overs will be provided on www.theroyalgazette.com for every World Cup match as well as the warm-ups.

The following day's newspaper will feature a complete round-up of the day's play, including match reports, analysis, interviews with the players, international stars, and, of course, the many Bermudians who plan to witness this historic occasion.

Since our national team played their way into the history books by becoming the first Bermuda team, and the smallest country, to qualify for a World Cup final, we've followed them every step of the way.

Unlike other local newspapers, TV and radio, we were right there in Ireland when they qualified and we've covered every single international match played since.

It's a trumpet we're proud to blow.

While we've been playing in the Premier League, the rest of the local press have been wallowing in the Third Division.

And it won't be any different at the World Cup.

No other members of the Island media have come anywhere close to providing the in-depth coverage offered by The Gazette both before, during and after every international game. And once again they'll be forced to play second fiddle.

Even our so-precious politicians might soon find themselves knocked off the front page — perhaps relegated to the comic pages where many feel they belong — as we plan to cover all the news angles of a spectacle which will be seen by billions of TV viewers worldwide over a period of almost two months.

With the World Cup now just around the corner, we're about to take this coverage to a new, unprecedented level.

We'll be in Antigua this weekend when Bermuda play their first-ever One-Day International against a Test nation — Bangladesh — and in St.Vincent the following week for what must surely be considered far more significant than a mere World Cup warm-up match — a clash against the might of England, the highest ranked team ever to have played Bermuda in an official game.

Then, of course, it's off to Trinidad for the big event itself when our mid-Atlantic minnows take on Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.

No matter what the public might think of Bermuda's cricket team, and despite their rather chequered record in the lead-up to this extravaganza, the fact remains the World Cup will put the players and this country under the kind of global scrutiny never before experienced.

It's a chapter in Island history we're looking forward to recording and one which we believe will keep our readers engrossed for the next several weeks.

Enjoy the ride! >— ADRIAN ROBSON