Bermuda are expected to include spin bowlers Del Hollis and Delray Rawlins for today’s opening match against the United States in the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Malaysia.

It is likely that Jordan DeSilva, Kamal Bashir and Onias Bascome will miss out, although the final selection of the team will depend on the weather conditions this morning.

“We’re looking at Onias, Jordan and Kamal to be the reserves but that depends as it is very much the rainy season and the team could change in the morning,” Douglas said. “Everybody has to be ready to play, anyway.”

Bascome, who presently lives in England, was a late addition to the squad after the standby player, Temiko Wilson, mysteriously withdrew from the tour after being named as the replacement for the unavailable Fiqre Crockwell.

Douglas, himself a late replacement for head coach Arnold Manders, who pulled out of the trip because of illness, said that the team’s spirits were high despite losing both their practice matches in Dubai.

Bermuda have a tough start with opening matches against the US today and Nepal tomorrow, with Singapore and host side Malaysia, who were promoted from Division Four, also expected to be competitive.

“We’re ready as much as we can be, we had a good session today and the two matches in Dubai were interesting,” Douglas said.

“We know it is going to be tough so we will have to buckle down in each match. We’re certainly in good spirits and the captain [Janeiro Tucker] is up for it as well as the other players.

“If we get through the first two matches, hopefully we can be competitive. It’s a long series and because of the rain we don’t know what is going to go down, but we will try our best.”

Hollis is one of oldest players in the team and Douglas believes his experience will be vital in the bowling department.

“He bowled pretty decent in Dubai where the outfield was fast and the wickets really good to bat on,” Douglas said.

“These outfields and the wickets are a bit slower and I’m hoping the wickets turn a bit. Remember, in Dubai we played a Division One team and their batsmen were very, very good with the ball coming on to the bat.”

The six participating captains spoke about their sides’ chances at the tournament at a press conference yesterday ahead of the opening matches.

Nepal, the defending champions, take on last year’s finalists Uganda while neighbours Malaysia and Singapore meet in the other match.

Bermuda and the US will have just six players remaining from the squads that took part in the 2013 tournament in Bermuda, with Jermaine Lawson, the former West Indian fast bowler, expected to make his debut for the US.

Bermuda defeated the US in their group match in Bermuda last year, before losing to them in the third-place play-off match.

Although Tucker suspects that both teams will possess very different qualities this time around.

“I think it’s a different scenario this time, when you look at both teams, the US and us,” Tucker said. “We’ve got a nucleus of different players, but we are still going to play it hard. We’ll still go ahead and prepare as usual, and hopefully we come up with the right result.”

Steve Massiah, the US captain, added: “This is a different tournament. Obviously, that defeat against Bermuda still hurts us, but we’ve moved on, made a few changes and brought in a number of talented young players.

“We’ve combined that equally with some experienced guys. Obviously this tournament is an opportunity for us to progress.”

Nepal will again be one of the favourites, having shown themselves in Bermuda to be a very competent side. However, Paras Khadka, their captain, has stressed that all the teams are equally matched.

“I would say that all teams are here to progress into Division Two, so we want to take one match at a time,” Khadka said. “More than rivalry, I think that each team is eagerly waiting to outdo the others.

“I think it is a great opportunity for us, we played Division Three last year as well, so it is an exciting challenge.

“We need to play well, it is as simple as that. There are a lot of good teams out here, and in cricket you can’t take it easy, so you have to play to your strengths.

“If we do that, the results should be positive for us,” said the 26-year-old batsman.

Frank Nsubugo, the Uganda captain, expects a difficult opening match against Nepal. “I think the match is going to be a tough one,” he said.

“We’ve played Nepal three times, so we know it is a tough team to play, and we are looking forward to coming tomorrow and playing hard.”