Janeiro Tucker has been named as a replacement for the injured Terryn Fray in Bermuda’s team for the World Cricket League Division Four tournament in Los Angeles.

As was the case with experienced wicketkeeper Dean Minors, who has also returned to the fold, the SOS call to Janeiro Tucker on Monday came as a surprise.

However, it did not take the former Bermuda captain long to agree to delay shoulder surgery after the loss of Fray, who fractured the little finger on his right hand while preventing a boundary in the second practice match against Canada last weekend.

Tucker, 41, will not leave Bermuda until tomorrow, as he will attend the wedding today of Dwayne Leverock, his former Bermuda team-mate.

“They [Bermuda Cricket Board] called me yesterday morning, I was surprised, I didn’t expect that,” Tucker said. “Representing my country is all good, I know I can still do it. I’ve got the ability; that’s not going to be an issue for me.”

Tucker is the type of player Bermuda needs in a tournament of such importance, as they look to win promotion back to Division Three.

His international career looked over in May when he made himself unavailable for the tournament.

Work commitments prevented him from attending any of the matches with Canada at the National Sports Centre, with Bermuda losing all three games.

“I’m in pretty decent shape, had a good season, so that’s not going to be much of an issue,” he said.

The BCB reacted quickly to secure Tucker’s services and he will join the team in time for Bermuda’s opening match, against the United States on Saturday.

“The national selectors considered carefully the loss of Fray as a specialist batsman,” the BCB said in a statement.

“As the current standby list only has two seam bowlers and a reserve wicketkeeper, it was deemed necessary to reach outside the current squad.

“Janeiro will leave Bermuda on Thursday, which will enable him to get to Los Angeles a full day ahead of Bermuda’s first game on Saturday.”

Lloyd Fray, president of the BCB, thanked Tucker for stepping in late.

“I am extremely grateful that Janeiro has returned to assist our country at short notice,” Fray said.

“I recognise that he has had to postpone his scheduled shoulder surgery to accommodate this change at the eleventh hour.”

The BCB also confirmed that Terryn Fray will still travel with the team in a non-playing capacity.

Bermuda experimented with OJ Pitcher at the top of the order in the first two matches against Canada, while the US are planning to move their captain, Steven Taylor, back to the top of the innings after being tried in the middle order.

Taylor is well known to Bermuda, as he has toured the island on a couple of occasions and played in the same ICC Americas teams as Kamau Leverock, Tre Manders and Delray Rawlins.

Pubudu Dassanayake, the US coach, believes his team have their best chance of promotion with Taylor batting as an opener.

“We tried a few things and now we’ve settled down back in the opening [slot],” Dassanayake told ESPNcricinfo. “With his calibre, I think he is better at the top of the order.”

Since making a career-best 162 off 102 balls against Nepal, whom Dassanayake was coaching at the time, in 2013, Taylor has scored 277 runs in 14 innings at an average of 19.79.

“I’m happy if he can get big runs in three games for us,” Dassanayake said. “If he scores in three games and we’re going to win those games, that’s what I’m looking for.

“He’s hungry. As a leader, first time captaining USA [in an ICC tournament] he wants to win this tournament.”

Pitcher is also making his debut as Bermuda captain in an ICC tournament. Clay Smith, the Bermuda coach, may persevere with Pitcher at the top of the order in the absence of Fray.

However, Tucker’s presence, plus the inclusion of Rawlins and Dion Stovell, who did not play in any of the weekend matches because of work commitments, will strengthen the batting. Rawlins is scheduled to fly to California from England.