Port of Spain, Trinidad ? Hundreds of Bermudian spectators will take their seats in the refurbished Queen's Park Oval here in Trinidad early this morning and thousands more both in Bermuda and around the globe will be glued to their TV sets as the Island's national cricket team write a new chapter in sporting history.

At 9.30 a.m. local time (10.30 a.m. Bermuda time) the first ball will be bowled in Bermuda's first-ever match in a World Cup finals ? a daunting contest against the 1996 world champions Sri Lanka.

Records will be rewritten instantly. Bermuda will become the smallest nation in terms of both size and population to compete on cricket's grandest stage.

Should teenager Malachi Jones be included in the side ? coach Gus Logie won't announce his team until half an hour before the start ? at 17 he would become the third youngest player ever to have appeared in a Cricket World Cup.

In the VIP pavilion at the Oval will be Premier Ewart Brown, accompanied by Sports Minister and former Cup Match skipper Randy Horton as well as dozens of other dignitaries.

Plans for the team to meet Dr. Brown last night were scrapped. Instead, the Premier was expected to wish the players good luck this morning before the game. Stands around the crowd will be filled by cheering Bermudians, many of whom arrived on a special charter flight on Tuesday, among them wives, girlfriends, sons and daughters of the players.

Yesterday, the team had their final work-out at the Queen's Park Oval, arriving at the ground as the Sri Lankans prepared to depart. But bowler Muttiah Muralitharan, widely regarded as the world's best spinner and second only to the recently retired Australian Shane Warne in terms of international wickets taken, spared a moment to pose with Bermuda's own star spinner Dwayne Leverock, who hit the headlines following his performance in a warm-up game against England last week. That was followed by an inspection of the pristine Oval grounds ? the same field where Trinidadian Logie made his name as a West Indian batsman before embarking on a career in coaching.

While Bermuda Cricket Board, whose president Reggie Pearman and chief executive Neil Speight were also on hand at the stadium, inexplicably slapped a media 'gag' order on the players, Logie and skipper Irving Romaine spoke freely with the international press.

Romaine called today's momentous game "just as big an occasion for the country as it was for the players".

"I guess everybody (at home) is going to be anxious," he said. "I don't think there'll be too much work done on the Island once the game begins.

"Hopefully it will last the full length of the work day and we'll put up a good showing."

For he and all of the players, he said, it was a dream come true. "Everybody in this team dreamed of this while playing tennis-ball cricket in the back yard. We strived for this, we got here and now it's reality. We've planned, we've prepared as well as we could, we've prayed a lot and at the end of the day we hope and pray that our ability sees us through."

Logie, meanwhile, again urged his players (pictured) to have faith in their own ability and not to be overawed by a Sri Lanka team packed with talent.

"You can talk about the stars as much as you want, but I think individual technique will have to win out in the end, I think one's own confidence will be key and at the end of the day players cannot be overawed," he said. "They can't be star struck, they have to go out there and play their natural game.

"We have no particular strength in any area. We don't have 90-miles-an-hour bowlers, we don't have batsmen who can go out there and take an attack apart, but we do have quality players."

Logie's opposite number, Australian Tom Moody, said he thought the so-called minnows would make a major impact on the World Cup and despite their recent One-Day International record, Bermuda would be afforded the "utmost respect". "Look, I know it's just an old cliche but it's another game of cricket, and regardless of the opponent we'll be at full tilt with what we believe is the right team for these conditions. We'll be going very hard into this match like we would be in any other match in the World Cup," said Moody. "I'm sure every nation that considers themselves in the top bracket will be on their toes when it comes to playing the minnows. "And that includes Bermuda. We saw them get tumbled out against England but it's another day of cricket tomorrow . . . they could have a great day, we could have a poor day and we could be licking our wounds, but we'll make sure that doesn't happen."

Tickets for today's game were still being sold outside the ground yesterday and will be available this morning with organisers unsure just how many of the 17,000 seats will be filled.

Many Sri Lanka fans aren't expected to arrive in the Caribbean until the second phase of the 47-day tournament, the so-called 'Super Eight', which will get underway next month when only eight teams remain.

?Full 'live' ballby-ball coverage, updated reports and a 'live' scoreboard will be posted on website, www.theroyalgazette.com.