National cricket coach Gus Logie has urged his players to have faith in their own ability ahead of perhaps the stiffest test they have encountered: the World Cup warm-up game against England which begins in St. Vincent on Monday.

Speaking at a press conference at the team hotel yesterday afternoon, the Trinidadian said Bermuda had to go into the match believing it could compete with Michael Vaughan's resurgent team — comparing their David and Goliath task to his own experiences on the fringe of the West Indies side in the 1980s.

"My own experience as a coach and even as a player has always been as the underdog. I've always been in a situation where I've been fighting against the odds... What the players need to understand is that you have to back your own ability. Whatever negatives you face you have to confront them."

Meanwhile, team captain Irving Romaine said from the moment their plane touched down on the tarmac in St. Vincent, it had become very clear that Bermuda were now in "the big leagues".

"You can't ask for anything better than this," said the powerful top order batsman.

"This has to be the highlight of every single player's career. We just have to enjoy it and play the best we can. It's everybody's dream to play in a World Cup and finally we're here.

"We all grew up playing in the back yard, dreaming of things like this and now here we are. We all really, really want to do it. We're all desperate to play well."

After playing England on Monday, Bermuda have one more warm-up game against Zimbabwe next week before flying further south to Trinidad, where all three of their opening group games will be played. The national team take on Sri Lanka on March 15, India on March 19 and Bangladesh on March 25.