They voluntarily suspended their Test status, their best players have fled and the president of their governing body is being investigated for fraud ? but Zimbabwe will still be the team to beat in the Tri-Series at the Queen?s Park Oval which begins today.

Coached by former Northamptonshire all-rounder Kevin Curran, the Zimbabweans have endured a torrid three-week stay in the Caribbean so far ? losing the one-day series to the West Indies 5-0 and generally looking horribly out of place at international cricket?s top table.

Their tragic fall from grace has seen them lose 22 of their last 26 One-Day Internationals, while reports leaking out of Zimbabwe suggest the cricketing infrastructure has virtually collapsed as the embattled and Mugabe-controlled Zimbabwe Cricket Union continues to lose the co-operation and respect of their regional affiliates.

Without the likes of Andy and Grant Flower, Neil Johnson, Murray Goodwin and Heath Streak, high-quality players who all jumped ship some time ago out of disgust with the ZCU and the Mugabe regime, their side is now made up of former club cricketers who have been thrown in at the deep end and asked to somehow stay afloat.

Against Bermuda and Canada this week, however, the Zimbabweans will go from underdogs to overwhelming favourites, with their superior experience against top-class opposition expected to work in their favour.

But with this sudden change of status comes an altogether different, and arguably more intense, kind of pressure ? a fact not lost on Curran, who has been working night and day to get the best out of a squad with an average age of only 23.

?It?s not very often we find ourselves in a position where we are expected to win,? he admitted.

?The series against the West Indies has been an enormously tough one for the guys. It?s not easy mentally to go out there and take a hammering every time, but the mood in the camp has remained very positive and the guys are upbeat.

?To come over here with such a young side was always going to be very, very difficult. We prepared as a best we could for seven weeks beforehand in Harare and there were times during the series where we made some improvements and seemed to be learning from the experience.

?This week though is totally different. We don?t know a lot about Canada or Bermuda because we obviously do not play against them regularly.

?But with John Davison in their team Canada are going to be tough to beat, no question. For such a small country, Bermuda did incredibly well to get in to the World Cup. They are obviously capable of playing good cricket and we will have to be on our guard against them because they are a bit of unknown quantity.

?From our point of view though, I think it?s important that we try and relax and not try to force the issue just because we are expected to win. Our players are young and inexperienced at the highest level, but they all have plenty of ability and if we stick to our game plans I would like to think we can come out on top.?

Before their tour to the Caribbean began, it was reported in the international press that Zimbabwe?s squad for the Tri-Series stood to be seriously weakened by the departure of at least eight players, all of whom were scheduled to leave after the final game against the West Indies to fulfil professional contracts with club sides in the UK.

But other than the loss of leading seam bowler Ed Rainsford, arrangements have been made for the remaining contracted players to stay on ? a decision which will please the International Cricket Council, who will come under even more pressure to take a more direct role in sorting out the Zimbabwe mess should they fail to beat two of the world?s cricketing minnows this week.

Meanwhile, over half of the Bermuda squad spent their one day off at the Queen?s Park Oval on Sunday watching the final ODI, which the Windies won by 104 runs.

Set 267 to win, Zimbabwe were never once up with the required run rate and looked to be focusing on survival rather than attempting to push for a consolation victory.

But despite the match?s one-sided nature, Bermuda?s vice-captain Irving Romaine was still impressed with what Zimbabwe had to offer.

?They were clearly over-powered by the West Indies but they still looked a very professional team with some quality players,? he said.

?They actually did quite well to restrict them to 267 on a very good pitch and all of their bowlers were tidy and consistent, putting the ball in the right areas more often than not.

?It?s a little harsh to judge their batsmen against the likes of Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor, but I thought they coped alright and we are going to have to play very well to beat them.

?With Canada it?s a bit different because we have played against them a lot and we know what to expect. We know them very well and they know us very well, and because we play them so often there is a good rivalry between us and we?re looking forward to taking them on again.?Canada v Zimbabwe: Bermuda v Canada Bermuda v Zimbabwe Final