Bermuda started slowly in the qualifying for this weekend?s ICC Intercontinental Cup semi-finals and coach Gus Logie, whose side are enduring a 15-hour layover in London today before jetting off to Namibia tonight, knows there can be no repeat against Kenya.

The opening game in Toronto in August saw Logie?s men under the cosh against the hosts before rallying for the victory but any repeat of the slow start against the more experienced Kenyans could cause irreparable damage to any final aspirations.

?We?ve seen it before with sluggish starts to the competition,? said Logie, who has already described Bermuda as ?babies? compared to the Kenyans in terms of international experience.

?It happened to us in Canada but we played through it and I don?t think we can afford to be like that against Kenya. Hopefully we can look at what happened in Canada and draw on that experience and make sure we are competitive from the first ball ? because Kenya are going to be.?

Logie has shunned the opportunity to play practice matches, instead choosing to run training sessions for the three days Bermuda have to recover from the long flights and get acclimatised to the dry, turning wickets of Africa.

The Kenyans, by contrast, have decided to make up for a prolonged period of absence from competitive matches by undertaking a pre-tournament tour of Zimbabwe and victories over Zimbabwe A in a three-day game and then a 30-run win over a virtual Zimbabwe first team in a one-day match will fill them with confidence ahead of their clash with Bermuda on Sunday.

Although Logie is well aware of the talents of the opposition, the coach is also ?very happy? with his own team and their abilities to perform on the big stage and under pressure.

Four changes have been made to the side that qualified for this event with the major alterations coming at the top of the order due to a lack of run production that hindered, although couldn?t prevent, Bermuda?s Toronto victories.

Curtis Jackson and Kwame Tucker have been inserted as the openers ? contenders OJ Pitcher and Delyone Borden, the men who helped Bermuda in the World Cup, were unavailable ? while Lionel Cann?s flashing blade is also in the side to add meat to the middle order.

First Division speedster Kevin Tucker, the surprise pick and the major beneficiary of Logie?s open-door selection policy, has been added for his pace and variety.

?I am very happy with Curtis and Kwame,? continued Logie, happy to speak candidly about individuals during a lengthy pre-tour interview with

?It was obviously an area that needed addressing and we are confident in the new players in that role. We have talked with them about what we expect and what we are hoping to see and I think we have the players to do it.

?They both have plenty of experience and will be able to cope with the demands of the longer version of the game.

?As for Lionel, it is good to have him in the side. He is a very talented player and he is capable of scoring important runs as he has already showed this summer.

?Our middle order had to bail us out on more than one occasion in Canada and Lionel will be there to strengthen that department even more.?

As for the inclusion of Tucker ? who is expected to be one of the two not to be involved, although Logie was unwilling to confirm that ? it is all about pace.

?We don?t have any Michael Holdings or Allan Donalds here and that is a fact we have to deal with,? said Logie, matter-of-factly.

?You play with what you have and it is about getting the most from them. We don?t have the out-and-out pace but we can make up for that by bowling a good line and length.

?Kevin was included because he gives us something different. Left-arm pace is rare in international cricket and if he adds some variety to his attack he could be a very good bowler. It?s nice to have that extra option.?

Logie added that, due to the turning wickets in Namibia, both Dwayne (Sluggo) Leverock and Hasan Durham could again play the match-winning roles.

?We are expecting the wickets there to take a lot of spin,? he continued.

?Sluggo has shown many times what he can do and his experience will be of great benefit to us. Hasan is also a very good spinner and, depending on how things go, we could rely heavily on those guys.?

Despite the excitement surrounding the Namibia trip and the prospect of claiming the major Kenyan scalp and adding to the trophy cabinet, Logie is not losing sight of the big picture and the overall aim of preparing for the World Cup.

?This in itself is an important tournament for us but it is also important in terms of the longer-term,? continued the coach, who recently signed a four-year deal to take him to the next set of World Cup qualifiers.

?Just the experience of going all this way together, bonding as a team and playing in another high intensity event is going to be good for us. It is all about building a bank of experience on how to deal with different situations and making sure we learn from what we do so we have more and more to draw on further down the line.

?Any cricket is good for us, be it three-day, 20/20, 50/50 or four-day. It is not about the games it is about the mindset and what we learn, what we remember and how we can react in the future.?