Having successfully defended their Western Counties crown over the opening two rounds, champions Willow Cuts depart for Toronto, Canada today where they will play three matches in a ten-day period.

Cuts, bolstered by the inclusions of Bailey?s Bay all rounder Dennis Pilgrim and Police veteran Freston Hurdle, are scheduled to play Ajax CC in their opening tour match on Thursday.

On July 15 the tourists will take on a powerful Toronto and District Cricket Association XI in King?s City before meeting Malton CC in their final match on tour on July 18.

Cuts will be represented by a 22-member delegation, headed up by club president Richard Basden, coach Rodney Fubler, manager Andre Scott, club rep and team off spinner Kevin Fubler and scorer Deniz Hasayn.

?Our goal is to help promote Bermuda cricket and as you know Willow Cuts have been touring for the last 20 years,? Basden told . ?Normally we travel to the Caribbean but we decided to go to Toronto because the Canadians seemed to be improving their cricket and we felt that it be best for our cricketers to get some exposure in Canada.

?We compete with them in the Americas region and so we thought it best to tour their country to see what they are all about and get exposed to their climate so that if any of our players should one day break into the national team, then they would already be acclimatised to playing cricket in Toronto.

?So basically we hope to spread the spirit of the game and our motto on tour is creating friendships through cricket. And that is what our goal is.

?Tours have always been a part of our club and we hope to continue them as long as we possibly can.?

While the bulk of Cuts? team are either nearing their peak or have surpassed it, Basden said it is the team?s younger members such as Deuntay Darrell and Kavon Fubler who stand to gain most from the tour.

?It should be a good tour for them,? he added. ?Canada has a lot of overseas players from all around the world, and so for them to be exposed to a different level of cricket will be good for them.

?They can only get better from experiences such as these.?

And Basden expects the competition to be fierce and intense in Toronto where Cuts also toured in 2002.

?It is going to be tough and we have also scheduled training sessions in an indoor net facility,? he added. ?So we will be quite busy, but this is what it is all about. This is a cricket tour, and so first and foremost we are going over there to play cricket.?

In addition to youngsters Darrell and Fubler, several other team members will also be travelling overseas on a cricket tour for the first time.

?Sheroy Fubler, Antione Bean and Bergon Spencer have never been on a cricket tour before,? Basden noted. ?And so for them to experience this is good and could end up being a once in a lifetime experience.

?Hopefully they can grow and learn to appreciate cricket a little bit more and overall we encourage our players to put in the effort so that they can make the most out of the tour and improve their games.?