Bermuda is out and a Rest of the Americas is in - including eight Bermudians!

In a last-minute twist of events Bermuda's Under-22 cricket team scheduled to compete in the West Indies Under-19 tournament have been pulled to allow Under-19 World Cup qualifiers Canada and a Rest of the Americas team to play in the event, starting in Guyana tomorrow.

However, there is some good news as eight Bermudians have been chosen for the 14-member Rest of the Americas squad.

In fact, Bailey's Bay player Stephen Outerbridge will captain the Americas side while national coach Mark Harper has been assigned to the team which includes Caymanian and Argentinian cricketers also.

Harper, Outerbridge, Oronde Bascome, Dion Stovell and Justin Robinson left the Island yesterday morning for the South American country and will be joined tonight by Patrick Stamp, Mishael Paynter, Allan Douglas Jr and Jade Foggo. Mackie Crane, who was originally selected, withdrew due to an injury sustained in last week's Cup Match.

In keeping with the previous agreement between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and Bermuda, the Americas side was permitted to have Under-22 players for the Under-19 competition as the Americas are seen as "developing cricket nations".

The about-turn in plans for the eight-team tournament resulted from Canada's Under-19 team seeking inclusion in the event after winning the recent Americas Under-19 World Cup qualifier in Toronto. Citing financial constraints, Canada initially declined an invitation from WICB to participate in the tournament while Bermuda accepted the offer.

Speaking to The Royal Gazette from Antigua yesterday, the WICB's Chief Executive Officer Roger Brathwaite explained that as a result of Canada's victory in the Under-19 World Cup qualifier - and therefore its advancement to next year's Under-19 World Cup final in Bangladesh - representation was made, in conjunction with the International Cricket Council (ICC), that Canada should take part in the West Indies Under-19 tournament.

"In discussions with the ICC we decided the best thing would be for Canada to attend plus a Rest of the Americas team instead of Bermuda.

"Bermuda agreed that was in the best interest of cricket and that they would withdraw and we would put together a Rest of Americas team which would be made up of Bermudian, Caymanian and Argentinian players," said the WICB boss.

Brathwaite said these changes transpired "in the past week to ten days" but treasurer of the Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) Neil Speight said it was only last Tuesday that WICB confirmed the new arrangements.

"On Tuesday we were told Bermuda would now be part of a combined side and as part of us giving up our invitation we were guaranteed at least five spots in a squad of 14 and that Stephen Outerbridge would be captain of that team and Harper would be coach of that Americas side," disclosed Speight.

Thereafter, five players (Outerbridge, Stovell, Crane, Bascome and Robinson) were selected and three others put on stand-by in anticipation that additional spots would become available.

Only on Saturday was it finalised that eight places would be filled by Bermudians following deliberations between Harper and his counterparts in the Cayman Islands and Argentina.

It was tough to inform the Under-22 squad which had been in training that many of them would not be going on tour.

"We had organised our participation in the event since last year and were preparing a squad for it.

"It's a disappointment because we had to tell the players that we're only able to take a few of them," said BCB President Reggie Pearman.

Speight said the BCB viewed the tournament as a "developmental" exercise and that's why a request was made by Bermuda to send Under-22 players.

"We were going to take over-aged guys down there as a stepping stone for those who are starting to make their way into the senior national side," he explained.

"It's a tribute to the strength of Bermuda cricket, our credibility with the WICB and the fact that the other countries recognised we needed to pick a team on merit and not on ration which helped us in getting eight players."

The see-saw events of the past few days prevented the Bermudian contingent from securing flights together and means - that with the tournament starting tomorrow morning - those arriving in Guyana tonight could be thrown into action with just one night's rest.