Not a ball has been bowled but Bermuda already know just how tough the opposition will be in next summer?s International Cricket Council (ICC) Trophy.

The Island have been placed in Group One along with hosts Ireland, Denmark, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the USA and, with only the top two in either group automatically advancing to the 2007 Cricket World Cup, the on-field wars will begin from the first delivery.

Group Two of the 12-team event is equally challenging with Holland, Scotland, Canada ? who won the Americas qualifier here in July ? Namibia, Oman and one other team locking horns. The sixth team in that group will be selected from a qualifier in Malaysia next February among top losers in the regional qualifiers. The Cayman Islands, who placed fourth in the Americas tournament, will therefore have one last chance to compete in Ireland if they win that event.

The World Cup qualifier starts on July 1 in Belfast, following an opening ceremony on June 29, and runs for an intense two weeks with the final and third-place match both slated for July 13. Only the top five finishers will go forward to the World Cup two years later in the West Indies.

Teams will compete in a round-robin format in the first of the tournament?s three stages. Whom they face in the second round will depend on their performance in the initial group stage and likewise their third-round fixture will depend on their second-round showings. Teams must be among the top four in their groups after the round-robin stage to stand any chance of heading to the World Cup.

The top two teams in either group ? who are assured of World Cup berths ? will compete for first through fourth place in the tournament while the third and fourth place teams in either group will vie for fifth to eighth position. The team placing fifth will grab the final World Cup spot

?It will not be easy but I think Bermuda has a very good chance of qualifying for the World Cup,? said Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) official Neil Speight yesterday, discussing tournament details.

While some teams will be out of World Cup reckoning by the tournament?s second stage, he stressed it would still be important to try and do as well as possible because the results would have a bearing on future rankings.

?Depending on their rankings, certain teams could be included in the ICC?s High Performance Fund and be eligible for additional money and coaching and get opportunities to play in more international tournaments,? he explained.

National captain Clay Smith is equally enthusiastic about the country?s chance of realising a long-cherished ambition.

?I feel that in our group we have a very good chance of qualifying. In the past we have beaten most of those teams. Ireland would probably be the toughest team. They finished first in their group plus they are at home.

?Other than that I think we stand a very good chance. The objective is definitely to finish in the top two so you?ve got an automatic place.

?From what I have been told our first game is probably against Ireland. So that?s going to be very important and, if we can get through that successfully, it would definitely lay a platform for the rest of the tournament,? he said, declaring the Island will be aiming to avenge the loss to the USA here in the Americas tournament in July.

Between now and next summer, he said the national team would have to work seriously and be dedicated towards improving.

?There are a few aspects of our game that we really need to work on. The most important one is definitely our fitness level and our mobility in the field. If we are to be successful we have to field extremely well.?

The skipper said certain aspects of batting and bowling must be tightened up also. In the batting he is concerned about the unsettled nature of the opening partnership and the loose manner in which players often threw away their wickets in the Americas tournament, the Inter-Continental Cup and the matches against Barbados and the West Indies.

?That?s an area that needs improving, especially between 20 and 40 overs when we Bermudians have a tendency to try to score a lot of boundaries as opposed to getting the singles and keeping the scoreboard ticking over and keeping our wickets in hand,? he said of the latter problem.

?To me that?s just a tactical point that we need to analyse in our game but it?s not a major issue once the players realise what they are doing wrong. The way to perfecting it though is in game situations. We need to have practice games, discuss our tactics and follow through.?

Thanking the BCB and Somerset for providing quality opposition like Barbados and the West Indies, he said those encounters as well as the two regional tournaments had helped in showing Bermuda?s cricketers the way forward and they appreciated the difference between domestic and international level.

Smith, who is liaising closely with chairman of selectors and former national captain Arnold Manders, disclosed that a squad of 25 to 30 players should be named by end of October and thereafter training would start.

?When we do meet with the players we want to have everything laid out for them from now right up until July when we go to Ireland.

?It?s just a matter of getting everything in order in terms of when we will be training and what tours we?re looking to take and planning properly,? said Smith, adding that he is awaiting confirmation of build-up tours from the BCB.

The skipper will also welcome the arrival of a new coach at the start of 2005 to replace Mark Harper whose three-year contract ended last month.

?We need somebody who can take our country to another level . . . somebody who the players respect and who comes with a creditable background and fresh ideas that the players will be interested in,? said Smith.