Next week?s World Cricket League Division One Championships will provide Bermuda?s cricketers with one final opportunity to convince national team selectors they are worthy of representing the Island at March?s World Cup in the West Indies.

Upon conclusion of the tournament, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, Bermuda Cricket Board (BCB) will announce a final squad of 15 players who will take part in a triangular ODI series in Antigua next month and then the World Cup in the Caribbean.

And although back-to-back losses on a recent rain-affected training camp in Trinidad might not have given the Island?s leading players the kind of momentum they had hoped for heading into the Africa tournament, team skipper Irving Romaine remains confident Bermuda will rise to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

?Basically this is a time for us to judge ourselves against the other Associate members that have qualified to see exactly where we stand. Our goals were to win the Americas championship and then strive to be the best among the Associate members,? Romaine told .

After qualifying for the World Cup and clinching the ICC Intercontinental Cup Americas Group in the summer of 2005, Romaine captained Bermuda to their maiden Americas Championship crown in Ontario last August.

Although Bermuda?s record on the international stage has been a chequered one thus far, the skipper is convinced that lessons are being learned and that eventually positive results will come more frequently.

?It?s all up to us because we have the talent and can match our opponents talent-wise,? Romaine insisted. ?It?s just that they are more disciplined than we are at the moment.

?But if we can get control of our discipline and play to our full ability then we should win because we do go into games definitely looking to win.?

Romaine said Bermuda?s two losses to WC Connection and Clico Preysal on their training tour of Trinidad earlier this month had done little to dampen team morale.

?We are not disappointed in the results because they were really training matches and the wickets weren?t up to par like they usually are in Trinidad,? he said. ?But that?s not an excuse for the way we batted, although that was the only real preparation we got playing on clay wickets. Other than that, we trained indoors with the bowling machine because of the rain.?

Romaine added: ?The coach (Gus Logie) changed around the batting order a little to let guys get a hit to get themselves in form. We tried (David) Hemp at number three so that he can get long hits because in England at this particular time of the year there?s no cricket being played.

?And overall this was a confidence building tour geared towards getting ourselves mentally prepared so we can go to Kenya feeling good about ourselves fitness-wise.?

Late last year coach Logie urged his team to toughen up mentally. Now the skipper is also urging his troops to acquire the ?killer instinct? to put teams away ? something that has noticeably been missing on recent tours.

?We have to learn the killer instinct as a team. Some players have it, and some don?t,? Romaine said.

? . . . we have to become bitterly ruthless. And we are definitely making the transition and things are beginning to sink in.?

Romaine said the team had now realised that every team they played against had a point to prove against a Bermuda side destined for the World Cup.

?They want to beat us because we have qualified for the World Cup. And it is beginning to hit home among the players because every team that we have played against has given it their all.?

Bermuda depart for Kenya tomorrow and enter into the unknown against Uganda in a warm-up match on Sunday.

And apart from all-rounder OJ Pitcher, who is scheduled to undergo a fitness test today for a groin strain, Bermuda are expected to arrive in Nairobi with a healthy squad.

But while the team are confident of obtaining favourable results on the African continent, Romaine admitted yesterday there were a few concerns over players falling ill following Canada?s problems over the weekend.

The International Cricket Council are currently looking into circumstances that led to the ODI between Kenya and Canada in Mombasa being called off due to several of the Canadian players falling ill.

It is the first time a major game has been forfeited because one side couldn?t field enough players.

Bermuda also endured a bout with a similar illness on their tour of Mombasa last November when four players, an umpire and a journalist were all confined to their hotel.

?There are some concerns among the guys about getting sick and what they can and can?t eat because we did have some of our guys get sick on the last tour,? Romaine said. ?But that was in Mombasa. We are not playing in Mombasa on this tour. . . . all of our games are in Nairobi.

?However, it may take us a while to adjust to playing cricket in extremely hot conditions at higher altitudes. But overall our chances are very good and fitness-wise I think everybody is doing very good and feeling confident they will shine.?

Bermuda Cricket Board announced yesterday that women?s national team member Brittany Marshall had been axed from the squad that leaves for Trinidad and Tobago today for a training camp.

Marshall, daughter of Cup Match?s all-time highest run-getter, Charlie Marshall, was omitted from the squad ?due to a consistent lack of commitment to training, including non appearances to one-on one organised fitness sessions,? said the BCB.

?This is very disappointing. Brittany is a talented young cricketer with much potential, but standards must be applied equally to everyone,? stated BCB president Reggie Pearman.

?I hope that once the women?s squad return from Trinidad that Brittany will refocus again in her commitment to the sport.

?She is a great asset to the team and it would be a shame to lose her.?