Having spent several months recovering from a debilitating shoulder injury which kept him on the sidelines, Bailey?s Bay seamer Jim West has returned to the national team fold determined to prove his worth.

West ? who was one of five out and out quicks named in the UK touring squad which leaves tomorrow ? last appeared in Bermuda colours during their disastrous trip to Dubai in February, when they lost all five games to the United Arab Emirates, a team which Bermuda beat at the ICC Trophy in Ireland to secure World Cup qualification.

But West ? a fisherman by trade ? has been out of action since that time, plagued by an injury which at its worst prevented him from even moving his right arm.

?It actually began to bother me during the ICC Winter Training Camp in South Africa,? said West, who was selected along with fellow youngsters Azeem Pitcher, Jekon Edness and Stephen Outerbridge to attend the prestigious academy in Pretoria headed by former English county batsman Andy Moles last year.

?But the pain wasn?t that bad, so I was given a cortisone injection and there were no problems for quite a while.

?Then I was selected to go to Dubai and the pain started all over again. I don?t know whether the cortisone had started to wear off or what, but it got gradually worse and worse and by the time we got home I was in trouble. I could hardly lift my arm.

?It?s taken a lot longer to get better than I would have liked but I?ve been putting in a lot of time with the physio trying to get it right and last weekend was the first time that I have been able to play.

?I?m obviously very happy that I?m back and involved in the national squad again and that the selectors have decided to give me another chance to prove myself.?

West owes his inclusion to the last-minute withdrawal of the left-handed Pitcher, who will be prevented from making amends for an atrociously poor run of form with the bat in Trinidad because of work commitments.

The decision to replace a batsman with a bowling allrounder is founded in a growing anxiety over the recent performances of Bermuda?s senior fast bowlers, with neither Kevin Hurdle nor Ryan Steede covering themselves in glory in the Caribbean.

West is fully aware of coach Gus Logie?s desire to find an effective partner to the impressive George O?Brien jr with the new ball and is hoping to make a powerful case for his ongoing involvement over the course of the five matches in the UK.

The 23-year-old?s medium paced out-swingers should be ideally suited to the early-summer conditions across the pond, where the wickets tend to favour seam bowlers until the weather begins to hot up in mid-June.

?I?ve only bowled in one match since coming back from injury, but I?ve been training very hard in the nets and in the gym and I?m ready to play regularly again,? he said.

?I know what the selectors are looking for and I realise that this tour is a very big opportunity for me to show what I can do. I?m not too bothered by the pressure. Whenever I play for Bermuda there is a large amount of pressure, and the situation won?t be any different as far as I?m concerned just because there might be one or two bowling positions up for grabs.

?I?ll just go out there and try and put the ball in the right areas and see what happens.?