Skipper Irving Romaine is confident Bermuda's Stanford 20/20 seam attack can cope without one of the main weapons in its arsenal - strike bowler Kevin Hurdle.

The Social Club quickie has been ruled out of Bermuda's Stanford 20/20 clash with defending champions Guyana in Antigua early next month through work commitments, leaving a three-pronged seam attack to fend for themselves.

"I think our seam attack is okay. If they can bowl in the right areas I think we can set a field to block up one side and try to get through the early overs with the power play. But it's going to be very crucial for our first two bowlers to get us through the first six overs of the power play," said Romaine, who attended last weekend's opening Stanford 20/20 ceremony in Antigua.

Hurdle was by far the best bowler on Bermuda's previous tour of Kenya and Dubai where he claimed a total of 22 wickets, including career-best figures of six for 45 against United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Intercontinental Cup. And his services are certain to be missed when Bermuda touch down in the Caribbean later this week.

"Hurdle's absence has undoubtedly hindered our attack due to the fact he has been bowling extremely well especially on our last tour to Kenya and Dubai. Hurdle is definitely one of our most potent bowlers," Romaine acknowledged.

With Hurdle unavailable to travel, much of the Island's hopes of undermining a potentially explosive Guyanese batting order will now rest squarely on the shoulders of seamers Ryan Steede, Jacobi Robinson and Jamaican-born Traddie Simpson - one of five team members now poised to make their Bermuda debut.

Bermuda face Guyana on February 10 at a Stanford Cricket Ground batting strip Romaine has described as "two-paced".

"At the moment I don't think the wicket is playing as well as it did in 2006," he said. "It's up and down and if you have been watching the games you can see that some deliveries are staying low while others are flying through.

"The cracks (on batting surface) are rather large for the beginning of the tournament. Basically they (tournament organisers) have been preparing the pitch since last year. It's an up and down, two-paced wicket that you can tell by recent low scores is not in the best of shapes."

During the inaugural Stanford 20/20 campaign Bermuda suffered a nine-wicket thrashing at the hands of a Chris Gayle-led Jamaica but will undoubtedly look to improve on that disappointing performance this time around.

Romaine, the swashbuckling Lionel Cann and left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock are the sole three survivors from the 2006 campaign.

Last week Guyana and West Indies star batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul warned his team-mates not to take anything for granted against a largely inexperienced Bermuda team.

"Bermuda have some big guys who can hit the ball pretty far," he said. "What we have to do is put plans in place to outsmart them and win the game.

"The boys went out and did the job last time around so that means everyone will be coming at us hard as the defending champions. But we have a good, solid team and the aim will be to go out and repeat."

Guyana won the inaugural Stanford 20/20 Tournament nearly two-years ago to pocket the $1 million jackpot in prize earnings after defeating regional powerhouse Trinidad and Tobago by five-wickets in a high-scoring final.

Bermuda Stanford 20/20 squad: Irving Romaine (capt), Dwayne Leverock, Lionel Cann, Traddie Simpson, David Hemp, Ricardo Brangman, Ryan Steede, Jacobi Robinson, James Celestine, Garvin Aparicio, Ray Butterfield, Mclaren Smith, Sammy Robinson.