Bermuda's Under-19 national cricket squad returned home yesterday from a whirlwind training camp in Trinidad fitter, wiser and all the more determined to excel at the World Cup in Malaysia next February.

The squad stepped up their World Cup preparations in conditions in the Caribbean similar to those they will encounter in Asia next year and upon arrival back home from an exhausting itinerary received a ringing endorsement from coach Andre Manders.

Undoubtedly, the highlight on tour was Bermuda's sensational five-wicket win over Queen's Park CC at the famous Queen's Park Oval in Port-of-Spain last week. But in addition to the team's inspiring win, coach Manders said he was equally impressed with the manner in which team members acquitted themselves overall on tour and responded to the task at hand.

"The fitness level is definitely there as the players put in a lot of work in Trinidad working on their technique," he added.

The tour also provided team management with another ideal opportunity to assess the team's strengths and weaknesses, with national coach Gus Logie and fellow former West Indies Test players Bernard Julian, Tony Gray and Derryck Murray lending motivational support.

Now back on home soil, former Western Stars and Bermuda batsman Manders intends to keep the juices flowing by securing additional practice matches for his team before they head off to India at the end of January for final World Cup preparations.

"One of our main priorities now is to get in as many practice matches before we leave (for India) as possible," he added.

There were many individual success stories on tour, perhaps none more so than skipper Rodney Trott, who led by example in thumping an unbeaten half-century that powered Bermuda to victory over Queen's Park CC.

In achieving the milestone, Trott also became the second Bermudian cricketer behind Glamorgan skipper David Hemp to score a half-century at the famous Test ground this year.

"Overall, I think the batting has come along nicely. Rodney (Trott) has batted really well along with the likes of Regino Smith and Deunte Darrell while Chris (Douglas) has also been pretty solid," Manders said.

If there were any disappointments on tour, rained-out matches against Clico Preysal and Powergen Sports Club might've given good reason to lament.

Yet according to Manders, mother nature's intervention might have been a blessing in disguise as time lost out in the middle was made up indoors at the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Academy where the tourists had the rare privilege of practising alongside Trinidad's senior national team at the Couva-based facility.

"It's unfortunate we couldn't get the entire four matches played. But the main thing is that at least we got to play two matches and train indoors," Manders said.

Bermuda's Under-19s qualified for the Under-19 World Cup at last August's Americas Championships in Toronto where Trott led his team to victory undefeated.

It was Bermuda's first success at that level in Canada since Charlie Marshall captained the Island to the 1979 International Youth Tournament (IYT), with current Under-19 coach Manders an integral part of that victorious squad.

Bermuda's Under-19s depart for India on January 31.