the Shell/Sandals tournament in October means that Bermuda's national team players will face opponents at their strongest in the Guyana zone.

Since 1983 the WICB has adopted a policy that requires players to participate in its major first-class tournament, the Red Stripe Cup, as a precondition for selection to the Test team.

That requirement is now being extended to this year's Shell/Sandals with top players hoping to be selected for the Australia tour in November forced to participate.

The Board's ultimatum will ensure that Bermuda and Canada come up against some of the Caribbean's top players when they make their debuts in the competition.

"The Board has pointed out that any player in the Australian tour squad not making himself available for the Shell/Sandals Tournament, except through injury or other exceptional circumstances, would disqualify himself from going to Australia,'' WICB secretary Andrew Sealy said in a press release.

Grouped with Guyana, Barbados and the Windward Islands, Bermuda will come up against the likes of Roger Harper, Carl Hooper and Shivnarine Chanderpaul of Guyana, Junior Murray and Cameron Cuffy of the Windwards and Sherwin Campbell, Philo Wallace, Courtney Browne and Roland Holder of Barbados during group competition which takes place between October 4 and 13.

The tournament, known as the Geddes Grant Shield two years ago, is now being jointly sponsored by the international oil company and the all-inclusive resort group.

A brand new trophy was introduced last year and for the second year the teams will be split into two groups, this time each group containing four teams.

Each team will play the other teams in their group twice and Bermuda will play three of their six matches at Guyana's Test ground, Bourda. The winners of the respective groups will meet in the final in Guyana on October 19.

Canada are in the Jamaica zone with Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Leeward Islands. The Leewards are the two-time defending champions, having last year beaten Barbados in the final for the second straight year.

Both Bermuda and Canada are preparing for the ICC Trophy in Malaysia in early 1997, with the top three countries from that tournament advancing to join the nine Test playing teams in the 1999 World Cup in England.

Bermuda Cricket Board of Control president, Ed Bailey, flew to England earlier this week for the International Cricket Council's (ICC) annual meeting at Lord's.

The meeting begins on Monday but Bailey is on one of the sub-committees which begins meeting this weekend.

Some of the topics discussed will be the next World Cup, suspect bowling actions and bribery while there is also a recommendation for the establishment of a development committee to strengthen the minor countries for World Cup competition.

Bailey expects to finalise plans for the Leeward Islands visit to Bermuda in September soon after his return from London.